Singletary v. Missouri Dept. of Corrections

• Decision Date: 14 September 2005
• Docket Number: No. 04-3505.,04-3505.
• Parties: Craig SINGLETARY, Appellant, v. MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

423 F.3d 886

Craig SINGLETARY, Appellant, v. MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, Appellee.

No. 04-3505.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: May 9, 2005.

Filed: September 14, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Kevin A. Graham, argued, Liberty, MO, for appellant.

Gail Vasterling, argued, Assistant Missouri Attorney General, Jefferson City, MO (Virginia Hurtubise Murray, Assistant Attorney General, Jefferson City, MO, on the brief), for appellee.

Before LOKEN, Chief Judge, BEAM and SMITH, Circuit Judges.

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

Appellant Craig Singletary filed suit against the Missouri Department of Corrections ("the Department") alleging violations of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and 42 U.S.C. § 1981 arising out of his employment as an Investigator with the Department. The district court¹ granted summary judgment in favor of the Department. Singletary appeals arguing that genuine issues of material fact remain thus precluding summary judgment. We affirm.

I. Background

Craig Singletary, an African-American male, was hired by the Department in September 1996 as a Corrections Officer I at the Jefferson City Correctional Center. In March 1998, Singletary voluntarily transferred to the Western Missouri Correctional Center (WMCC) in Cameron as a corrections officer and was soon promoted to the position of Investigator II.² Initially, Singletary had supervisory authority over another investigator, Bill Black, a white male. At the time of his transfer, Singletary's supervisor, the WMCC superintendent, was a white female, Lynda Taylor. Taylor was responsible for Singletary's promotion to Investigator II as she requested his appointment to investigator.

After a reorganization within the Department, investigators began reporting to an office in Jefferson City. Sko Grimes was the Inspector General of the Jefferson City office, and Mike Payne served as an intermediate supervisor between Grimes and the investigators. On April 8, 1998, Captain Corbett Fasching, an employee at WMCC, filed a written complaint against Singletary and, on April 10 and 11, orally referred to Singletary as a "nigger." In one of the remarks, Captain Fasching stated "you mean I can't call him a nigger" to Major Bob Gray. Major Gray reported the comment to a Human Relations Officer. Superintendent Taylor inquired about racist statements and Singletary voiced his concerns of racism to Supervisor Payne. Captain Fasching was demoted and transferred to another prison facility.

On April 15, Superintendent Taylor suspended Singletary and Black, while still in their probationary employment period, for allegedly conducting unauthorized investigations of the state vehicles assigned to Superintendent Taylor, and Mike Kemna, the Superintendent of a nearby correctional center, the Crossroads Correctional Center (CRCC). Further investigation into the events revealed that neither Singletary nor Black conducted the unauthorized investigations. The suspension—with pay and benefits—lasted eighty-nine days. Upon reinstatement, Black and Singletary were initially assigned to work at CRCC. The two were allowed to return to WMCC a few weeks later. Because Singletary and Black were on probation during their administrative leave, Superintendent Taylor requested that Michael Grease, Assistant Zone Director, extend their probationary periods to allow for a more accurate assessment of their abilities. Taylor's request was granted and Black's and Singletary's probationary period was extended eighty-nine days. During the extended suspension, Superintendent Taylor was replaced by Superintendent Steve Moore.

During Singletary's employment at WMCC, other employees and offender-residents of WMCC filed complaints against him. The department investigated each of those complaints. The investigations led to searches of Singletary's office, desk, briefcase, and in one instance, his confidential file cabinet. Although partially substantiated, none of the minor complaints prevented Singletary from being continually rated as "successful" or "highly successful" as an investigator. WMCC investigated complaints against white male investigators as well.

Also during Singletary's tenure, the Department investigated damage (scratches, damaged antenna, and flattened tires) done to Singletary's car at the work place. When Superintendent Moore learned of the damage to Singletary's car, he called local law enforcement. Bill Johnson, the Department's human resource officer, opined that Singletary was a "target" of other WMCC employees. Johnson's investigation revealed that WMCC resident-offenders and employees were sometimes attacked for helping Singletary perform his job as an internal investigator. He also noted that there appeared to be a racial problem at the WMCC. Inspector General Grimes met with Superintendent Moore to try and resolve the situation.

