Strom v. Companies
| Decision Date | 06 June 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. C09–4025–MWB.,C09–4025–MWB. |
| Citation | 789 F.Supp.2d 1060 |
| Parties | Jolene STROM, Plaintiff,v.HOLIDAY COMPANIES, Spencer Oil Co., and Ken Bloom, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Brooke Catherine Timmer, Paige Ellen Fiedler, Whitney C. Judkins, Fiedler Newkirk, PLC, Urbandale, IA, for Plaintiff.Michael A. Giudicessi, Angela Marie Wolfe Kelley, Karin Johnson, Faegre & Benson, Des Moines, IA, Craig Franklin Martin, Lamson, Dugan & Murray, LLP, Omaha, NE, for Defendant.
A former female sales associate of a convenience store alleges that she was subjected to sexual harassment and retaliation 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, IOWA CODE CH. 216. The defendants—the company and the store manager—have moved for summary judgment on all of the plaintiff's claims. Thus, I must determine which, if any, of the plaintiff's claims should go to a jury.
On August 5, 2009, plaintiff Jolene Strom filed an amended complaint against her former employer, defendants Holiday Companies and Spencer Oil Co. (collectively “Holiday”), and her former supervisor, Ken Bloom, alleging the following causes of action: (1) claims of sexual harassment, sex discrimination and retaliation in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. ; and (2) a pendent state law claim under the Iowa Civil Rights Act (“ICRA”) for sexual harassment, sex discrimination and retaliation, Iowa Code Ch. 216.
On January 27, 2011, defendants filed their Motion For Summary Judgment. First, defendants claim that Strom cannot establish a prima facie case of hostile work environment sexual harassment because the alleged harassment was not based on Strom's sex and was not so severe or pervasive as to alter a term, condition, or privilege of employment and/or did not rise to an actionable level. Second, defendants contend Holiday is not vicariously liable for any alleged sexual harassment. Third, defendants assert Strom cannot establish a prima facie case of retaliation. On March 9, 2011, Strom resisted defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, arguing that there are genuine issues of material facts in dispute regarding all of her claims. On March 29, 2011, defendants filed their reply brief in support of their Motion for Summary Judgment.
I will not attempt here an exhaustive dissertation on the undisputed and disputed facts in this case. Rather, I will set forth sufficient of the facts, both undisputed and disputed, to put in context the parties' arguments concerning the defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. Unless otherwise indicated, the facts recited here are undisputed, at least for purposes of summary judgment. Additional factual allegations and the extent to which they are or are not disputed or material will be discussed, if necessary, in my legal analysis.
The dramatis personae of interest in this ruling are plaintiff Jolene Strom, a 56 year old former sales associate of defendants Holiday Companies and Spencer Oil Co.; Holiday, a Minnesota corporation operating over 400 retail convenience stores in ten states, including a store in Denison, Iowa; Spencer, an Iowa corporation which is an affiliated entity of Holiday and the name under which Holiday does business in Iowa; defendant Ken Bloom, Holiday's Denison Store Manager and Strom's supervisor; Wanda DeConnick, Holiday's Denison Store Assistant Manager; Ariel Peterson, Stacey Bohlin and Jeremy Davis, sales associates at Holiday's Denison store; Chuck Monson, Regional Manager overseeing Holiday's Denison store; Art French, District Manager responsible for Holiday's Denison store; Andrea Fischer, Holiday's Director of Human Resources; and, Deborah Melton, a Holiday Human Resources Generalist who served as the primary human services contact for Holiday's Denison store.
On March 18, 2008, Strom began working as a sales associate at the Holiday store in Denison, Iowa. Strom's job application provides in part:
I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION AND ANY OTHER COMPANY DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING EMPLOYEE HANDBOOKS, ARE NOT INTENDED TO CREATE AND DO NOT CREATE, AN EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT BETWEEN THE COMPANY AND ME. THE COMPANY AND ITS EMPLOYEES HAVE AN EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP WHICH IS KNOWN AS EMPLOYMENT AT WILL. THIS MEANS AN EMPLOYEE IS NOT REQUIRED TO WORK FOR THE COMPANY FOR ANY SET PERIOD OF TIME. AN EMPLOYEE MAY VOLUNTARILY LEAVE UPON PROPER NOTICE. THE COMPANY IS ALSO NOT REQUIRED TO EMPLOY AN EMPLOYEE FOR ANY SET PERIOD OF TIME. AN EMPLOYEE MAY BE TERMINATED BY THE COMPANY AT ANY TIME.
Strom's Employment Application at 3, Defendants' App. at 296. Strom was told when she was hired that she would average 36 to 40 hours per week. Strom was paid $7.75 per hour. As a sales associate, Strom's job duties included:
• Provide customers with courteous, efficient service in a way that encourages them to come back
• Comply with company policies and procedures
• Prevent gasoline theft and inventory losses
• Process all register transactions and handle currency to ensure employee safety and protect company funds
• Receive, verify, and process merchandise and vendor shipments
• Stock and display merchandise and supplies to prevent being out of stock on an item a customer stopped in to purchase
• Clean and maintain interior and exterior Stationstore appearances to attract and retain customers
• Assist training new associates (with an emphasis on excellent customer service) when necessary
• Monitor and maintain all food service areas to company standards that will attract and retain customers while preventing illness
• Assist food service areas to meet customer needs
• Perform as a cooperative team member in all aspects of the Stationstore's operation
• Other duties as requested by authorized personnel
Sales Associate Job Description at 1, Defendants' App. at 318.
Ken Bloom was the store's manager and Strom's supervisor. As Store Manager, Bloom's job duties included, among others, recruiting, hiring, training, and supervising the Denison store associates, assigning work schedules and daily tasks to those associates, and complying with the company's policies and procedures. Strom reported directly to Bloom. Wanda DeConnick was the store's assistant manager. As assistant manager, DeConnick's job duties included, among others:
Assist Stationstore Manager with store operations including checkout, merchandising, layout, product inventory, bookkeeping, and maintenance. Control cash and merchandise shrinkage. Hire, supervise, and train Stationstore personnel and provide excellent customer service.
Assistant Manager Job Description at 1, Defendants' App. at 240. Ariel Peterson and Stacey Bohlin were both employed as sales associates at the store. Other than Bloom, the only other male employee whose tenure overlapped with Strom was Jeremy Davis and he only worked on March 18, and 19, 2008.
Holiday assigns a District Manager and Human Resources Generalist to each of its stores. The District Manager's job duties include, among others, developing and enforcing procedures for the district, supervising employee development, providing “counsel to management and employees on operational and employee relation issues in conjunction with Human Resources.” District Manager Job Description at 1, Defendants' App. at 330. On May 1, 2008, Art French became District Manager responsible for Holiday's Denison store. French was based in Nebraska during May, June, and July 2008, and served as District Manager for approximately eleven to thirteen Holiday Stores in Nebraska, Iowa, and South Dakota. French left his business cards at the Denison store with his contact information. Strom never met French and never saw any of his business cards at the store. During the time Strom worked for Holiday, Andrea Fischer was Holiday's Director of Human Resources, and Deborah Melton held the position of Human Resources Generalist. Melton served as the primary human services contact for Holiday's Denison store.
While Strom was employed by Holiday, it had a sexual harassment policy in place. This...
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