Putman v. Unity Health System, No. 02-4105.

• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)
• Writing for the Court: Loken
• Citation: 348 F.3d 732
• Parties: Clarence PUTMAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. UNITY HEALTH SYSTEM, Defendant-Appellee.
• Docket Number: No. 02-4105.
• Decision Date: 07 November 2003

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348 F.3d 732 Clarence PUTMAN, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
UNITY HEALTH SYSTEM, Defendant-Appellee. No. 02-4105. United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit. Submitted: September 8, 2003. Filed: November 7, 2003.

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Christopher Bent, argued, St. Louis, MO, for appellant.

Gerald M. Richardson, argued, St. Louis, MO, for appellee.

Before LOKEN, Chief Judge, McMILLIAN and HANSEN, Circuit Judges.

LOKEN, Chief Judge.

After Unity Health System terminated Clarence Putman as a LAN Analyst, Putman, an African-American, commenced this action alleging race and retaliation discrimination and racial harassment in violation of state and federal law. The district court¹ granted summary judgment dismissing all claims. Putman appeals the dismissal of his federal race and retaliation discrimination claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a). We review the grant of summary judgment de novo, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and drawing all justifiable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party. Kiel v. Select Artificials, Inc., 169 F.3d 1131, 1134 (8th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 818, 120 S.Ct. 59, 145 L.Ed.2d 51 (1999). To survive a motion for summary judgment, the nonmoving party must "substantiate

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his allegations with sufficient probative evidence [that] would permit a finding in [his] favor based on more than mere speculation, conjecture, or fantasy." Wilson v. Int'l Bus. Machs. Corp., 62 F.3d 237, 241 (8th Cir.1995) (quotation omitted). We affirm.

I. Background.

Putman was hired by Unity's predecessor in 1986. He began working for Unity as a LAN analyst in 1996. In November 1999, Bob Heitzman became Putman's supervisor. At their first meeting on December 15, Heitzman criticized aspects of Putman's job performance and said that Putman was not "humble enough" and was "too prideful." The next day, Putman sent Heitzman a long e-mail that included a request that Heitzman explain these remarks. Heitzman's e-mail response explained, "I think you are so proud it's hard for you to admit you can and have made mistakes." The next day Putman sent a lengthy e-mail to a human resources coordinator complaining that Heitzman "is riding me."

Putman took a leave of absence from December 22, 1999 to February 14, 2000. On January 25, he submitted a grievance to Unity's human resources department, alleging a pattern of racial discrimination, primarily by Heitzman. A human resources coordinator investigated and advised Putman on February 15 of her conclusion that Heitzman's remarks were not racially motivated. Putman appealed to the director of human resources, again accusing Heitzman of making remarks with "racial overtones." On March 23, the human resources director responded, "There is no evidence that Bob Heitzman's treatment of you is motivated by your race."

On March 3, 2000, Putman engaged in a heated argument with a co-worker, which culminated in Putman walking out of Heitzman's office and leaving work early. Putman acknowledges that he was "aggravated" and concedes that he "may have" called the co-worker a "neanderthal." One week later, Bruce Burkman, Unity's Director of Customer Service, issued Putman a Last Chance Agreement. The Agreement recited that, based upon the March 3 incident, "Unity Health believes that termination of your employment is appropriate at this time," but he was being given "one last chance to maintain your employment." The Agreement stated that Putman would continue to report to Heitzman and specifically warned: "If there are any further incidents of disrespect or insubordination on your part directed toward Bob Heitzman, you will either immediately resign your employment or be discharged."

Putman took a second leave of absence from March 10 to April 23, 2000. He filed a charge of race discrimination during this period, and the EEOC issued a right-to-sue letter. On May 23, after Putman returned to work, Heitzman asked him to carry an on-call pager for an additional week because he had missed his turns in the normal rotation during his leave of absence. Putman flatly refused, and he was terminated the next day for insubordination. Six Unity officials including Heitzman and the Vice President of Human Resources took part in the termination decision. This lawsuit followed.

II. The Race Discrimination Claims.

A plaintiff may prove intentional race discrimination using either direct or indirect (circumstantial) evidence. See Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228, 270-79, 109 S.Ct. 1775, 104 L.Ed.2d 268 (1989) (O'Connor, J., concurring). Putman argues he presented sufficient evidence of both kinds to avoid summary judgment.

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A. Putman first argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment because Heitzman's comments at their initial meeting are direct evidence of race discrimination. Evidence is "direct" if it establishes "a specific link between the [alleged] discriminatory animus and the challenged decision, sufficient to support a finding by a reasonable fact finder that an illegitimate criterion actually motivated" the employer's decision. Thomas v. First Nat'l Bank of Wynne, 111 F.3d 64, 66 (8th Cir.1997) (quotation omitted). Heitzman's...