Thompson v. North American Stainless, Lp

• Decision Date: 20 June 2006
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 05-02.
• Citation: 435 F.Supp.2d 633
• Parties: Eric L. THOMPSON, Plaintiff, v. NORTH AMERICAN STAINLESS, LP, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Kentucky

435 F.Supp.2d 633

Eric L. THOMPSON, Plaintiff, v. NORTH AMERICAN STAINLESS, LP, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 05-02.

United States District Court, E.D. Kentucky, Frankfort.

June 20, 2006.

David O'Brien Suetholz, Herbert L. Segal, Segal, Stewart, Cutler, Lindsay, Janes & Berry, PLLC, Louisville, KY, for Plaintiff.

Carl D. Edwards, Jr., Gregory L. Monge, Leigh Gross Latherow, Vanantwerp, Monge, Jones & Edwards, Ashland, KY, for Defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER

CALDWELL, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on the Motion for Summary Judgment (Rec. No. 12) of the Defendant North American Stainless, FLP ("North American").

I. FACTS.

In his Complaint, the Plaintiff, Eric L. Thompson, alleges that he was employed by North American from February, 1997 to March, 2003. (Rec. No. 1, Complaint ¶ 6). He further asserts that, in September, 2002, his then-fiancé and current wife, who was also employed by North American, filed a charge with the EEOC alleging that the company discriminated against her because of her gender. (Rec. No. 1, Complaint ¶ 8). The EEOC notified North American of the charge in February, 2003. (Rec. No. 1, Complaint ¶ 8). Thompson alleges that, after receiving notice of his wife's EEOC complaint, North American retaliated against him by terminating him. (Rec. No. 1, Complaint ¶ 9).

II. STANDARD ON SUMMARY JUDGMENT.

Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56, summary judgment is appropriate where "the pleadings depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

The moving party bears the initial responsibility of "informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,' which it believes demonstrates the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The movant may meet this burden by demonstrating the absence of evidence supporting one or more essential elements of the nonmovant's claim. Id. at 322-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Once the movant meets this burden, the opposing party "must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e).

III. ANALYSIS.

A. Discriminatory Termination under 2000e-2(a).

Title VII makes it unlawful for an employer to "discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex or national origin ..." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1).

To establish a prima facie case of discrimination under Title VII, a plaintiff must demonstrate that: 1) he was a member of a protected class; 2) he was subject to an adverse employment action; 3) he was qualified for the job; and 4) for the same or similar conduct, he was treated differently from similarly situated non-minority employees. Perry v. McGinnis, 209 F.3d 597, 601 (6th Cir.2000).

In Bell v. Safety Grooving & Grinding, L.P., 107 Fed.Appx. 607 (6th Cir.2004), the Plaintiff, Bell, charged that his former employer declined to rehire him after a seasonal layoff because his girlfriend filed a gender discrimination charge against the employer with the EEOC. Id. at 609. Bell asserted both a retaliation claim and a discrimination claim under Title VII against the employer, arguing that the employer discriminated against him because of his association with his girlfriend — a member of a protected class. Id. With regard to the plaintiffs discrimination claim under § 2000e-2(a), the Sixth Circuit stated the following:

