Myers v. Colgate-Palmolive Co.

• Decision Date: 16 May 2000
• Docket Number: No. 96-4095-SAC.,No. 97-4122-SAC.,96-4095-SAC.,97-4122-SAC.
• Citation: 102 F.Supp.2d 1208
• Parties: Rebecca L. MYERS, Plaintiff, v. COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Kansas

102 F.Supp.2d 1208

Rebecca L. MYERS, Plaintiff, v. COLGATE-PALMOLIVE COMPANY, Defendant.

No. 96-4095-SAC.

No. 97-4122-SAC.

United States District Court, D. Kansas.

May 16, 2000.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

David O. Alegria, McCullough, Wareheim & LaBunker, Topeka, KS, for plaintiff.

Brian J. Clark, Domenique Camacho, Clifton, Budd & DeMaria, LLP, New York City, Jack D. Rowe, Patrick M. Gavin, Lathrop & Gage, L.C., Kansas City, MO, for defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

CROW, District Judge.

This case (No. 96-4095) comes before the court on the defendant Colgate-Palmolive Company's ("Colgate") motion for summary judgment (Dk. 54). This is an employment discrimination case in which the plaintiff Rebecca L. Myers ("Myers") alleges that Colgate discriminated against her because of her age in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621, et seq., and because of her sex in violation of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. Also pending in this case are Defendant's Motion for Determination of the Place of Trial, and plaintiff's Objection to the Magistrate's Order dated April 24, 1997. Consolidated with this case is another (No. 97-4122) which the same plaintiff has filed against the same defendant involving the same course of events, but brought pursuant to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq., ("The ERISA case"). A motion to dismiss is pending in the ERISA case. The court will first address the discrimination case and its related motions

I. SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION

A court grants a motion for summary judgment under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure if a genuine issue of material fact does not exist and if the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The court is to determine "whether there is the need for a trial—whether, in other words, there are any genuine factual issues that properly can be resolved only by a finder of fact because they may reasonably be resolved in favor of either party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 250, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). "Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will ... preclude summary judgment." Id. There are no genuine issues for trial if the record taken as a whole would not persuade a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party. Matsushita Elec. Indust. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). "[T]here are cases where the evidence is so weak that the case does not raise a genuine issue of fact." Burnette v. Dow Chemical Co., 849 F.2d 1269, 1273 (10th Cir.1988).

The initial burden is with the movant to "point to those portions of the record that demonstrate an absence of a genuine issue of material fact given the relevant substantive law." Thomas v. Wichita Coca-Cola Bottling Co., 968 F.2d 1022, 1024 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 1013, 113 S.Ct. 635, 121 L.Ed.2d 566 (1992). If this burden is met, the nonmovant must "come forward with specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial as to elements essential to" the nonmovant's claim or position. Martin v. Nannie and Newborns, Inc., 3 F.3d 1410, 1414 (10th Cir.1993) (citations omitted). The nonmovant's burden is more than a simple showing of "some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts," Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538; it requires "`present[ing] sufficient evidence in specific, factual form for a jury to return a verdict in that party's favor.'" Thomas v. International Business Machines, 48 F.3d 478, 484 (10th Cir.1995) (quoting Bacchus Industries, Inc. v. Arvin Indus., Inc., 939 F.2d 887, 891 (10th Cir.1991)).

The court views the evidence of record and draws all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Id. A party relying on only conclusory allegations cannot defeat a properly supported motion for summary judgment. White v. York Intern. Corp., 45 F.3d 357, 363 (10th Cir.1995).

More than a "disfavored procedural shortcut," summary judgment is an important procedure "designed `to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action.' Fed.R.Civ.P. 1." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 327, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). At the same time, a summary judgment motion does not empower a court to act as the jury and determine witness credibility, weigh the evidence, or choose between competing inferences. Windon Third Oil and Gas v. Federal Deposit Ins. Corp., 805 F.2d 342, 346 (10th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 480 U.S. 947, 107 S.Ct. 1605, 94 L.Ed.2d 791 (1987).

