Smith v. Eaton Corp.
| Decision Date | 01 February 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. C00-3087-MWB.,C00-3087-MWB. |
| Citation | 195 F.Supp.2d 1079 |
| Parties | Nicole K. SMITH, Plaintiff, v. EATON CORPORATION, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa |
Jean M Baker, Hopkins & Huebner, Des Moines, IA, for Nicole K Smith, plaintiffs.
Maurice B Nieland, Rebecca A Nelson, Rawlings Neiland Probasco, Killinger Ellwanger Jacobs, et al, Sioux City, IA, F Daniel Balmert, pro hac vice, Ellen Toth, pro hac vice, Cleveland, OH, for Eaton Corporation, defendants.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION .................................................................1082
A. Procedural Background .....................................................1082
B. Factual Background ........................................................1082
II. LEGAL ANALYSIS ..............................................................1089
A. Standards For Summary Judgment ............................................1089
1. Requirements of Rule 56 ................................................1089
2. The parties' burdens ...................................................1090
3. Summary judgment in employment discrimination cases ....................1090
B. Claims of Sexual Discrimination ...........................................1092
1. Disparate treatment claim ..............................................1092
2. Hostile work environment claim .........................................1095
C. Retaliation Claim .........................................................1097
III. CONCLUSION .................................................................1099
On September 20, 2000, plaintiff Nicole E. Smith filed this sex discrimination law-suit in the Iowa District Court In And For Wright County against her former employer, Eaton Corporation ("Eaton"). Plaintiff Smith was employed at Eaton's plant in Belmond, Iowa. Defendant Eaton removed this case to this court on October 26, 2000, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441. On April 12, 2001, plaintiff Smith filed an amended complaint. Smith alleges in her amended complaint that she was subjected to sexual harassment and discrimination during her employment with Eaton and that her employment was terminated in retaliation for her complaining about harassing conduct of her co-workers. Specifically, Smith alleges that she was discriminated against on the basis of her gender, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. and the Iowa Civil Rights Act (ICRA), IOWA CODE Ch. 216. She further contends that she was subjected to sexual discrimination in the form of a hostile work environment, in violation of Title VII and the ICRA. Finally, Smith alleges that she was fired after she reported sexual harassment in retaliation, in violation of Title VII and the ICRA. Eaton answered Smith's amended complaint on July 31, 2001, denying all of these claims.
On October 5, 2001, Eaton filed a motion for summary judgment. In its motion, Eaton asserts that Smith cannot establish a prima facie case of sex discrimination. Eaton further asserts that even if Smith is able to make out a prima facie case of sex discrimination, Eaton has demonstrated a non-discriminatory reason for her discharge and Smith has failed to offer admissible evidence that Eaton's reason for her dismissal is pretexual. Eaton also asserts that Smith's factual allegations of harassment, even if true, do not constitute a sexually hostile work environment. Finally, Eaton also contends that Smith was not terminated for complaining about sexual harassment. Smith filed a timely resistance to Eaton's motion on October 22, 2001, in which she disputes Eaton's arguments. Eaton filed a reply to Smith's resistance on October 29, 2001. Before discussing the standards for Eaton's Motion for Summary Judgment, however, the court will first examine the factual background of this case.
The court heard oral arguments on defendant Eaton's motion for summary judgment on January 29, 2002. At the oral arguments, plaintiff Smith was represented by counsel Jean Baker of the Baker Law Office, West Des Moines, Iowa. Defendant Eaton was represented by counsel Ellen Toth of Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, L.L.P., Cleveland, Ohio. The parties have filed thorough briefs in support of their respective positions. The oral arguments were very informative and cogently presented.