During the investigation of one complaint, Correctional Officer Gary Harper overheard another employee say that the "niggers around here always want to cause trouble." In October 2002 and March 2003, Superintendent Moore referred to Singletary, stating, "I see we have a little shiny face with us today," and "I see we have a shiny, little face running around here today." In another instance, WMCC staff posted a picture of Aunt Jemima in the prison during Black History Month.

Eventually, to resolve a grievance he had filed, Singletary proposed to the administration that he be transferred to the Kansas City Community Release Center (KCCRC). The Department responded that there were no Investigator II positions available at KCCRC, but that he could transfer there as an Investigator I and maintain his grade and pay. Singletary declined the offer. However, Singletary later agreed to transfer from WMCC to Western Reception Diagnostic and Correctional Center in St. Joseph. After Singletary left WMCC, a former employee of the Department allegedly heard Superintendent Moore refer to Singletary, stating, "that nappy headed little nigger won't be bothering us anymore. I got rid of him."

While Singletary was at WMCC, he never applied for a promotion and was never demoted. Singletary was never given leave without pay, and his benefits and pay rate were never reduced. Furthermore, Singletary's hours, job duties, and title as an Investigator never changed.

II. Discussion

We review grants of summary judgment de novo. Northern Natural Gas Co. v. Iowa Util. Bd., 377 F.3d 817, 820 (8th Cir.2004). Summary judgment is appropriate if the record, viewed in a light most favorable to the non-moving party, contains no questions of material fact and demonstrates that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Kincaid v. City of Omaha, 378 F.3d 799, 803 (8th Cir.2004); see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). In addition, we afford the non-moving party all reasonable inferences to be drawn from the record. Tlamka v. Serrell, 244 F.3d 628, 632 (8th Cir.2001). The moving party bears the burden of showing both the absence of a genuine issue of material fact and an entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. Kincaid, 378 F.3d at 803-04 (8th Cir.2004); see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). Once the moving party has met its burden, the non-moving party may not rest on the allegations of his pleadings, but must set forth specific facts, by affidavit or other evidence, showing that a genuine issue of material fact exists. Kincaid, 378 F.3d at 804 (8th Cir.2004); see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).

A. § 1981 Liability

Singletary first argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment to the Department on his § 1981 claim. The Department argues that it is shielded by immunity from § 1981 liability under the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution. While it is unclear whether the Department argued immunity to the district court, Eleventh Amendment immunity can be raised for the first time on appeal. Randolph v. Rodgers, 253 F.3d 342, 345 n. 3 (8th Cir.2001) (citing Edelman v. Jordan, 415 U.S. 651, 678, 94 S.Ct. 1347, 39 L.Ed.2d 662 (1974)). We have yet to decide whether a state enjoys Eleventh Amendment immunity against § 1981 liability. However, other circuits have uniformly held that a state is immunized from § 1981 liability under the Eleventh Amendment. See Wallace v. Texas Tech Univ., 80 F.3d 1042, 1046 (5th Cir.1996) (holding that Texas Tech and Texas Tech employees enjoy Eleventh Amendment immunity and qualified immunity respectively against § 1981 claims); Mitchell v. Los Angeles Cmty. Coll. Dist., 861 F.2d 198, 201 (9th Cir.1988) (holding that state entities possess Eleventh Amendment immunity from § 1981 claims); Freeman v. Michigan Dept. of State, 808 F.2d 1174, 1178 (6th Cir.1987) (surveying circuits holding that an action may not be brought against a state pursuant to § 1981). We agree with our sister circuits and conclude that the Department is immunized from any claim by Singletary brought under § 1981.³

B. Race Discrimination

Singletary next contends that the district court erred in determining that he failed to state a prima facie case of race discrimination under Title VII because he did not suffer an adverse employment action. A prima facie case requires Singletary to show that: (1) he is a member of a protected class; (2) he was meeting the employer's legitimate job expectations; (3) he suffered an adverse employment action; and (4) "similarly situated employees outside the protected class were treated differently." Shanklin v. Fitzgerald, 397 F.3d 596, 602 (8th Cir.2005) (citations omitted). The district court concluded that Singletary failed to produce evidence that he suffered an adverse employment action.⁴ We have described an adverse employment action as "a material employment disadvantage, such as a change in salary, benefits, or responsibilities." Sallis v. Univ. of Minn., 408 F.3d 470, 476 (8th Cir.2005) (citations omitted).

Singletary makes several claims of adverse employment, the most...