Robinson v. PPG Industries, Inc.

• Decision Date: 04 May 1994
• Docket Number: No. 92-3000,92-3000
• Citation: 23 F.3d 1159
• Parties: 64 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1690, 64 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 43,019 Ronald ROBINSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. PPG INDUSTRIES, INC., Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 1159

23 F.3d 1159

64 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1690,

64 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 43,019

Ronald ROBINSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. PPG INDUSTRIES, INC., Defendant-Appellee.

No. 92-3000.

United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit.

Argued Oct. 27, 1993.

Decided May 4, 1994.

James P. Baker (argued), Springfield, IL, for plaintiff-appellant.

Joshua G. Vincent, William J. Holloway (argued), Michael J. Leech, Hinshaw & Culbertson, Chicago, IL, Deborah L. Rose, Office of the Atty. Gen., Springfield, IL, Lynn M. Wagner, Hinshaw & Culbertson, Milwaukee, WI, for defendant-appellee.

Before CUMMINGS and ROVNER, Circuit Judges, and GRANT, District Judge. ^*

ILANA DIAMOND ROVNER, Circuit Judge.

After his discharge from PPG Industries, Inc. ("PPG"), Ronald Robinson brought suit under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. Sec. 626(c) ("ADEA"), alleging that he was discharged based on his age. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of PPG, concluding that Robinson had not identified evidence from which a finder of fact could reasonably conclude that PPG's proffered reasons for discharging him were pretextual. We reverse and remand for trial.

I. FACTS

PPG manufactures glass, paints, coatings, chemicals and other products for sale to both residential and commercial consumers throughout the world. Its principal place of business is in Pennsylvania. Robinson commenced work for PPG in 1957. Beginning in 1965, he held a number of positions that involved the acquisition of the raw materials PPG required for the manufacture of its products. In 1980, Robinson was assigned to PPG's Kokomo, Indiana plant as the purchasing agent responsible for acquiring the materials needed for the architectural metals produced there. For a brief time in 1987, Robinson also assumed additional purchasing responsibilities for another PPG plant in Oakville, Ontario, which also manufactured architectural metals.

In 1987, PPG began to reorganize the channels through which it acquired materials for its thirty-two North American plants. Four regional purchasing centers were created to take over the acquisition responsibilities that previously had been performed by individual purchasing agents on behalf of individual plants. Ralph Siebach, PPG's Director of Facilities and Field Purchasing, supervised the reorganized glass purchasing group. Glenn Henrichsmeyer was appointed manager of the Western region, headquartered in Mount Zion, Illinois.

As a result of the reorganization, the position of purchasing agent for the Kokomo plant that Robinson had held was terminated. Rather than discharge Robinson at that time, PPG offered to transfer him to the regional headquarters in Mount Zion to take the place of Michael Linssen, who was on temporary assignment in Pittsburgh assisting with the installation of a computerized purchasing system using McCormick &amp Dodge software. Henrichsmeyer informed Robinson that he would occupy that position for approximately eighteen months or until Linssen's other assignment came to an end. Henrichsmeyer also advised Robinson that his continued employment after that time depended upon his performance and the availability of another position. Robinson accepted the offer in July of 1988. In his new position, Robinson continued to purchase materials for the manufacture of architectural metals at the Kokomo plant as he had before; in addition, he handled purchasing for several glass manufacturing facilities whenever an individual who normally handled those responsibilities was away. Each of the two annual evaluations Robinson received during his tenure at Mount Zion indicated that he met the requirements of his job. Moreover, although purchasing on behalf of glass facilities was outside Robinson's area of expertise, Henrichsmeyer never indicated to Robinson that his efforts in this area were in any way below par; on the contrary, Henrichsmeyer indicated in a 1990 evaluation that Robinson's ability to comprehend tasks beyond his specialty "exceed[ed] expectations." R. 30, Henrichsmeyer Aff. Ex. B.

Between 1988 and 1990, PPG shut down a number of its glass manufacturing plants in the Western Region, and further closures were expected. With that prospect in mind, Siebach and Henrichsmeyer prepared a forced ranking of all purchasing agents within the Western region. Buyers were ranked based on the following criteria:

(1) working relationship with the corporate purchasing department;

(2) plant purchasing experience;

(3) knowledge of the glass purchasing group;

(4) knowledge of and compliance with purchasing procedures;

(5) communication skills;

(6) ethical standards;

(7) systems literacy;

(8) interpersonal skills;

(9) negotiating skills;

(10) education;

(11) purchasing certification;

(12) work ethic;

(13) geography; and

(14) potential for promotion.

