Ragland v. Rock-Tenn Co.

• Decision Date: 14 March 1997
• Docket Number: No. 96 C 0081.,96 C 0081.
• Parties: Wanda RAGLAND, Plaintiff, v. ROCK-TENN COMPANY and Carol D'Andrea, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

955 F.Supp. 1009

Wanda RAGLAND, Plaintiff, v. ROCK-TENN COMPANY and Carol D'Andrea, Defendants.

No. 96 C 0081.

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division.

March 14, 1997.

William B. Thompson, Wheaton, IL, for Wanda Ragland.

Larry E. Forrester, Suzanne J. Mulliken, Smith, Currie & Hancock, Atlanta, GA, Louis Theros, Dickinson, Wright, Moon, Van Dusen & Freeman, Chicago, IL, for Rock-Tenn Co.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

CASTILLO, District Judge.

Plaintiff Wanda Ragland filed suit in this Court alleging that her former employer, Rock-Tenn Company, and former supervisor, Carol D'Andrea, discriminated against her on the basis of age. Ragland contends that she was meeting Rock-Tenn's legitimate expectations in her capacity as a customer service representative; but nevertheless, the company terminated her after just eight months in that position and replaced Ragland with someone many years her junior. Having allegedly received no complaints until she was fired, and upon discovering Rock-Tenn's alleged attempt to prompt the resignation of a fifty-year-old co-worker, Ragland concluded that age was behind her discharge. After receiving a Notice of Right to Sue from the EEOC, she proceeded to file a three-count complaint: Count I claims that Ragland's termination violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 621 et seq.; Count II alleges that her dismissal breached a contract for continued employment; and Count III claims Ragland was defamed by statements that Rock-Tenn management made following her termination. Defendants Rock-Tenn and Carol D'Andrea vigorously deny these charges, and have moved for summary judgment on all counts.

RELEVANT FACTS

We start by presenting the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.¹ See Wolf v. Buss America, Inc., 77 F.3d 914, 918 (7th Cir.1996). Ragland began her career with Rock-Tenn in its Hillside, Illinois Paperboard Packaging Sales Office. Defs.' Facts ¶ 5. She joined the company as a sales service secretary in 1988, at the age of 46. Id. Handling clients, entering customer orders and doing customer service were Ragland's primary responsibilities. Pl.'s Add'l Facts ¶ 3. The job also entailed answering phones. Ragland Dep. p. 13. In 1992, Rock-Tenn decided to close its Hillside office and move operations to Michigan. Defs.' Facts ¶ 6. The parties differ on Ragland's prospects after the closing, but agree that she eventually applied for a position with Rock-Tenn's Chicago Plastics Division in Franklin Park, Illinois. Id.; Pl.'s Facts ¶ 6.

According to Ragland, one of her superiors at the Hillside office suggested that she contact Carol D'Andrea, the Customer Service Manager at the Chicago Plastics Division, because "Rock-Tenn did not want to lose someone with her performance level." Pl.'s Facts ¶ 6. Ragland called D'Andrea, who agreed to interview Ragland for a position in customer service. Pl.'s Add'l Facts 11; Defs.' Fact ¶ 7. The substance of that interview is hotly disputed. Ragland claims that D'Andrea never disclosed the specific attributes of the position, revealing only that she would begin by billing and invoicing on customers' accounts receivable, then move on to "perform the duties of a customer service representative." Pl.'s Facts ¶ 7; Pl.'s Add'l Facts ¶¶ 9-10. In particular, D'Andrea never told Ragland that she would be expected to answer phones as part of the job. Pl.'s Facts ¶ 7. Defendants, however, maintain that D'Andrea detailed Rock-Tenn's expectations, explaining that Ragland would first be trained in invoicing, then taught more advanced accounts receivable functions, and finally receive customer service training. Defs.' Facts ¶ 7. The defendants also claim that D'Andrea made clear that, as a customer service representative, Ragland would need to answer phones. Id.

D'Andrea hired Ragland, at age fifty, for the customer service position in Franklin Park. Defs.' Facts ¶ 7. She began work in January 1993, but retained, for seniority purposes, her original 1988 date of hire. Id. ¶¶ 7, 10. Once in Franklin Park, Ragland worked under the supervision of D'Andrea, who in turn reported to Dick Korff, the office's General Manager. Defs.' Facts ¶ 10. From the beginning of her tenure at Franklin Park, Ragland claims she performed both the invoicing and customer service functions. Pl.'s Add'l Facts ¶ 12. Indeed, she was trained in both. Ragland Dep. pp. 24-25. Although Ragland's responsibilities had diminished from her days at the Hillside office to the point where she was primarily "doing billing and invoicing," Ragland also answered phones along with the rest of the customer service employees. Pl's Add'l Facts ¶¶ 11, 15.

