Lavalley v. Quebecor World Book Services LLC.

• Decision Date: 30 April 2004
• Docket Number: No. CIV.A. 03-10139-WGY.,CIV.A. 03-10139-WGY.
• Citation: 315 F.Supp.2d 136
• Parties: Karen LAVALLEY, Plaintiff, v. QUEBECOR WORLD BOOK SERVICES LLC Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts

315 F.Supp.2d 136

Karen LAVALLEY, Plaintiff, v. QUEBECOR WORLD BOOK SERVICES LLC Defendant.

No. CIV.A. 03-10139-WGY.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

April 30, 2004.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

David R Ardito, Law Office of David R. Ardito, Attleboro, MA, for Karen LaValley, Plaintiff.

Amy L. Hemenway, Phillip H. McIntyre, Jaeckle, Fleischmann & Mugel, LLP, Buffalo, NY, Joseph H. Reinhardt, The McCabe Group, PC, Boston, MA, Pilar Caballero Schultz, Jackson Lewis Schnitzler & Krupman, Boston, MA, Thomas R. Smith, Jackson Lewis LLP, Boston, MA, for Quebecor World Book Services, LLC, Defendant.

MEMORANDUM

YOUNG, Chief Judge.

This was an action brought by a former employee alleging that her former employer was liable for negligent infliction of emotional distress and for gender discrimination under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B. Karen LaValley ("LaValley"), a former employee of Quebecor World Book Services LLC ("Quebecor"), alleged that on July 13, 2001, her supervisor at Quebecor, Alan Francoeur ("Francoeur"), yelled at her because her small size made her unable to operate a hydraulic lift at the required speed. She alleged that over the next week, he drove her to resign by isolating her physically from other employees, preventing her from talking with them, finding fault with everything she did, and frequently reprimanding her for conduct in which other employees could engage with impunity. She sued Quebecor in the Massachusetts Superior Court sitting in and for the County of Bristol, and Quebecor removed to this Court under 28 U.S.C. § 1441, alleging diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332.

Quebecor filed a Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 15] on September 30, 2003, and after a hearing, this court ALLOWED that motion and entered judgment for Quebecor on December 11, 2003 [Doc. No. 26]. Because summary judgment is a disfavored remedy in civil rights cases, the Court now explains its decision in more detail.

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Facts

LaValley failed to submit a Rule 56.1 Statement of disputed facts (due by November 17, 2003), or any evidence beyond allegations in her unverified complaint, so the Court essentially had to take Quebecor's version of the facts, where supported by evidence, as true. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Local R. Civ. P. 56.1; Ayala-Gerena v. Bristol Myers-Squibb Co., 95 F.3d 86, 95 (1st Cir.1996) ("Appellants' failure to provide a separate statement of disputed facts resulted in the district court's taking of Appellees' statement of uncontested facts as admitted.... The district court also properly disregarded Appellant's numerous unsupported factual allegations.").

Quebecor has a "firm policy" of equal employment opportunity ("EEO"), Defendant's Rule 56.1 Statement ¶ 9 [Doc. No. 17] ("56.1 Stmt"), and an annually-updated Policy Against Sexual and Other Unlawful Harassment (PASOUH) (App.Ex. I), id. ¶ 11. Quebecor communicates these policies to all employees, discusses them during orientation, and describes them in the Employee Handbook that all employees (including LaValley) receive. Id. ¶¶ 11-13. The PASOUH provides a mechanism for employees to bring harassment and discrimination concerns to Quebecor's attention, id. ¶ 12, and it both encourages complaints and states that no retaliation will result from complaints, id. ¶ 14. The Human Resources Department thoroughly investigates complaints, id. ¶ 15, and takes immediate corrective action against unlawful discrimination or harassment, and sometimes against lawful but inappropriate behavior, id. ¶ 16. Meetings and training courses emphasize diversity and respect, and supervisors and managers receive more in-depth training than non-supervisory employees. Id. ¶ 17. The system worked well for LaValley when, early in her employment, she approached Human Resources Manager Bruce Winn about a situation involving Ray Ouellette, another Quebecor employee. See id. ¶ 43. She was "happy" with Wynn's efforts, and she had no further problems with Ouellette. Id.

LaValley, who is four feet, eight inches tall, and weighs roughly 92 pounds, id. ¶ 3, began working for Quebecor as a temp in June 2000 and was hired as an employee in August 2000, id. ¶ 2. She was a utility worker in the Bindery Department from then until her July 23, 2001 resignation, id., and her immediate supervisor was Alan Francoeur ("Francoeur"), who had encouraged her to apply for permanent employment, id. ¶¶ 18-19. A utility worker's duties include such "self-explanatory" tasks as "filling cartons with books, labeling, handwork, inspections work, and operating the hydraulic lifts used to move bundles of loose magazine and book pages (`sigs') from skids onto gatherers that feed into the binder." Id. ¶ 20. "All utility workers are trained to perform all tasks, and are expected to perform all [assigned tasks]." Id. Francoeur would assign each worker tasks at the beginning of each day. Id. Roughly half of Quebecor's utility workers were women. Id. ¶ 10.

