Schiltz v. Burlington Northern R.R.
| Citation | 115 F.3d 1407 |
| Decision Date | 23 June 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 96-2810,96-2810 |
| Parties | 155 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2583, 74 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 303, 70 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 44,776, 134 Lab.Cas. P 10,029 George A. SCHILTZ, Appellant, v. BURLINGTON NORTHERN RAILROAD; Transportation Communications Union, et al., Appellees. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit) |
Charles Leo Friedman (argued), Minneapolis, Minnesota, for Appellant.
Diane Patricia Gerth (argued), St. Paul, Minnesota, for Appellees.
Before WOLLMAN and BEAM, Circuit Judges, and REASONER, 1 District Judge.
This is an appeal from the district court's 2 granting summary judgment in favor of Appellees Burlington Northern Railroad (BNR) and the Transportation Communications International Union (TCU), and against Appellant George Schiltz (Schiltz). Schiltz argues that the district court erred in: (1) determining that BNR had not discriminated against Schiltz on the basis of age when it failed to hire him for various jobs for which Schiltz had applied; (2) determining that Schiltz's union seniority rights were based in the Northeastern District, Number 5, as opposed to the St. Paul District, Number 3; (3) determining that BNR's refusal to grant Schiltz's union seniority rights in the St. Paul District was not based upon improper age discrimination; and (4) determining that TCU's refusal to represent Schiltz in his grievance before the National Railroad Adjustment Board (NRAB) was not a breach of its duty of fair representation and was not discriminatory. We affirm.
Schiltz began working for the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB & Q) at the age of eighteen in May of 1962; he was a clerical employee for the railroad in Chicago, Illinois. In this position, Schiltz was a union, or scheduled, employee and covered by the applicable collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between CB & Q and the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks (now TCU). In 1967, TCU and BNR entered into a CBA known as the "Orange Book" which covered all union employees working for that railroad. Subsequently, in 1970, the CB & Q, along with several other railroads, merged with BNR. Therefore, in 1970, Schiltz, now a BNR employee, fell under the ambit of the Orange Book.
In March of 1970, various union positions of BNR's Chicago office were transferred to BNR's office in St. Paul, Minnesota. However, at about this same time, Schiltz took an exempt, or non-union, position with BNR. Schiltz did move to St. Paul in 1970, and he worked there as a non-union employee for twenty-one years, that is, until he received a termination notice on September 16, 1991, effective October 31, 1991. This notice, sent by BNR's Senior Vice President for Human Resources, James Dagnon (Dagnon), informed Schiltz that his exempt position would be eliminated and that he would not be placed in another one. 3 This notice also gave Schiltz three options: (1) to sign a separation release which included severance pay; (2) to elect to exercise his union seniority rights to a location where he had union seniority; or (3) to terminate his employment without severance and without signing a release.
In October of 1991, Schiltz opted to return to the union ranks; however, he sought to exercise his seniority rights in the St. Paul district. Schiltz sent both BNR's Dagnon and TCU's General Chairman Richard A. Arndt (Arndt) letters to this effect. By letter dated October 29, 1991, Arndt informed Schiltz that his seniority was not in the St. Paul district, but in the Northeastern district. 4 On October 31, 1991, BNR also informed Schiltz that his seniority rights had remained in the Northeastern district, and he could not exercise his seniority rights in the St. Paul district. Subsequently, Schiltz informed BNR that he would grieve the location of his seniority rights; however, in November 1991, Schiltz also exercised, under protest, his seniority in the Northeastern seniority district and accepted a union position in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, a location within the Northeastern seniority district. Schiltz currently holds the position he took there. Moreover, both before and after Schiltz received his termination notice from Dagnon, Schiltz applied for various exempt positions with BNR. He was never offered any of the positions for which he applied.
Schiltz then grieved the location of his seniority rights through the appropriate channels within BNR. On November 25, 1991, BNR declined Schiltz's grievance. By letter dated December 6, 1991, Schiltz turned over his grievance to TCU's local representative for appeal. Arndt advised Schiltz in a letter dated December 30, 1991, that TCU would not progress his grievance to arbitration due to its lack of merit. Schiltz subsequently appealed Arndt's determination through proper channels within the union, and Arndt's determination that Schiltz's claim was meritless was affirmed at each stage in the process. Ultimately, Schiltz progressed his seniority appeal to the NRAB. On May 10, 1995, the NRAB rendered its decision regarding Schiltz's seniority status. The NRAB found that Schiltz seniority was based in the Northeastern seniority district. The NRAB found Schiltz had transferred to St. Paul in 1970 as an exempt employee; therefore, his seniority remained in the Northeastern district. Alternatively, the NRAB found that Schiltz's claim was barred under the equitable doctrine of laches, as each year the seniority roster for the St. Paul district had been posted in a conspicuous place, and Schiltz had never contested his name's not appearing thereon until the instigation of this suit.
