Smith v. Chevron USA, Inc., 93-CV-3263.
| Decision Date | 16 February 1995 |
| Docket Number | No. 93-CV-3263.,93-CV-3263. |
| Citation | 876 F. Supp. 70 |
| Parties | Wesley M. SMITH, Plaintiff, v. CHEVRON USA, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania |
Sheldon Tabb, Elkins Park, PA, for plaintiff.
Phinorice J. Boldin-Dixon, Lloyd S. Markind, Arnelle & Hastie, Philadelphia, PA, for defendant.
DECISION
This Title VII case was tried before this Court in a non-jury trial on November 7-9, 1994. The plaintiff is Wesley Smith, a black male who alleges that he was terminated by the defendant, Chevron, USA ("Chevron"), on account of his race. The parties have submitted their proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law and the matter is now ripe for decision. Accordingly, the Court makes the following factual findings and legal conclusions.
1. In 1974, Mr. Smith was hired by the Gulf Oil Company and worked at its refinery in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Tr., Vol. I, pp. 13-14).
2. In 1986, Chevron purchased the refinery from Gulf. Most of Gulf's employees, including Mr. Smith, were retained by Chevron. (Tr., Vol. I, pp. 8-10).
3. From July 1, 1986 until he was terminated on November 25, 1991, Mr. Smith worked for Chevron in the blending and shipping department of the refinery. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 13).
4. Mr. Smith worked as a pumper and an operator while employed by Chevron. In these capacities, Mr. Smith was charged with monitoring the flow of oils and other petroleum products to and from tanks and vessels, as well as lining up piping to facilitate these transfers, in accordance with the wishes of his supervisors. (Tr., Vol. III, p. 42).
5. The task of monitoring product flow required the operator to measure and record the levels of the various tanks to ensure that overfills did not occur. Generally, the process of measuring tank levels entailed reading the gauges on the tank. (Tr., Vol. II, p. 133).
6. Overfills could result in the spill of petroleum product onto the ground, or the release of vapors into the air, which could result in environmental and personal harm. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 44).
7. Operators were required to hand gauge a tank if the tank was filled to within five feet of its maximum safe capacity or if the operator had reason to believe that the gauges were not working properly (e.g., if the operator knew a tank was either being filled or emptied and that activity was not reflected in the gauge reading). (Tr., Vol. II, p. 134).
8. Chevron required that its employees receive a performance evaluation at least every two years, although supervisors were permitted to issue evaluations annually if they so desired. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 29).
9. For the period ending in October, 1987, Mr. Smith received an evaluation in the "middle range of performance," which was the evaluation received by most employees. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 30).
10. For the periods ending in October, 1988 and October, 1989, Mr. Smith again received evaluations in the "middle range of performance." (Tr., Vol. I, pp. 31-33).
11. For the period ending in October, 1990, Mr. Smith's evaluation fell to that of "minimum acceptable performance." (Tr., Vol. I, p. 34).
12. Chevron employed a progressive disciplinary system to respond to employee negligence and misconduct. (Tr., Vol. II, p. 105).
13. Thus, an employee would receive punishments of increasing severity for successive infractions of company policy. (Tr., Vol. II, p. 105).
14. These punishments included oral warnings, written warnings, suspensions, and termination. (Tr., Vol. II, p. 105).
15. Punishments were meted out according to the severity of the event and the responsible individual's disciplinary history. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 46).
16. Mr. Smith was terminated on November 25, 1991, ten days after a tank that he was charged with monitoring overfilled. (Tr., Vol. II, p. 166). Prior to this incident, Mr. Smith had been disciplined several times for various infractions of company policy. These incidents are detailed below.
The first incident
17. The first such time occurred on June 15, 1985, while the refinery was still operated by Gulf. On that day, Mr. Smith was assigned the task of lining up piping to facilitate the transfer of heavy naphtha, a petroleum product, from one tank to another. (Tr., Vol. I, pp. 75-76).
18. Some time later, Mr. Smith's supervisor discovered that the heavy naphtha had become contaminated with another product. After an investigation, the supervisor determined that the contamination had occurred because Mr. Smith had failed to perform the line-up properly. (Tr., Vol. II, p. 110).
19. As a result of Mr. Smith's error, the product was unfit for shipment as scheduled. (Tr., Vol. II, pp. 108-09).
20. Mr. Smith explained by stating that he had not received sufficient training to accomplish this task, but he accepted full responsibility for this mistake. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 76).
