Wade v. Sanford Med. Ctr., Dakota Corp.

• Decision Date: 10 August 2018
• Docket Number: 3:16-CV-03034-RAL
• Parties: DIANE WADE, AN INDIVIDUAL; Plaintiff, v. SANFORD MEDICAL CENTER, A SOUTH DAKOTA CORPORATION; Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of South Dakota

DIANE WADE, AN INDIVIDUAL; Plaintiff, v. SANFORD MEDICAL CENTER, A SOUTH DAKOTA CORPORATION; Defendant.

3:16-CV-03034-RAL

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA CENTRAL DIVISION

August 10, 2018

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Plaintiff Diane Wade (Wade) filed a Complaint against Defendant Sanford Medical Center (SMC) alleging violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq., (Count I), hostile work environment in violation of Title VII (Count II), intentional infliction of emotional distress (Count III), negligent infliction of emotional distress (Count IV), and punitive damages (Count V). Doc. 1. SMC moved for summary judgment, Doc. 14, which Wade opposed, Doc. 24. For the reasons explained below, this Court grants SMC's motion for summary judgment.

I. Undisputed Facts¹

A. Wade's History and Conduct Leading to Termination

Wade began her career with SMC on August 8, 1991, when SMC was known as Sioux Valley Hospital. Doc. 15 at ¶ 1; Doc. 26 at ¶ 1. SMC terminated Wade's employment on September 18, 2014, when Wade was 54 years old. Doc. 15 at ¶¶ 2, 6; Doc. 26 at ¶¶ 2, 6. At the time of her termination, Wade was the lead pediatric cardiac ultrasound sonographer in the pediatric unit, but was dually certified to work in both the pediatric and adult cardiac sonography units. Doc. 15 at ¶¶ 3, 5; Doc. 26 at ¶¶ 3, 5. Wade also was a formal preceptor in the pediatric unit whereby she received additional compensation when she was training new employees, a position which required Wade to undergo additional training. Doc. 15 at ¶ 4; Doc. 26 at ¶ 4.

SMC has an Attendance and Punctuality policy which outlines the expectations for employees of SMC with respect to their attendance and punctuality. The policy states that "[e]mployees have the personal responsibility to ensure that they are at their work station and are ready to work at the starting time of their assigned shift. Reliable and consistent attendance is required for job performance success." Doc. 15 at ¶ 9; Doc. 16-10 at 1. The Attendance and Punctuality policy further establishes that when "an employee does not meet the attendance expectations outlined, they will be subject to the progressive discipline process" and directs employees to reference the Discipline policy. Doc. 16-10 at 3. SMC's progressive discipline procedure begins with an informal process consisting of communication with the employee by the manager, requiring no documentation or involvement of the Human Resources Department. Doc. 16-11 at 2. If attendance and punctuality problems persist, the process progresses from verbalreminders to written warnings, and then to Decision Making Leave (DML) prior to involuntary termination.² Doc. 16-11 at 3.

During her annual evaluation in May of 2008, Wade's supervisor—at that time Tom Denevan—spoke with Wade about her tardiness and the expectation that SMC employees be clocked in and prepared to work at the start of their scheduled shift.³ Doc. 15 at ¶ 12. Meanwhile, Wade's 2008 annual evaluation recorded that she "Meets Expectations" or "Exceeds Expectations" in every category for which she was evaluated, and did not mention any attendance issues. Doc. 26 at ¶ 12; Doc. 28-2.

Wade received a written warning on December 9, 2008, which raised punctuality and productivity concerns. Doc. 15 at ¶ 13; Doc. 26 at ¶ 13; Doc. 16-8 at 28-29. The warning stated that Wade had a tardiness percentage of 80 percent for the 46 in-house shifts for which she was scheduled from September 20 to December 9, 2008. Doc. 15 at ¶ 14; Doc. 26 at ¶ 14. The documents warned Wade that failure to comply with SMC's Attendance and Punctuality policy would result in further disciplinary action. Doc. 15 at ¶ 15; Doc. 26 at ¶ 15. However, in Wade's 2009 annual evaluation her supervisor noted that "Diane['s] attendance is much improved meeting supervisor[']s expectations since our 12/09/08 discussion." Doc. 26 at ¶ 14; Doc. 28-3; Doc. 30-5 at 6. In that evaluation, Wade received a rating of "Exceeds Expectations" or "Outstanding Performance" in every category for which she was rated. Doc. 30-5 at 1-5.

