Toth v. Gates Rubber Co., 97-WY-2662-AJ.
| Citation | 31 F.Supp.2d 1249 |
| Decision Date | 15 December 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-WY-2662-AJ.,97-WY-2662-AJ. |
| Parties | Zora L. TOTH, Ph.D., Plaintiff, v. GATES RUBBER COMPANY, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Colorado |
Lee Thomas Judd, Andrew T. Brake, PC, Englewood, CO, for Zora L. Toth, Ph.D., plaintiff.
David Bradley Ellis, Michael D. Plachy, Rothgerber, Johnson & Lyons, LLP, Denver, CO, for Gates Rubber Company, defendant.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
The defendant's motion for summary judgment, the plaintiff's response thereto, and the defendant's further reply came before the Court for hearing. Following the hearing, the Court permitted plaintiff to file additional materials in support of her opposition to the motion. The Court, having considered the arguments of counsel at the hearing, reviewed the parties' submissions and the pleadings of record, the applicable law, and being fully advised, FINDS that the defendant's motion for summary judgment should be GRANTED, for the reasons stated below.
This is an employment case. Plaintiff, a citizen of Yugoslavian origin, is a female who was 59 years old when the complaint was filed. She was employed with defendant Gates as a research chemist. She began her employment with Gates on May 29, 1973 and was terminated in June of 1997. Plaintiff asserts six claims for relief in her complaint, including: 1) breach of express or implied contract; 2) promissory estoppel; 3) retaliation; 4) sex discrimination in violation of Title VII; 5) national origin discrimination; and 6) violation of the Equal Pay Act.
Plaintiff's submissions offer the following background. Plaintiff immigrated to the United States in 1967. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Chemistry, and a Master's Degree in Chemistry, received in 1961 from the University of Belgrade, Yugoslavia. She received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Century University in 1987. When she was initially employed by Gates on May 29, 1973, she was hired in a research librarian position. She signed a job application, which stated in part, "This company has a policy of employment on merit without discrimination because of age, race, color, religion, creed, national origin or sex."
During the times she has been employed with Gates, plaintiff has held various positions, including that of Chemist Research Librarian; Research Chemist I, and Senior Research Chemist I. She states that she has also conducted various research projects and generated numerous research reports and project proposals and approximately 20 statements of invention. She has lectured and presented technical papers to outside organizations and has attended various continuing education classes.
Plaintiff asserts that at all times during her employment with Gates, she performed her job duties in a competent and efficient manner, which was recognized by commendations and awards received while so employed. She states that to meet the heavy work load, she frequently worked extended hours and late at night at home. Over the years, she accumulated at her home working copies of matters on which she was working. She asserts this was known to Gates.
In October of 1995, plaintiff was transferred to the Materials Analysis Lab. She contends this was a demotion for her, because up until that time, the analysts assisted her in the performance of her work for Gates, although the transfer did not affect her rate of pay or benefits. In October 1995, plaintiff was performing analyst work, a position for which she claims she was overqualified. January 1, 1996, Douglas Schneider became plaintiff's supervisor. Plaintiff alleges that Schneider, along with Steve Leatherland, engaged in a continuing and ongoing pattern of discrimination and/or harassment directed toward her, based upon her national origin and gender. Prior to that time, she states that there had never been any questions, concerns, or comments which indicated any negative perception of her job performance over her 22 years with Gates.
Early in 1996, plaintiff was written up and subjected to adverse action as a result of contentions that the quantity of her work was deficient. In May, 1996, she alleges she was effectively demoted as a result of these performance issues when she was advised that Leatherland, a "peer" up until that time, was to be her supervisor. She was also informed that her reports were to be approved by Leatherland and that she was to make any changes requested by Leatherland, even if she disagreed with the changes or believed them to be erroneous. She contends that Leatherland would hold her reports for extended periods of time and that she was chastised or disciplined because the reports held by Leatherland had not been released to the client. She claims that she was criticized and disciplined for her report writing and ability to communicate, and alleges the basis of this criticism and discipline was her national origin. She contends that she was terminated March 26, 1997 for those same reasons.
Plaintiff asserts that her termination came only after continuing and ongoing harassment, including that relative to the work backlog, when others who were male or not from plaintiff's country of origin were not disciplined or criticized even though they had equal or greater backlogs. Plaintiff has also alleged that others, David Hudgins and Cathy Johnson, were performing at a level lower than she in terms of quantity and quality, without being subjected to similar discipline. She also contends records about her performance were altered to show fewer samples analyzed than she really performed. She alleges that she received disparate treatment while employed at Gates. The reason given for plaintiff's termination by Schneider was lack of performance. This, she contends, is without merit or basis in fact and is nothing more than pretext. She argues that Schneider, who admits he relied on information provided to him by Leatherland regarding plaintiff's performance, was wrong in relying on that information, and claims that defendant Gates had no reason whatsoever to terminate plaintiff's employment. Plaintiff states that she objected to her negative performance reviews and that, in her own estimation, the information did not "present a true picture" of her performance. Plaintiff's deposition, at 545.
Plaintiff contends that when she first encountered the alleged discriminatory and/or harassing conduct, she reported it to Gates' management and to individuals in the Human Resources and Legal Departments. Notwithstanding her written and oral complaints, no action was taken to correct conduct she claims was in violation of the Gates' policies, practices and procedures outlined in the application for employment and the employee handbook. She contends that instead, she was subjected to retaliation, including the denial of necessary equipment and/or a safe working environment, further harassment and discrimination such as unjustified writeups for alleged work deficiencies. Plaintiff states that she was told her performance evaluation would be negative because of "her creating so much negative stuff around Gates[.]" She claims that Schneider also stated that her EEO complaints had made his year miserable. Thus, she contends that the negative job evaluation she received was a direct result of her complaints of discrimination and harassment. She was ultimately placed on probation and terminated, although there was no basis for doing so.
When plaintiff was placed on probation, she states that she and Schneider specifically agreed that if the requirements of probation were met, her employment with Gates would continue and she would not be terminated. This agreement, plaintiff states, is consistent with her understanding that Gates had a policy of employment on merit. The position from which she was terminated was filled by a white male approximately 30 years of age, with a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a recent graduate who has, plaintiff asserts, limited experience. Plaintiff argues that she met the requirements of the agreement with Schneider, confirmed by Leatherland's statements that he [Leatherland] knew of no reason to terminate plaintiff. Despite her compliance with the agreement with Schneider, that agreement was breached when she was terminated from her employment with Gates.
Plaintiff contends that throughout her employment with Gates, remarks were made, "by tone and content," indicating a bias toward her on the basis of national origin. She points to statements Schneider made stating that he could not understand plaintiff's English and that her technical writing was poor. She also claims Schneider made comments to Leatherland about plaintiff's educational background, indicating somehow that her Yugoslavian education was inferior. She cites other comments made by Phil Patterson and Hudgins, (co-workers), and an engineer that are claimed to be indicative of bias against plaintiff on the basis of national origin. Plaintiff alleges she was told "by an engineer" it was a man's world and that Gates did not want her European experience around there. In Schneider's department only three employees were women, and of those three, only one remains.
In 1997, plaintiff applied for a position in the Air Springs Department. She states she had held that position previously and had performed successfully in that position. Plaintiff was not given the position she sought and instead, the job was given to a male of American descent (Mr. Larmi) that plaintiff again claims was less qualified than she. Plaintiff admits she does not know the particulars of all of Larmi's qualifications, but simply states he is not a professional chemist (as she says she is), and that he apparently had no statements of invention or prior experience in the Air Springs Department.
Plaintiff states that in 1995, prior to the...
To continue reading
Request your trial