This court has found association with a protected party to be relevant under § 2000e-2(a) in just two situations; neither avails Bell's Title VII claim. In Tetro v. Elliott Popham Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, & GMC Trucks, Inc., the court reasoned that "a white employee who is discharged because his child is biracial is discriminated against on the basis of his race, even though the root animus for the discrimination is a prejudice against the biracial child." 173 F.3d 988, 994 (6th Cir.1999). The white employee was protected under Title VII not simply because of his relationship to his biracial child but because this relationship made the employee's own race the basis of his employer's discrimination, violating Title VII's prohibition against discrimination on the basis of race. Id. at 994-95. Bell, meanwhile, is claiming discrimination based solely on his relationship with his girlfriend, an association that — unlike the plaintiffs relationship with his child in Tetro — does not affect Bell's own Title VII status. And in Johnson v. University of Cincinnati, the court held that the plaintiff, a university administrator, stated a claim of Title VII discrimination not because of his status as an African-American but because of his advocacy on behalf of minorities and women. 215 F.3d 561, 575 (6th Cir.2000). We do not view Bell's actions on behalf of Fetty as analogous to the significant advocacy engaged in by the plaintiff in Johnson. Bell discussed neither Fetty's specific discrimination charge nor the general subject of sexual discrimination with Safety management. Moreover, Bell testified that he "didn't think [Fetty's treatment] was fair" but that he "didn't make a big issue out of it, not with anybody [at Safety]." At most, Bell complained to people at Safety about the company's business decision to have its full-time, male employees move traffic barrels instead of having Fetty move them. As he himself put it, "It was a labor issue with us men. It was not a discriminatory [sic] with us men."

Accordingly, Bell has not demonstrated that he is entitled to protection under § 2000e-2(a), and we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment on this claim.

Id.

In Johnson, the plaintiff was an African American who was employed by the University of Cincinnati as its Vice President of Human Resources and Human Relations and managed its affirmative action program. 215 F.3d at 566. He claimed that the University discharged him because of his efforts to insure that the University complied with its, affirmative action policies and because of his advocacy on behalf of women and minorities. Id. at 572.

As to the plaintiffs discrimination claim under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2, the district court held that the claim failed because he "postur[ed] his protected status, not as a member of a racial minority, but rather as a person who advocates on behalf of women and minorities." Id. at 573. The Sixth Circuit reversed, stating that "the fact that Plaintiff has not alleged discrimination because of his race is of no moment inasmuch as it was a racial situation in which Plaintiff became involved — Plaintiffs advocacy on behalf of women and minorities in relation to Defendant's alleged discriminatory hiring practices — that resulted in Plaintiffs discharge from employment." 215 F.3d at 575.

Though the plaintiff was an African American, the Court further stated that, "[i]t is clear that a Caucasian high-level affirmative action official could bring a claim under § 1981 and § 2000e-2(a) for discrimination based upon his advocacy on behalf of minorities because the discrimination would be `because of such individual's race,' where the race of the minorities for which he was advocating would be `imputed' if you will to the Caucasian high-level affirmative action official." Id.

Thompson has not alleged that he engaged in any significant advocacy on behalf of women or minorities. Thus, this is not a case like Johnson where the Court can impute a protected race or gender to Thompson. Further, unlike the plaintiff in Tetro, Thompson is not claiming that his relationship with his wife made Thompson's own race or gender the basis of his employer's discrimination. Accordingly, Thompson is not a member of a protected class for purposes of a discrimination claim under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2 and this claim fails as a matter of law.

B. Retaliation under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3.

Title VIPs antiretaliation provisions are found at 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3 which makes it unlawful for an "employer to discriminate against any of his employees .... because he has opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice" by Title VII "or because he has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding or hearing under" Title VII. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a).

In order to succeed on a Title VII retaliation claim, the plaintiff must show: 1) that he engaged in activity protected by Title VII; 2) that he was the subject of an adverse employment action; and 3) that there exists a causal link between his protected activity and the adverse action of his employer. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Ohio Edison Co., 7 `F.3d 541, 543 (6th Cir.1993).

To the extent that Thompson claims that he was retaliated against due to his own activities in opposition to his employer's treatment of his fiancé, he has not present ed any evidence that he sufficiently opposed any act made unlawful under Title VII to warrant § 2000e-3(a) protection against retaliation. Likewise, Thompson has not presented any evidence that North American was aware of any assistance he may have provided his fiancé in filing her EEOC complaint.

Thompson's complaint, however, is not that he was retaliated against because of his own protected activity, but that he was retaliated against because his fiancé filed an EEOC complaint against North American. Again, Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against an employee "because he has opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice by this subchapter, or because he has made a charge,...