Schiltz originally filed this action against BNR and TCU on August 19, 1993. Schiltz's original Complaint included counts of age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq., and age discrimination and retaliation under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, Minn.Stat. § 363.01 et seq., against BNR and TCU. The Complaint further alleged that BNR had violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq., and that BNR had breached its contract with Schiltz. Finally, the Complaint alleged TCU had breached its duty of fair representation that it owed Schiltz under the Railway Labor Act, 45 U.S.C. § 151 et seq.
By its Order dated March 3, 1994, the district court found the breach of contract claim against BNR to be arbitrable before the NRAB and dismissed the claim due to its lack of jurisdiction over the matter. This same Order separated the discrimination claims against BNR into three parts, and it dismissed as arbitrable the claim that BNR had discriminated against Schiltz on the basis of age in determining his seniority lay in the Northeastern district. By Order of December 22, 1994, the court granted summary judgment on the age discrimination claim based on BNR's refusal to place Schiltz in another management position. Finally, based upon stipulation of the parties in an Order dated November 3, 1995, the court dismissed the claim concerning BNR's age discrimination based upon the elimination of Schiltz's position. This same Order also dismissed the ERISA claim based upon stipulation of the parties.
By its Order dated December 22, 1994, the district court granted the motion of TCU and the other individually named defendants for summary judgment on Schiltz's claims under the Minnesota Human Rights Act. Moreover, the court denied TCU's motion for summary judgment on Schiltz's ADEA claim and his claim that the union had breached its duty of fair representation.
Schiltz's breach of contract claim then proceeded to arbitration before the NRAB, and on May 10, 1995, that body handed down its decision. The NRAB denied Schiltz's claim on the grounds listed above. See supra p. 1410.
Schiltz then sought reversal of the NRAB decision in district court. By its Order dated June 5, 1996, the district court denied Schiltz's motion to reverse the NRAB decision and granted TCU's motion for summary judgment on Schiltz's ADEA claim and his claim for breach of duty of fair representation. Schiltz raised four issues on appeal. See supra p. 1409.
With regard to the summary judgment granted on Schiltz's age discrimination, we review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the same standards as did the district court. Garner v. Arvin Indus., Inc., 77 F.3d 255, 257 (8th Cir.1996) (citations omitted). Summary judgment is only appropriate when the record is viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, when it reveals that no genuine issue of material fact is present, and when the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 56(c).
The ADEA makes it unlawful for an employer to fail to hire a prospective employee due to his or her age. 29 U.S.C. § 623(a)(1). In presenting a case based upon age discrimination, a plaintiff may either present direct evidence of the claimed discrimination or he may make out a case of discrimination under the burden-shifting analysis set forth in McDonnell Douglas v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Bashara v. Black Hills Corp., 26 F.3d 820, 823 (8th Cir.1994). In this case Schiltz attempted to prosecute his case with both direct and circumstantial evidence.
Schiltz points to two pieces of "direct" evidence which he claims illustrates BNR's discriminatory intent in not wanting to hire him for one of the eight jobs for which he made application: Dagnon's letter to Schiltz dated September 16, 1991 5 and Andres' use of factors such as grade level and salary in making hiring decisions for filling open positions. While the Dagnon letter may be unartfully written, when considered in light of the clarification letter sent by Mr. Steven Klug, BNR's Manager...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Hall v. Hormel Foods Corporation, 8:98CV304 (D. Neb. 2000)
...sufficiently younger to permit an inference of age discrimination was subsequently hired to fill the position. Schiltz v. Burlington N. R.R., 115 F.3d 1407, 1412 (8th Cir. 1997). Here, Mr. Hall was more than 40 years of age, and therefore a member of the protected class, when he applied for......
-
Scott v. Union Pac. R.R. Co.
...disputes between a railroad and its union employees are minor and, therefore, arbitrable under the RLA. See Schiltz v. Burlington N. R.R. , 115 F.3d 1407, 1414 (8th Cir. 1997). The Court notes that, if the claim is a "minor dispute" and is therefore completely preempted by the RLA, the prop......
-
Simonson v. Trinity Regional Health System
...to state a claim for failure to rehire or transfer in violation of the ADEA. See Def.'s App., at 073. In Schiltz v. Burlington Northern R.R., 115 F.3d 1407, 1412 (8th Cir.1997), the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals instructed courts to "vary the elements of the test in accordance with the fa......
-
Guz v. Bechtel National, Inc.
...[prima facie case is established where duties of 49- and 48-year-olds were partially assumed by 25-year-old]; Schlitz v. Burlington Northern R.R. (8th Cir.1997) 115 F.3d 1407, 1413 [five-year age gap between plaintiff applicant and persons selected is not significant]; Barber v. CSX Distrib......