Robinson ranked last among the seven regional buyers evaluated. R. 30, Henrichsmeyer Aff. Ex. C.

In May 1990, Linssen (who had been rated second best in the forced ranking) completed his temporary assignment and returned to the Mount Zion facility. On May 15, 1990, PPG informed Robinson that Linssen would be reinstated to his previous position and that Robinson would be discharged. Over the following ten weeks, at PPG's direction, Robinson familiarized Linssen with the purchase of materials for the manufacture of architectural metals at the Kokomo plant, an area in which Linssen had no previous experience. Robinson's employment was terminated effective July 31, 1990. He was 59 years old at that time; Linssen was 39. In connection with his discharge, Robinson was granted an early retirement package as well as a supplementary severance package of approximately $36,000.

Robinson filed this lawsuit in 1991, alleging that PPG was motivated by his age in discharging him. Among the evidence on which Robinson relied to establish age discrimination were a number of statements Henrichsmeyer had allegedly made to him during the last six months of his employment, to the effect that PPG would no longer be retaining its employees until they reached the age of sixty-five.

The district court granted summary judgment in favor of PPG. At the outset, the court found (and PPG does not dispute) that Robinson had established a prima facie case of age discrimination: he was within the protected age group (between 40 and 70 years old), he had met the requirements of his job, he was discharged, and younger employees (e.g., Linssen) were treated more favorably than he. R. 38 at 3. The court went on to conclude, however, that PPG had rebutted Robinson's prima facie case by proffering legitimate reasons for his discharge: he was ranked far below Linssen in the 1990 forced ranking, he had little experience with glass purchasing or with use of the McCormick & Dodge software, and had been cited in his 1989 and 1990 evaluations as needing improvement in both writing skills and use of the computer system. Id. at 4. Thus, the court moved on to consider whether Robinson had tendered evidence from which a factfinder could conclude that PPG's asserted reasons for discharging him were pretextual. The court focused on Robinson's allegation that PPG hired two younger men with less experience as regional buyers around the same time that he was discharged. See id. at 4-5. Although the record did confirm that PPG had hired two individuals (Bob Harlan and Mike Rodites) in or about the fall of 1988 who were both in their late thirties, the court found this circumstance insufficient to suggest that the company's reasons for discharging Robinson were pretextual. R. 45 at 2. The court noted that both were hired nearly two years before Robinson was terminated, and both were laid off within a year of Robinson's discharge due to plant closures. Id. ¹ The court therefore granted summary judgment in favor of PPG.

II. ANALYSIS

Because this case was disposed of on summary judgment, our review is de novo. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Monaco v. Fuddruckers, Inc., 1 F.3d 658, 660 (7th Cir.1993). Of course, we examine the factual record in a light most favorable to the plaintiff. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. at 2513. As we noted recently:

Summary judgment is appropriate only when the materials before the court demonstrate that there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. This standard is applied with added rigor in employment discrimination cases, where intent and credibility are crucial issues. Accordingly, we will affirm the decision of the district court only if, had the record before that court been the record of a complete trial, the defendant would have been entitled to a directed verdict.

Sarsha v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 3 F.3d 1035, 1038 (7th Cir.1993) (citations omitted).

Our inquiry here is guided by the burden-shifting framework of McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), which we have extended to age discrimination cases. See Shager v. Upjohn Co., 913 F.2d 398, 400 (7th Cir.1990) (citing Kephart v. Institute of Gas Technology, 630 F.2d 1217, 1219 (7th Cir.1980) (per curiam), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 959, 101 S.Ct. 1418, 67 L.Ed.2d 383 (1981)); see generally Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. at 2512 ("the inquiry involved in a ruling on a motion for summary judgment ... necessarily implicates the substantive evidentiary standard of proof that would apply at the trial on the merits"). Within this framework (which applies when the plaintiff lacks direct evidence of age discrimination), it is the plaintiff's initial burden to tender evidence establishing a prima facie case of age discrimination. He must show that (1) he fell within the protected class of persons between the ages of 40 and 70; (2) he was meeting his employer's legitimate expectations; (3) he was discharged or demoted; and (4) that...