The following facts are either undisputed or viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiff Smith as the nonmoving party. Plaintiff Nicole E. Smith began working for Eaton as a "weekend warrior" on June 27, 1994, at Eaton's Belmond, Iowa plant. Smith worked as a visual and pack employee on a valve production line. In this position, Smith was responsible for visually inspecting and packaging the valves produced on the assembly line. On April 1, 1997, Smith became a full-time employee of Eaton, working as a visual and pack employee on the second shift of the 800 line. In November 1997, Smith was trained as auditor to fill in for an employee who was taking a leave of absence. At Eaton, an auditor shares the same job duties as a visual and pack employee but has additional responsibility for quality control. On the production and inspection line, an auditor inspects the valves and communicates potential problems to the machine operators or other team members. As a result, the auditor is responsible for detecting and correcting production defects in the valves and communicating these problems to the other team members. Among the duties detailed in the job description for Smith's position were:
B. Consults with audit and line personnel to identify quality problems.
. . . . .
E. Visually inspect parts for quality defects and removes defective parts from the process. May stop and correct the process to meet product quality requirements.
. . . . .
M. Actively participates as a functioning team member of a self managed work team.
Job Description at 1, Defendant's Ex. 3, App. 39.
During the time of Smith's employment with Eaton, Eaton's Belmond plant was run by self managed work teams of employees. Eaton used "plant management guides" in order to realize the goal of teamwork. Eaton also had in place an Equal Employment Opportunity Policy and a Harassment Free Workplace Policy.
As a visual and pack auditor, it was part of Smith's job duties to assist the packing employees and prevent the valves from piling up at the end of the line. All team members, including auditors, are required to cover for employees who are taking breaks. Smith objected to management's requests that she relieve other employees who were on break.
During Smith's employment with Eaton, Eaton received multiple complaints from her managers and co-workers regarding Smith's workplace performance and activities. Eaton's management counseled Smith about the complaints lodged against her. On October 13, 1997, after receiving complaints from workers on Smith's line that she was spreading rumors about personnel on that line, John T. Swisher, shift superintendent, counseled Smith about her actions:
I brought Niki into my office and told her that this type of behavior was childish (the type of behavior I would expect from someone in high school) and that it needed to stop. It was detrimental to the team and would only cause further hard feelings. Niki asked if I thought she was childish (acting like a high school girl). I didn't respond and I believe I had made my point.
Internal Correspondence at 1, Defendant's Ex. 1-Y, App. 35. On October 20, 1997, Kellie Howieson, a third shift employee, informed John Swisher that Smith had approached her on October 18, 1997, to gossip about Tim Smith, Smith's former boyfriend, and Vanessa Spencer, Tim Smith's current girlfriend. On October 21, 1997, John Swisher again counseled Smith about her gossiping actions:
Counseling sessions were held individually concerning the gossip ring that had developed between Ellen, Mary, Barb, and Niki. I advised all four associates that I would no longer tolerate this kind of behavior and that it was having an extremely negative effect on the 800-line team. I also advised all four associates that this gossiping and rumor spreading was a violation of the plant's harassment free workplace policy, and that if it continued that a more severe course of disciplinary action would be pursued (up to and including termination).
Internal Correspondence at 1, Defendant's Ex. 1-W, App. 33.
Over the course of the next several months, a number of meetings were held between Smith and her Eaton supervisors in order to address both Smith's concerns and to improve Smith's work performance. On February 20, 1998, Michael Bush, Eaton's Human Resources Manager, met with Smith at her request. At this meeting, Smith complained, inter alia, about Darren Peil, a team facilitator, instructing her to keep valves packed in boxes, his permitting Tim Smith and Vanessa Spencer to take their breaks at the same time and then requiring her to cover for them while on break, and her belief that Peil disliked her because she was Asian-American. On February 23, 1998, Bush met with Peil and Smith to address Smith's complaints about the activities on the production line and her concerns that Peil held racial animosity toward Smith. Peil denied harboring racial animosity toward Smith because she was Asian-American and explained that because they were short staffed at the time everyone needed to cover each other to keep the line moving smoothly. Peil and Bush explained to Smith that packing valves and keeping the conveyor area from getting piled up were part of the job of a visual and pack auditor.
On March 24, 1998, ...
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