Staffier v. Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp.

• Decision Date: 19 June 1995
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 93-40023-NMG.
• Citation: 888 F. Supp. 287
• Parties: John STAFFIER and Pamela Staffier, Plaintiffs, v. SANDOZ PHARMACEUTICALS CORP., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts

888 F. Supp. 287

John STAFFIER and Pamela Staffier, Plaintiffs, v. SANDOZ PHARMACEUTICALS CORP., Defendant.

Civ. A. No. 93-40023-NMG.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

June 19, 1995.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Frederick T. Golder, Bernstein, Golder & Miller, Lynnfield, MA, Richard T. Tucker, Weinstein, Bernstein & Burwick, Worcester, MA, for plaintiff John Staffier.

Frederick T. Golder, Bernstein, Golder & Miller, Lynnfield, MA, for plaintiff Pamela M. Staffier.

Patrick M. Stanton, Peter O. Hughes, Stanton, Hughes, Diana & Zucker, P.C., Florham Park, NJ, Kevin Light, Choate, Hall & Stewart, Boston, MA, for defendant Sandoz Pharmaceuticals, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

GORTON, District Judge.

The plaintiffs, John and Pamela Staffier, bring this action against the defendant, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals Corp. ("Sandoz"), claiming age and handicap discrimination, in violation of both M.G.L. c. 151B and c. 93, § 103, and loss of consortium. Pending before this Court is the motion of Sandoz for summary judgment on all three counts of the plaintiffs' amended complaint.

I. BACKGROUND

The relevant facts are recited in the light most favorable to the Staffiers. O'Connor v. Steeves, 994 F.2d 905, 907 (1st Cir.1993).

John Staffier ("Staffier") worked for Sandoz in a variety of positions from 1956 to 1983, at which time he held the position of Senior Associate Medical Sciences Liaison. In September, 1983, Staffier took a medical leave of absence for depression and emotional stress. He remained on long-term disability for almost nine years, until early 1992.

On February 5, 1992, Staffier informed Carolyn Hammond, the Associate Director of Human Resources at Sandoz, that he wanted to return to work. Hammond referred Staffier to the Sandoz Corporate Health Department, from which Staffier had to obtain medical clearance. The Health Department, in turn, informed Staffier that, in order to gain clearance, he had to submit a certificate of "fitness to work" completed by a physician.

On March 5, 1992, Sandoz received a letter from Dr. William Rothney stating that Staffier could return to work on June 1, 1992. Dr. Rothney did not, however, complete the required medical certification form nor submit pertinent information sought in that form.¹ Consequently, Sandoz did not consider Staffier cleared to return to work at that time.

During the remainder of March and all of April, 1992, both Sandoz and Staffier failed to contact Dr. Rothney, or any other physician, to obtain the necessary medical clearance. Finally, on or about May 5, 1992, Sandoz waived the medical certification requirement and cleared Staffier to return to work based solely on Dr. Rothney's letter.

On May 13, 1992, Ms. Hammond notified Staffier that there were no openings at his previous position, Senior Associate Medical Sciences Liaison, which he had held nearly nine years earlier. Instead, Staffier was offered eighteen possible positions as a sales representative in the Office-Based Sales Division. Staffier, however, rejected those positions because they were 1) entry-level jobs that would constitute a demotion and 2) located outside of New England.

Sandoz extended Staffier's long-term disability benefits until August 31, 1992, so that the parties could find a suitable position for him with the company. In addition, Sandoz offered Staffier a salary equal to that which he was earning before his medical leave of absence, regardless of the position eventually accepted.

Sometime in July, 1992, Staffier asked Ms. Hammond about two sales representative jobs that he believed had opened up in Massachusetts. Ms. Hammond was unaware of those openings but, upon investigation, learned that 1) two positions in Massachusetts had been available in early 1992, and 2) two candidates had been recruited and hired to fill those positions by mid April, 1992.

On August 12, 1992, Sandoz extended Staffier's leave of absence for six months enabling him to wait for an opening in Massachusetts. He informed Sandoz that he was no longer interested in extending his leave of absence and instead opted for an early retirement effective August 31, 1992. Staffier commenced this lawsuit on December 24, 1992.

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Summary Judgment shall be rendered where the pleadings, discovery on file and affidavits, if any, show "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The Court must view the entire record in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, the nonmoving parties, and indulge all reasonable inferences in their favor. O'Connor, 994 F.2d at 907.

