Valente v. Moore Business Forms, Inc.
| Citation | 596 F. Supp. 1280 |
| Decision Date | 04 October 1984 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No. 81-364. |
| Parties | Joanne S. VALENTE v. MOORE BUSINESS FORMS, INC. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Vermont |
COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED
Joanne S. Valente, pro se.
Leonard F. Wing, Jr., Ryan, Smith & Carbine, Ltd., Rutland, Vt., and Laurence B. Oppenheimer, Cohen, Swados, Wright, Hanifin, Bradford & Brett, Buffalo, N.Y., for defendant.
By oral motion made in open court on July 30, 1984, the defendant in this employment discrimination action, Moore Business Forms, Inc. ("Moore"), moved for an order of dismissal or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. In support of its motion, defendant filed a memorandum of facts and law, together with extensive exhibits including four affidavits. This action by the plaintiff, Joanne S. Valente, arises under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII") charging employment discrimination. Counsel assigned to represent the plaintiff later withdrew with her consent and the court's approval. On July 30, 1984, the plaintiff, appearing in her own behalf, presented oral argument in opposition to the written and oral submission advanced by the defendant.
A brief statement of the uncontroverted facts and procedural background of the case is necessary to focus on the questions presented.
Plaintiff was hired by Moore on August 26, 1976 as a "Clerk III" assigned to the Personnel Department. She began work at Moore's Rutland, Vermont plant on September 13, 1976. Her duties included secretarial and clerical responsibilities in support of the defendant's personnel supervisors, then Ada E. Burg (referred to as "Greta" Burg) and her successor Robert Gaiko.
In addition to performing a wide range of clerical functions, plaintiff counselled employees about health and dental care plans, and processed Workman's Compensation claims. The plaintiff received favorable performance evaluations at this position. In performing her duties, plaintiff was provided an open section of the general office area of the Moore plant in Rutland, Vermont.
Plaintiff was required to undergo a physical examination upon her initial hiring by Moore. Her health history includes her statement that she had no "working disabilities." However, she did indicate that she had "allergic rhinitis", which is congestion of the mucous membrane of the nose. The ailment was not a disability as far as plaintiff's work was concerned. Plaintiff was aware of her affliction at the time of hiring and that she would be required to work in a factory area where dust was present. The complainant later reaffirmed that she suffered from no medical disability or physical handicap by her response to a Moore plant-wide survey taken in June 1980.
When the position of personnel supervisor was first established in the Rutland plant in 1976, it was staffed by a person who had an established work history with Moore including considerable experience in personnel-related functions. The position became available in early 1978. The vacancy was not posted for bidding at the time because Moore's posting and bidding procedures then in effect did not apply to a supervisory position at this level.
In proceeding to fill the position in 1978, the Moore plant manager made an initial selection of three leading candidates. One of this group was female. The selection of prime candidates was based upon:
an established successful work history with Moore, preferably in the Rutland plant; possession of a broad knowledge of plant operations, both administrative and production, preferably with personnel related and supervisory experience and a demonstrated ability to establish and maintain relationships with plant management.
Defendant's Answers to Plaintiff's Interrogatories, filed July 16, 1982, at 6.
Four additional employees, including plaintiff, also indicated an interest in the position. Plaintiff had been with Moore only one-and-one-half years when, in February or March 1978, she expressed her interest in being promoted to this position. Moore did not consider plaintiff to be qualified for the personnel supervisor position due to her limited knowledge and experience in the Rutland plant. The three prime candidates all had records of long service in Moore's Rutland plant.
Letter dated July 21, 1981 to Joanne Valente from the State of Vermont Office of Attorney General, at 2.
Mr. Gaiko had been employed in the Rutland plant since 1962. His initial experience included several production and maintenance positions. He later was promoted to Supervisor in the Press Area and to Supervisor of Plant Staff Services. In his sixteen years of service in the Rutland plant, Mr. Gaiko had developed a superior reputation. This, coupled with his knowledge of and experience with plant operations, rendered him fully qualified for the personnel supervisor position. Plaintiff was informed that she was not selected because she lacked production experience.
In August 1978, plaintiff made a formal application to be considered for a position of Order and Pricing Clerk I. Plaintiff was one of eighteen employees who applied. The position was filled by an employee who had five years longer experience with Moore than did plaintiff. Plaintiff did not raise her failure to gain this promotion as an issue in her administrative charge.
On September 4, 1979, plaintiff became Personnel Secretary as a result of an upgrading of her job title.
In March 1980, plaintiff made a formal application to be considered for a position as Purchasing Agent. Plaintiff was one of twenty-two applicants, six of whom were female. She was selected for an interview, which resulted in a favorable appraisal. Plaintiff's ratings, based on her conduct during the interview, were as follows:
Personality - Self-Assured
Poise - Confident
Disposition - Amiable
Assurance - Self-Confident
Volubility - Wordy
Self-Expression - Good
Tact - Very Tactful
Aggressiveness - Slightly Too Aggressive
Overall Evaluation of
Conduct - Favorable
One of the interviewers added:
Joanne lacked technical expertise and had somewhat limited service in relation to some other candidates. Her interview was impressive (she was among the top five candidates), but her limited Moore experience was outweighed by more experienced candidates.
Of the five finalists, two were female. The candidate selected had nearly ten years of service with Moore, including relevant experience in the Order Department. Plaintiff had no experience in this department and had less than four years of service with the company.
After March 1980, plaintiff continued in her position as Personnel Secretary and made no further applications for any other position with Moore. She performed her work in an open area in the office section of the plant, as she had since she began with Moore. In July 1980, plaintiff, at her own instance, was moved into a small office near the production area of the plant. In the following December, plaintiff complained to her supervisor, Mr. Gaiko, of a dust problem in her new office.
Immediately after having been advised of plaintiff's symptoms, Moore inspected the ventilation system and authorized certain alterations to ensure that the air flow to plaintiff's office did not come from the production area of the plant. Against this, the plaintiff asserts that during this time, Mr. Gaiko told her that hers was the only office that received air directly from the factory area of the plant. Letter dated May 5, 1981 from plaintiff to Robert Appel, Civil Rights Investigator, Vt. Attorney General's Office (plaintiff's exhibit 1 received during July 30, 1984 hearing).
Plaintiff concedes that after Moore made these changes to the air flow system, "things were better." After these changes, Mr. Gaiko approved plaintiff's request for overtime pay for an after-hours office cleaning on the evening of December 21, 1980. These combined efforts apparently relieved plaintiff's problems; at least she made no further complaints during the ensuing four weeks.
On or about January 26, 1981, a steam humidifier became operational in the office areas of the plant. On January 28, plaintiff complained to Mr. Gaiko about the humidifier. He informed her that he would ask that the Maintenance Department inspect it. According to plaintiff, later that day, Gaiko told her that nothing could be done about the humidifier and that she would have to live with it. Defendant's response to the Attorney General's investigation indicates that Gaiko told plaintiff that the Maintenance Department was still attempting to work the bugs out of the humidification system.
On January 28, 1981, plaintiff voluntarily terminated her employment with defendant without prior notice.
On or about February 12, 1981, plaintiff filed a charge of employment discrimination ("administrative charge") against Moore with the Civil Rights Division of the Vermont Attorney General's Office. Plaintiff claimed that she had been discriminated against in that Moore refused to make reasonable accommodations for her "medically acknowledged allergy to dust" (physical handicap) while it made such accommodations for male employees. Plaintiff also claimed that her applications for two promotions, to personnel...
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