Lidge-Myrtil v. Deere & Co.

• Decision Date: 03 March 1995
• Docket Number: A,No. 94-2985,LIDGE-MYRTI,94-2985
• Citation: 49 F.3d 1308
• Parties: 70 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 521, 66 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 43,463 Carolynppellant, v. DEERE & COMPANY, doing business as John Deere Company, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 1308

49 F.3d 1308

70 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 521,

66 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 43,463

Carolyn LIDGE-MYRTIL, Appellant, v. DEERE & COMPANY, doing business as John Deere Company, Appellee.

No. 94-2985.

United States Court of Appeals,

Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Jan. 13, 1995.

Decided March 3, 1995.

Aunna L. Peoples, Kansas City, MO, for appellant.

Ann Mesle, Daniel M. Dibble and Christine M. McKee, Kansas City, MO, for appellee.

Before WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge, LAY, Senior Circuit Judge, and BEAM, Circuit Judge.

WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.

Carolyn Lidge-Myrtil ("Lidge") appeals from the district court's ¹ grant of summary judgment in favor of Deere & Company ("Deere") on her race discrimination claims. We agree with the district court that although Lidge fashioned a prima facie case of discrimination, Deere rebutted the presumption by offering a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for its failure to promote her. See Lidge-Myrtil v. Deere & Co., 857 F.Supp. 666, 671 (W.D.Mo.1994). Because Lidge is unable to make a showing that Deere's proffered rationale is pretextual, we affirm.

I.

Lidge, a black female, began working for Deere in 1974 in Kansas City, Missouri, as a grade two key punch operator. She received a promotion to grade three terminal entry operator in 1977, but requested a return to her original data entry position for personal reasons in 1980. She has remained at grade two ever since, and was laterally transferred to the position of record clerk in August 1992 due to the dissolution of Deere's billing department.

Lidge sought promotions to various positions since 1980, but received none. In July 1992, she was again passed over for a promotion, this time to the position of human resources secretary. The position instead went to a white female, Cindy Bundschuh. Lidge claims that she is more qualified and has greater seniority than Bundschuh and the only reason she did not get the position is because of her race. Lidge is nearing completion of her bachelor's degree, has participated in several of Deere's in-house training programs, and has received consistently high performance evaluations of her job skills. She also, however, has been the subject of several disciplinary meetings, and this is reflected in her performance evaluations.

Bundschuh began working for Deere in 1980 as a grade two record clerk in Waterloo, Iowa. She relocated to Kansas City when Deere downsized its Waterloo operations in 1987 and was promoted to a grade three credit clerk (now titled finance department secretary) in 1990. The credit clerk's duties are substantially similar to those of the human resource secretary. Bundschuh had her bachelor's degree at the time she was given the position and has no disciplinary record.

On August 4, 1992, Lidge filed a discrimination charge with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights and the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging that the failure to promote her to human resources secretary constituted race and age discrimination. Both institutions rendered determinations of "no probable cause" of discrimination. Lidge subsequently filed a three-count suit alleging race discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e et seq., 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981, and the Missouri Human Rights Act, Mo.Rev.Stat. Sec. 213.010 et seq. ²

II.

To recover on her Title VII claim, Lidge must satisfy the now-familiar three-level McDonnell Douglas inquiry. McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802-05, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1824-26, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973); Krenik v. County of Le Sueur, 47 F.3d 953, 957 (8th Cir. 1995). She must demonstrate a prima facie case of discrimination by showing that she is a member of a protected class, that she sought and was denied a promotion for which she was qualified, and that the promotion was given to another person who is not a member of the protected class. Bell v. Bolger, 708 F.2d 1312, 1316 (8th Cir.1983); see Texas Dept. of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 252-54, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 1093-95, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981); McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824. The district court held that a genuine question of fact remained as to whether Lidge was qualified for the position. Deere, while noting its disagreement with this finding, does not argue this point on appeal, and we accept that Lidge has established a sufficient prima facie case to preclude summary judgment on that issue.

Deere, however, is able to satisfy the second level of our inquiry and rebut this presumption of discrimination by articulating a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for failing to promote Lidge. See Saint Mary's Honor Ctr. v. Hicks, --- U.S. ----, ----, ---- - ---- 113 S.Ct. 2742, 2747, 2751-52, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993); Burdine, 450 U.S. at 254-55, 101 S.Ct. at 1094-95; McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802-03, 93 S.Ct. at 1824-25. Deere claims that the human resources secretary position requires, in addition to an ability to do the basic secretarial work, excellent interpersonal skills and a high degree of confidentiality and discretion. Deere states that it believes that Bundschuh was more qualified than Lidge for the position based on these factors. As evidence of this, Deere points to the fact that Bundschuh possessed greater academic credentials, was already working at a grade three level with job duties substantially similar to those required by the human resources secretary, had a good performance history in this similar position, and not only had never faced any disciplinary problems as a Deere employee, but was known for being a good team player who got along well with her co-workers.

Lidge, on the other hand, had experienced some disciplinary problems at work. Specifically, Deere points to numerous meetings with Lidge regarding her poor relationships with co-workers and excessive personal telephone use. In June and November of 1988, supervisors met with Lidge to discuss her poor attitude and verbal abuse of peers. In the November meeting, the possibility of severe disciplinary action was discussed if things did not improve. In September 1989, Lidge had a verbal confrontation with a co-worker that required management intervention. Consistent with these problems, Lidge received below average job performance appraisals for her interpersonal relations in 1989 and 1990. Also, in July 1991, Lidge met with supervisors to discuss her excessive personal telephone use on company time because they were concerned about how this might affect her job performance and the performance of her co-workers.

Because Deere has met its burden, the presumption generated by Lidge's prima facie case "drops out," and she must show that there is a genuine factual issue as to discriminatory intent. Hicks, --- U.S. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2749. Lidge must produce "some additional evidence beyond the elements of the prima facie case" that would allow a rational jury to reject Deere's proffered reasons as a mere pretext for discrimination. Krenik, 47 F.3d at 959; see Marzec v. Marsh, 990 F.2d 393, 395 (8th Cir.1993); Pierce v. Marsh, 859 F.2d 601, 604 (8th Cir.1988). Although Lidge does possess the experience and some of the other qualities essential for success in the position, this does not suffice to raise an inference that Deere's stated rationale for giving the position to another is pretextual. Krenik, 47 F.3d at 960; Pierce, 859 F.2d at 603. "The mere existence of comparable qualifications between two applicants, one black [female] and one white female, alone does not raise an inference of racial discrimination." Pierce, 859 F.2d at 604; see Burdine, 450 U.S. at 258-59, 101 S.Ct. at 1096-97. Lidge's abilities alone cannot rebut Deere's stated belief that Bundschuh better exemplified the standard of employment conduct necessary for the position, particularly when she was aware that management had concerns about her abrasive demeanor and phone habits and knew those considerations might come into play in personnel decisions.

Lidge offers as additional circumstantial evidence of racial animus an incident where she was told that Deere did not "want a darky sitting up front." Not only did Lidge neglect to mention this to the district court, but she also declines to say who made the alleged comment. Lidge specifically admits that she has had no problems with her managers and does not point to any instances where they displayed any racial animus...