LaValley had difficulty operating the hydraulic lift, suffering soreness as well as bruises on her arms and legs when assigned to work it. Id. ¶ 21. She attributes her difficulties to her height and weight. Id. Unlike her coworkers, she could not operate the lift fast enough to keep up with the gatherers. Id. ¶ 22.¹ LaValley claims that other female utility workers² were exempted from operating the lift after telling Francoeur that they did not want to, but she also identified other female utility workers who did operate the lift.³ Id. ¶ 23.

Jim Houghton assigned LaValley to operate the hydraulic lift for two consecutive weekend overtime shifts in October 2000, her first time performing that task. Id. ¶ 24. LaValley had difficulty operating the lift, and two female utility workers who were assigned to hydraulic lifts on the same binder had to help her by feeding bundles onto her gatherers (in other words they were doing the same tasks LaValley was, and in addition were helping LaValley). Id. LaValley was asked to operate the lift on two or three other occasions, for roughly one to two hours at a time, to relieve another employee, and on one occasion she voluntarily relieved an employee on the lift. Id. ¶ 25.

1. The Lift Incident and LaValley's Last Week

On July 13, 2001, a week before LaValley resigned, Francoeur assigned her to operate the lift. Id. ¶ 26. Although LaValley typically performed inspections on handwork, there was no such work for her on that day. Id. Approximately two hours into the shift, LaValley complained to Jeff Burnette ("Burnette"), lead binder operator, that she was having difficulty operating the machine, and he conveyed her complaint to Francoeur. Id. ¶ 27.⁴ Francoeur immediately went to LaValley to ask what the problem was, and she told him she was having difficulty operating the machine and that the job was too hard for her. Id. ¶ 28. Francoeur saw that LaValley was operating the machine properly, and he observed other utility workers assigned to operate hydraulic lifts, who were able to keep up with their own work while helping LaValley keep up with hers. Id. ¶ 29. Francoeur told LaValley to continue operating the lift, as that was her assigned task for the shift. Id. LaValley then began yelling and complaining that it was not safe for her to operate the lift, and she called Burnette a "kindergartner" and told him that he was "acting like a baby." Id. ¶ 30.

Francoeur removed LaValley from the lift, assigned her to go out back and wipe down covers, and replaced her on the lift with another female utility worker. Id. ¶ 31.⁵ LaValley sat by herself after that, because she was upset and wanted to be alone. Id. ¶ 40. Although she "felt that" Francoeur's assignment meant that he did not want her to speak to any other employees, Francoeur never told her not to speak to others. See id. ¶ 40. As a general matter, employees are allowed to talk with one another, as long as talking does not compromise safety or efficiency. Id. ¶ 41.

A few days later, Francoeur observed Lia Bush, Hugh McKinnion, and Linda Vincent speaking to LaValley during working hours, and he approached those employees and told them to get back to work. Id. ¶ 42. Francoeur called LaValley into his office and told her that she should not leave her work area to talk to others, but no discipline resulted from the meeting. Id. ¶ 42.

LaValley was not assigned to operate the lift during her last week of employment. Id. ¶ 32. She kept to herself for that week. Id. ¶ 40. She had no problems with the assignments she received during her last week of employment, and considered many of them "good." Id. ¶ 33. When, before July 13, 2001, she had to operate the lift for short stints as a relief worker, she never complained, and Francoeur was the only manager to whom she ever complained about having to operate it for longer periods. Id. ¶ 34.

LaValley's last day of work was July 18, 2001, and on July 23, 2001, she contacted Stephanie McGarry-Shofield ("McGarry-Shofield"), Regional Human Resources Manager, to resign. Id. ¶ 35. LaValley refused McGarry-Shofield's request to come in for a meeting at which Burnette and Francoeur would be present. Id. ¶ 35. LaValley considered McGarry-Shofield approachable and a "very nice lady," and believed McGarry-Shofield was giving her the benefit of the doubt by offering the meeting. Id. ¶ 36. Before July 13, 2001, LaValley also liked Francoeur very much, and had no problems with him. Id. ¶ 38.

B. Procedural Background

Around August 20, 2001, LaValley filed a letter complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination ("MCAD") and with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), alleging discrimination based on "other." 56.1 Stmt ¶ 44. The MCAD issued a Dismissal and Notification of Rights on September 17, 2002, recommending that LaValley's complaint be dismissed for lack of probable cause. Id. ¶ 45. The EEOC issued a Notice of Right To Sue Letter on February 6,...