Martinez-Jordan v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., Civil No. 07-2072 (ADC).

• Decision Date: 18 February 2009
• Docket Number: Civil No. 07-2072 (ADC).
• Citation: 608 F.Supp.2d 224
• Parties: Miguel A. MARTINEZ-JORDAN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. BAXTER HEALTHCARE CORP., et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

608 F.Supp.2d 224

Miguel A. MARTINEZ-JORDAN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. BAXTER HEALTHCARE CORP., et al., Defendants.

Civil No. 07-2072 (ADC).

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

February 18, 2009.

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Dennis A. Simonpietri-Monefeld, Dennis A. Simonpietri Law Office, Santa Paula Guaynabo, PR, for Plaintiffs.

Diana M. Espinosa-Nunez, Juan J. Casillas-Ayala, Fiddler, Gonzalez & Rodriguez, Reggie Díaz-Hernandez, San Juan, PR, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

AIDA M. DELGADO-COLÓN, District Judge.

Plaintiffs, Miguel Martínez-Jordan ("Martínez" or "plaintiff"), his wife, Carmen D. Díaz-Miranda, and their Conjugal Partnership (collectively, "plaintiffs"), brought suit pursuant to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. ("ADEA"), Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. ("ADA"), Puerto Rico's Law No. 100 of June 30, 1959, as amended, 29 L.P.R.A. § 146 et seq., Law No. 44 of July 2, 1985, 1 L.P.R.A. § 501 et seq., Law No. 80 of May 30, 1976, as amended, 29 L.P.R.A. § 185a et seq., against Baxter Healthcare Corp. ("Baxter"), Nydia Márquez ("Márquez") and Pablo Vélez ("Vélez").¹ Docket No. 1, at Ex. II.²

Now before the court is defendants' motion for summary judgment and statement of uncontested material facts. Docket Nos. 59, 60, 61. Plaintiffs' opposition and opposing statement of facts were struck from the record, so defendants' motion will be considered unopposed.³ At issue is whether plaintiffs' allegations support causes of action for age and disability discrimination. For the reasons set forth below, the court finds that they do not, and, therefore, GRANTS defendants' motion.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

Unless otherwise noted, the following relevant facts are derived from defendants' statement of facts and the record. Consistent with the summary judgment standard, the court states the facts in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, the nonmoving party. See Iverson v. City of Boston, 452 F.3d 94, 98 (1st Cir.2006). However, inasmuch as defendants' motion and statement of facts are unopposed, the court deems admitted all properly supported facts contained in defendants' statement of uncontested material facts. See L. Cv. R. 56(e).

A. Background of Baxter

Baxter is a subsidiary of Baxter International Inc. ("Baxter International"). Docket No. 59, at ¶ 1. One of Baxter's manufacturing facilities is in Guayama, Puerto Rico (the "facility"). Id. The facility is the only chemical plant operated by Baxter in Puerto Rico. Id. The facility manufactures inhalation anesthesia. Id. at ¶ 2. The main products produced are Isoflurane (Forane), Desflurane (Suprane) and Sevoflurane. Id. The facility, is currently the sole provider for the worldwide anesthesia market of Desflurane (Suprane). Id. The manufacturing activities at the facility are supported by a group of strategically aligned functions including: quality, environmental health and safety compliance, materials planning, maintenance, engineering, human resources and finance. Id. at ¶ 3.

Pharmaceutical companies such as Baxter are strictly regulated by state and federal agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, Environmental Quality Board, Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA"), Puerto Rico's Occupational Safety and Health Office and Toxic Substances Control Act. Id. at ¶ 4.⁴ The facility is certified by various independent organizations, including, but not limited to, the International Organization for Standardization 14001 ("ISO 14001 Certification"). Id. at ¶ 6. The ISO 14001 Certification is highly valued by Baxter because it allows it to market the goods manufactured in its facility throughout the world (and specifically in Europe). Id.

B. Background of Plaintiff

Plaintiff was born in 1945 in Caguas, Puerto Rico, graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1963 and obtained his Bachelor's Degree in General Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico in 1967. Id. at ¶ 7; Docket No. 70, Ex. 2 at 19. In 2002, plaintiff received a Masters in Business Administration Degree with a concentration in Human Resources from Turabo University. Docket No. 59, at ¶ 8. Baxter financed said degree. Id. While working at Baxter, plaintiff took an average of six to ten seminars per year related to his practice areas. Id. at ¶ 9. According to plaintiff, he applied for the position of Security Manager at OHMEDA (Baxter's predecessor company) in 1994 through a headhunter named Janet C. Palacios. Id. at ¶ 10. Justo Malavé ("Malavé"), Human Resources Director at OHMEDA, interviewed plaintiff for the position of Manager of Employee Safety and extended an offer of employment to him. Id. at ¶ 11. One of Baxter's goals was to lower the number of employee related accidents, and that was one of the tasks expected from plaintiff. Id. at ¶ 12. Plaintiff began to work at OHMEDA on July 11, 1994, as Employee Safety Manager with a starting salary of $60,000.00. Id. at ¶ 13. Plaintiff's supervisor at the time was Malavé. Id.