With respect to a motion for summary judgment, the burden is on the moving party to show that "there is an absence of evidence to support the non-moving party's case." FDIC v. Municipality of Ponce, 904 F.2d 740, 742 (1st Cir.1990), quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). If the movant satisfies that burden, it shifts to the nonmoving party to establish the existence of a genuine material issue. Id. In deciding whether a factual dispute is genuine, this Court must determine whether "the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); accord Aponte-Santiago v. Lopez-Rivera, 957 F.2d 40, 41 (1st Cir.1992) (citing Andersen). The nonmovant's assertion of mere allegation or denial of the pleadings is insufficient on its own to establish a genuine issue of material fact. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56.

III. DISCUSSION

A. Age and Handicap Discrimination in Violation of M.G.L. c. 151B (Count 1)

In count 1, the plaintiffs claim that Sandoz committed age and handicap discrimination, in violation of the Massachusetts employment discrimination statute, M.G.L. c. 151B, when it failed to grant Staffier one of the two sales representative positions that became available in early 1992. In examining a claim of age and/or handicap discrimination under Chapter 151B where there is no direct evidence of such discrimination, the Court applies a version of the burden-shifting framework first adopted in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1824, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), and recently modified by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ("the SJC") in Blare v. Husky Injection Molding Systems Boston, Inc., 419 Mass. 437, 646 N.E.2d 111 (1995). See also White v. University of Massachusetts at Boston, 410 Mass. 553, 557, 574 N.E.2d 356 (1991); Woods v. Friction Materials, Inc., 30 F.3d 255, 263 (1st Cir.1994).

Under the McDonnell Douglas framework, a plaintiff must first establish a prima facie case of discrimination. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824. To establish a prima facie case of discrimination in this case, which is, in essence, a failure-to-hire situation, the plaintiffs need to show that:

1) Staffier is a member of a protected class,

2) Staffier applied and was qualified for the position in question,

3) despite his qualifications, Staffier was rejected, and

4) after rejection, the position remained open and the employer continued to seek applicants from persons with Staffier's qualifications.

See Woods, 30 F.3d at 259.

If the plaintiffs carry their burden to establish a prima facie case of discrimination, it will be presumed that Sandoz engaged in handicap and/or age discrimination. See Id. At that point, the burden shifts to Sandoz to "rebut this presumption by articulating a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for its decision not to hire Staffier." Id. at 260.

The SJC has recently drawn an important distinction between Chapter 151B and the federal anti-discrimination provisions of Title VII at the third and final stage of the McDonnell Douglas framework. Blare, 419 Mass. at 440-45, 646 N.E.2d 111. Under Title VII, after the defendant has asserted its "legitimate" reason for its employment decision, "the claimant must prove both that the employer's articulated reason is false, and that discrimination was the actual reason for its employment action." Woods, 30 F.3d at 260 (emphasis in original, citations omitted). See also St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 2749, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993). Under Massachusetts law, however, the plaintiffs need only produce sufficient evidence to show that the employer's reasons are pretextual. Blare, 419 Mass. at 446, 646 N.E.2d 111 ("If the fact finder concludes that the plaintiff has proved that the employer's reasons are a pretext, then the plaintiff prevails"). The plaintiffs, therefore, need not present evidence of the company's alleged discriminatory animus to survive this summary judgment motion.

1. The Staffiers' Prima Facie Case

The plaintiffs claim that Sandoz discriminated against Staffier and thus violated Chapter 151B by failing to offer him an available sales representative position in Massachusetts. The Court finds, however, that the plaintiffs have not cleared their first hurdle to establish a prima facie case of discrimination.

The Court accepts, for the purposes of this motion, the claim that Staffier is a member of a protected class (by age and/or handicap), but the plaintiffs have not established that Staffier applied and was qualified for the sales representative position in question. Indeed, the evidence shows Staffier did not have medical clearance to return to work when the two sales positions were available. The date on which Staffier gained medical clearance is not in dispute. In his own deposition, Staffier stated that he received notice from Sandoz on or about May 5, 1992, that he was eligible to return to work. Plaintiff Dep. Tr. 131:10-15. The "Certification" of Dr. Sims ("Sims Cert.") supports Staffier's deposition testimony. Sims Cert. at 9.

The plaintiffs argue that Sandoz...