The point where the parties diverge most sharply is on the quality of Ragland's performance at Franklin Park. By Ragland's account, it was smooth, practically without incident. Defendants, on the other hand, claim that Ragland's employment was marked by numerous failings. The problems, defendants say, began with Ragland's work hours. It is undisputed that, in May 1993, Ragland requested to work on a flex schedule, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., in order to facilitate her commute to and from work. Defs.' Facts ¶ 11. D'Andrea permitted the change in hours because, she says, Ragland had made a habit of coming in late. Defs.' Resp. Add'l Facts ¶ 19. Nevertheless, all the other customer service representatives were required to be in the office from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. because that was the time frame during which customers would call to place or confirm orders. Defs.' Facts ¶ 11. Ragland's absence during the peak hours of 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. was problematic because it imposed Ragland's share of the work on the other employees. Id. ¶ 12. Ragland's peers felt, as a result, that she was being singled out for favorable treatment, and they registered their dissatisfaction with D'Andrea. Id.; Nancy Dahl Aff. ¶ 4; Lilly Gandar Aff. ¶ 2.

Defendants also maintain that Ragland's tardiness continued on the revised schedule. Defs.' Resp. Add'l Facts ¶¶ 22-23. D'Andrea says she constantly reprimanded Ragland for arriving late and leaving early. Id. ¶ 19. To support their allegations of tardiness, defendants present no documentary evidence, but rely on affidavits executed by several Rock-Tenn employees. See Defs.' Facts Exs. A-G.

Ragland's response to these claims is threefold: the flex schedule was not a function of tardiness; it did not result in complaints or extra work for others; and the eight to five schedule was not set in stone. First, while Ragland admits that she worked from ten to seven by request, she attributes the altered schedule to the fact that she had been arriving at eight and staying until six or seven to avoid rush-hour traffic. Pl.'s Add'l Facts ¶ 20. She denies that she was tardy on either schedule, or that she ever left early. Id. ¶¶ 45, 60; Ragland Aff. ¶¶ 20h.-j. Second, Ragland claims that her schedule never inconvenienced other employees or provoked their complaints. Pl.'s Add'l Facts ¶¶ 19, 22, 23, 33. She insists that her co-workers did not have to pick up the slack caused by her absence from eight to ten and that the customer service department would have functioned just as well if no representatives began work until 10 a.m. Id. ¶¶ 27, 34. In addition, Ragland claims that no one could have registered complaints with D'Andrea about her flex schedule because Ragland was not informed of them. Pl's Facts ¶ 12. In fact, other employees benefitted from her later hours: Lilly Gandar called in one evening after five to check on a lost item, and told Ragland she was glad Ragland was there; Richard Korff regularly phoned between five and seven to discuss business matters. Id. ¶¶ 31-32.

Ragland's third response to defendants' tardiness allegations is that an eight to five schedule was not crucial to Rock-Tenn's operation. She maintains that the phones continued ringing past five and were not, as defendants claim, routed to an answering machine. Id. ¶ 11. Moreover, Maria Maniak, a younger employee who Ragland says worked full time as a customer service representative, was permitted to arrive after eight and leave before five — a schedule even more liberal than Ragland's. Id. ¶ 12. Defendants, however, state that Maniak worked in inventory control, not customer service, and, as such, did not have to be around during business hours to answer phones. Defs.' Facts ¶ 12 n. 1; Defs.' Resp. Add'l Facts ¶ 24. Ragland supports each of these conclusions with her own deposition and affidavit, but offers no corroborating documentary evidence or testimony from other employees.

Besides Ragland's alleged tardiness and troublesome schedule, defendants specify two performance problems that led to her discharge. Defendants claim that Ragland practiced poor phone etiquette and could not fulfill many of the functions she was hired to perform. They cite examples of each deficiency. In February 1993, D'Andrea asked Ragland to increase her work pace because she was able to perform only the invoicing part of her job, leaving D'Andrea to assume several of Ragland's accounts receivable and customer service duties. Defs.' Facts ¶ 13. Ragland denies that her capabilities were so limited or that D'Andrea complained about them. Pl.'s Add'l Facts ¶ 13. In May 1993, D'Andrea counseled Ragland for failing to log customer invoices on a timely basis. Defs.' Resp. Add'l Facts ¶ 18. Specifically, she told Ragland that credits should be recorded immediately and that customers complained when they were not credited promptly. Id. ¶ 66. Ragland admits that D'Andrea counseled her about logging and credits, but states that D'Andrea's comments were meant to educate Ragland about a new procedure, not criticize her performance. Pl.'s Add'l Facts ¶ 18. Ragland also denies that D'Andrea raised timeliness concerns. Id. ¶¶ 66-67.

With respect to Ragland's telephone conduct, defendants claim that Ragland initially refused to answer...