As Manager of Employee Safety, plaintiff was in charge of the facilities security program, which included: providing employee orientations and trainings, updating trainings, performing inspections of the plant, buying personal safety equipment, implementing OSHA standards, taking the necessary measures, to prevent accidents, and revising and updating the Standard Operating Procedures ("SOPs"). Id. at ¶ 14. Plaintiff described his relationship with Malave as "sour." Id. at ¶ 15. He contends that his problems with Malave were caused by Malave's authoritative management style. Id. Plaintiff conceded that Malave behaved and applied the same management style to other employees. Id.

After plaintiff began working at OHMDA, the company experienced an increase in work related accidents. Id. at ¶ 16. On November 15, 1995, plaintiff was demoted from Employee Safety Manager to Training Coordinator/Facilitator. Id. at ¶ 17.⁵ As a result of the demotion, plaintiff's salary was reduced by roughly $7,500 annually. Id. Plaintiff believes that these actions were discriminatory in nature. Docket No. 70, Ex. 2 at 81. After being demoted, plaintiff was replaced on an interim basis by Raul Rosa ("Rosa") who at the time was one of Baxter's internal engineers. Docket No. 59, at ¶ 18. In 1998, Rosa was replaced by Ramón Torres-Príncipe ("Torres"). Id. As Training Coordinator/Facilitator, plaintiff was responsible for, among other things, establishing the training unit expansion, updating training policy, managing the "TRIM" Program, supporting the Ergonomics Program and the Safety and Health Program, as well as being in charge of organizing the loss control programs and trainings. Id. at ¶ 19. Torres was set to leave Baxter on February 13, 1998. Id. at ¶ 20. Malave appointed plaintiff as interim Safety and Emergency Manager. Id.

1. Baxter's acquisition of OHMEDA

In 1998, Baxter acquired OHMEDA. Id. at ¶ 21. As such, on March 18, 1998, plaintiff signed an employment agreement with Baxter. Id. Further, in a document signed on January 17, 2003, plaintiff admitted having received Baxter's employee handbook, as well as all its rules and policies. Id. at ¶ 22. Upon Baxter's acquisition of OHMEDA, a transition process began whereby OHMEDA's prior procedures and classifications were integrated into Baxter's policies and business culture. Id. at ¶ 23. One of the multiple areas that were adapted was human resources, specifically, job classification and compensation. Id. Baxter implemented a classification/compensation software called "People soft," under which Baxter did not have a "Manager, Employee Safety" position, the one held on an interim basis by plaintiff. Id. at ¶ 24. This was not the only position, however, that was affected. Several other employees' positions did not have an equivalent in Baxter. Id. at ¶ 25. Accordingly, Baxter tried to place the employees on a classification similar or analogous to the one previously held by the employee at OHMEDA. Id. One of those employees was plaintiff. Id. On September 1, 1998, plaintiff was classified as an Environmental/Safety Associate in the Environmental, Health and Safety ("EHS") Department. Id. at ¶ 27. Plaintiff's supervisor was the EHS Director, Pablo Vélez ("Vélez"). Id. at ¶ 28.

2. Environmental Health and Safety at Baxter

Baxter's EHS Department is responsible for minimizing health and safety risks to employees and the general public, encourage appropriate environment, health and safety practices, monitor compliance with federal, state and local environment, health and safety regulations and to minimize the company's liability. Id. at ¶ 29. Plaintiff was responsible for identifying existing and potential hazards in the facility, determine causes and develop solutions, prepare a response system and implement it successfully. Id. at ¶ 30. He was also in charge of assessing and organizing the safety and emergency response training, manage comprehensive training programs in order to comply with company and regulatory agencies' requirements, investigate all safety, environmental and loss control related incidents as well as find causes and implement actions to avoid reoccurrences. Id. Plaintiff was also the chairman of the Plant Safety and Environmental Team ("PSET"). Id. at ¶ 32. Plaintiff stated that the PSET was a safety committee that had monthly meetings to discuss the monthly developments of the facility's environmental, health and safety programs. Id.; see also Docket No. 70, Ex. 2, at 150. The PSET was one of the main mechanisms employed by Baxter's management to guarantee compliance with EHS requirements and corporate policy. Docket No. 59, at ¶ 33.

3. Environmental, Health and Safety Audits

Baxter International, Baxter's holding company, performs an environmental, health and safety corporate audit ("EHS Corporate Audit") in all its branches and...