Summary judgments "`should seldom be used in employment discrimination cases.'" O'Shea v. Yellow Technology Services, Inc., 185 F.3d 1093, 1098 (10th Cir.1999) (quoting Smith v. St. Louis University, 109 F.3d 1261, 1264 (8th Cir. 1997)). Because discrimination claims often turn on the employer's intent, courts ordinarily consider summary judgment inappropriate to settle an issue like intent, Cone v. Longmont United Hosp. Ass'n, 14 F.3d 526, 530 (10th Cir.1994); see Courtney v. Biosound, Inc., 42 F.3d 414, 418 (7th Cir.1994) ("[T]he summary judgment standard is applied with added rigor in employment discrimination cases, where intent and credibility are crucial issues." (quotation and citation omitted)). Even so, summary judgment is not "per se improper," Washington v. Lake County, Ill., 969 F.2d 250, 253 (7th Cir.1992), and may be useful in weeding out claims and cases obviously lacking merit, Summers v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 864 F.2d 700, 709 (10th Cir.1988), overruled on other grounds, McKennon v. Nashville Banner Pub. Co., 513 U.S. 352, 115 S.Ct. 879, 130 L.Ed.2d 852 (1995).

STATEMENT OF UNCONTROVERTED FACTS

The court's burden to determine the material facts has been increased in this case due to the parties' citation in their briefs to portions of testimony not included in the record, and to citations of fact not supported by the record.

For purposes of this motion only, the court considers the following to be the uncontroverted facts relevant to its ruling:

1. Myers began working for Colgate on April 15, 1974 as an associate chemist in the plant's quality assurance department. In that position, Myers performed analytical testing on finished products, raw materials and product intermediates.

2. In 1977, Colgate promoted Myers to plant chemist where she reported to the manager of the Quality Assurance ("Q.A.") department. In that position, Myers supervised the senior chemist, the associate chemists, and line inspectors.

3. In 1978, Myers became pregnant, and was transferred to a secretarial job in the General Accounting office, at the same salary as she had been earning as plant chemist. (Dk. 58, Exh. 6, ¶ .25-27). Sometime after returning from her maternity leave, Myers became chief inspector in Q. A., in which position she continued to receive the same salary as before, with subsequent pay increases. (Id., ¶ .26-28). Myers continued to supervise the line inspectors until 1991 or 1992 at which time she became responsible for supervising the chemists as well. (Id., ¶ . 51-52; Dk. 54, Exh. 6, p. 24).

4. Beginning in the late 1980's, Colgate began restructuring its operations, which eventually resulted in fewer employees working at the Kansas City plant where Myers worked. (Dk. 58, Exh. 6, p. 86-88; Dk. 54, Exh. 3, ¶ . 28,97). In 1993, the Kansas City plant overspent its budget, its cost structure was not in line with the original plan, and its efficiency rate was poor, generating a reorganization and reduction of employees and changes in structure in the summers of 1994 and 1995. (Dk. 54, Exh. 3, p. 38, 44). Those changes reduced the Q.A. department in which Myers worked from having a total of 12 employees in 1994, to 10 employees in 1995, and 7 employees in 1996. (Dk. 54, Exhs. 5,7, & 10).

5. To lower costs in the Kansas City plant, the manager of manufacturing, Robert W. Dietz, looked at other Colgate plants to see what their structure was, and compared that to the size and structure and operations in the Kansas City plant to determine what work could be eliminated. (Dk. 54, Exh. 3, ¶ .27 45, 87-88). Dietz looked at job functions, performed position analyses, determined which job functions were needed on an ongoing basis and which could be done somewhere else, talked to his peers at other Colgate plants, and identified potential jobs that could be eliminated at the Kansas City plant. (Id., p. 88-89).

6. In determining whether to eliminate a position held by only one person, neither the tenure nor the performance of the person then holding that position was considered. (Id., p. 90). Colgate's policy was to terminate the employment of the person who held the eliminated position, without regard to his or her rank, tenure, or job performance, unless a vacant position then existed for which the person was qualified. (Id., p. 90-91; Dk. 58, Exh.5, p. 92). The incumbent whose position was eliminated was not permitted to displace or "bump" less senior employees. (Dk. 54, Exh. 6, p. 22-23). Job performance, performance evaluations, or employee profiles were considered only in the event more than one individual held the position to be eliminated, and after the determination had been made regarding which positions to eliminate. (Id.; Dk. 58, Exh. 7, p. 103; Dk. 54, Exh. 6, p. 22-23; Dk. 59, Exh. C, p. 139-140).

7. The Human Resource Manager and Dietz had complete discretion as to where and how to reduce costs. (Dk. 58, Exh. 7, ¶ .12, 131).

8. In August of 1994, after the Q.A. department had been significantly reduced, Dietz decided to eliminate Myers' position as Q.A. supervisor, and Myers was offered and accepted a position as a reliability engineer at the same salary and grade level as her Q.A. position had been. (Dk. 54, Exh. 3, p. 88-89; Dk. 58, Exh. 6, p. 84-85). James R....