21. Mr. Smith received an oral warning as a result of this mishap. (Tr., Vol. II, p. 110).
The second incident
22. The next day, June 16, 1985, Mr. Smith was again tasked with lining up piping to facilitate the transfer of a petroleum product from one tank to another. Mr. Smith delegated this task to his assistant, a black man named Harry Booker. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 76, 124).
23. Once again, the product became contaminated because the job had not been properly aligned. (Tr., Vol. II, p. 110).
24. Mr. Smith's error caused an upset in one of the refinery's units. (Tr., Vol. II, p. 110).
25. Mr. Smith was disciplined by means of a written warning which informed him that continued unsatisfactory work performance or violations of company policy would result in further discipline in the form of time off or discharge. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 76; Vol. II, pp. 110-11).
The third incident
26. On May 31, 1986, Mr. Smith was assigned the task of completing a monthly inventory report. Mr. Smith delegated this task to Mr. Booker. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 82).
27. Some time later, it became clear that the information in the monthly inventory report was erroneous. (Tr., Vol. II, pp. 111-12).
28. As a result of this incident, the inventory figures for the entire month were inaccurate and of no use. Hours of work were required to correct the inventory figures. (Tr., Vol. II, pp. 111-12).
29. Mr. Smith received a two-day suspension as a result of this incident. Mr. Booker was not disciplined. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 82; Vol. II, pp. 111-12).
The fourth incident
30. On April 15, 1988, Mr. Smith was assigned the task of monitoring the flow of various petroleum products in and out of a number of tanks, including tank number 494. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 78).
31. Shortly before midnight on April 15, Mr. Smith read and recorded the level of product in tank 494, a tank with a maximum safe level of 27 and ½ feet. The gauge indicated that level of product in the tank was 28 feet. (Tr., Vol. II, p. 79).
32. Mr. Smith failed to take any action to address the situation. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 86).
33. At midnight, Mr. Smith turned his records in to his supervisor, a white man named William McVean. Mr. McVean also failed to take any corrective measures. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 79; Vol. III, p. 26).
34. At 5:15 A.M. on April 16, 1988, Mr. Smith discovered that tank 494 had overfilled. The evidence revealed that the tank began to overfill two to three hours before Mr. Smith discovered the spill. (Tr., Vol. III, p. 85).
35. As a result of Mr. Smith's inattention, over 80,000 gallons of petroleum product had spilled onto the ground, creating a significant risk of environmental and personal harm. (Tr., Vol. III, pp. 85-86).
36. As a result, Mr. Smith was suspended for four days. Mr. McVean received a written warning. (Tr., Vol. III, p. 25, 27-28).
37. The disparity in disciplinary measures was due to Mr. Smith's more extensive disciplinary history. (Tr., Vol. III, p. 25-26).
The fifth incident
38. On June 21, 1990, Mr. Smith was charged with lining up piping to effectuate a transfer of heavy naphtha from a tank to a barge. (Tr., Vol. I, 144-45).
39. Mr. Smith was aware that contamination of heavy naphtha by another product could render it useless. (Tr., Vol. I, pp. 146-47).
40. Some time after Mr. Smith lined up the job, his supervisor became aware the heavy naphtha had become contaminated with another petroleum product. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 149).
41. Mr. Smith complained that Joseph Knisely, a white employee who worked on the previous shift, had left a valve open that was normally closed. It was, however, Mr. Smith's duty to ensure that the piping was properly aligned. (Tr., Vol. I, pp. 147, 149-50).
42. Mr. Smith received a five day suspension, while the white employee was not disciplined. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 152).
The final incident
43. On November 14, 1991, Mr. Smith was charged with monitoring the flow of petroleum products to and from various tanks, including tank number 292. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 152).
44. When Mr. Smith assumed the watch from Mr. Knisely at 6:00 PM on November 14, he was or should have been aware that tank 292 had been filling since 7:30 that morning. The records indicate that although the tank was filling, an increase in the tank's level was not reflected in the gauge readings during Mr. Knisely's watch. (Tr., Vol. I, pp. 153-55).
45. At 7:17 P.M, Mr. Smith read and recorded the gauge on tank 292, noting that the tank level remained constant. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 160, 168).
46. At 11:50 P.M., Mr. Smith read the gauge and recorded a level which again indicated that no appreciable increase in the tank's level was registering on the gauge. Mr. Smith failed to hand gauge the tank or take any other corrective measures. (Tr., Vol. I, p. 160, 170).
47. At 3:45 A.M. on November 15, other employees noticed that the tank had overfilled. After an investigation, it was determined that the overfill was due largely to Mr. Smith's...
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