Wade received a second written warning concerning punctuality and productivity on October 28, 2009.⁴ Doc. 15 at ¶ 16; Doc. 16-8 at 25-27. The warning stated that Wade clocked in late for 9 of 15 in-house shifts for which she was scheduled from September 2 to October 12, 2009, for a tardiness percentage of 60 percent. Doc. 15 at ¶ 17; Doc. 16-8 at 25. The written warning informed Wade that "future concerns will result in further disciplinary action up to and including termination." Doc. 16-8 at 26. Wade signed the written warning on November 16, 2009, and under "Employee Response" she handwrote an action plan to address her tardiness, among other issues. Doc. 16-8 at 27. Wade's 2010 annual evaluation documented that she received the written warning in October of 2009, but it made no further mention of attendance or punctuality issues and Wade received ratings of "Meets Expectations" or above in every category for which she was evaluated. Doc. 28-4 at 1-11.

Sandra Josko (Josko) became the Cardiovascular Services (CVS) diagnostic manager in the summer of 2011. Doc. 15 at ¶ 20; Doc. 26 at ¶ 20. As CVS manager, Josko supervised the adult and pediatric cardiac sonography units, making her Wade's direct supervisor as of the summer of 2011 until Wade's termination in 2014. Doc. 15 at ¶¶ 7, 20, 22; Doc. 26 at ¶¶ 7, 20, 22. Josko managed the staff and created the schedules for both the adult and pediatric cardiac sonography units. Doc. 15 at ¶ 22; Doc. 26 at ¶ 22.

Josko spoke with Wade regarding her tardiness percentage for the pay period from November 27 through December 10, 2011. Doc. 15 at ¶ 23; Doc. 26 at ¶ 23. Josko's later email to Wade stated that Wade was late for every shift during that pay period, and for shifts during theprior pay period as well. Doc. 16-8 at 40. However, the tardiness percentage for this time period was recorded at 75 percent in later documentation. See Doc. 16-13 at 2. Wade's 2011 annual evaluation, dated May 16, 2011, did not refer to any attendance issues, noted that Wade is an extremely skilled sonographer, and gave Wade a "Meets Expectations" or "Exceeds Expectations" under every evaluative category. Doc. 28-5 at 8. In her 2012 annual evaluation, dated August 28, 2012, Wade again met or exceeded expectations in all evaluative categories, though her manager documented that "[i]t was requested that [Wade] work on her punctuality and to be here when her shift started, [and Wade] has made an effort to be more dependable." Doc. 28-6 at 8. That evaluation also noted Wade "is committed to Sanford Health and the standards of care [SMC] provide patients." Doc. 28-6 at 8.

Wade had another conversation with Josko and other supervisors in November of 2012 regarding her tardiness percentages during several previous pay periods. Doc. 15 at ¶ 24; Doc. 26 at ¶ 24. According to SMC business records, Wade had a tardiness percentage of 50 percent from November 19 through November 30; 0 percent for the 2 shifts worked between November 5 and November 16; 80 percent from October 22 through November 1; 50 percent from October 8 through October 19; 40 percent from September 24 through October 5; and 0 percent for the two shifts worked between September 17 and September 21.⁵ Doc. 15 at ¶¶ 25-28; Doc. 16-8 at 22; Doc. 16-13 at 2.

On December 5, 2012, Wade was placed on a DML. Doc. 16-8 at 22-23. The DML paperwork stated that "[Wade] has not followed Sanford's guidelines for Punctuality. [Wade] hashad many verbal conversations as well as Written Warnings regarding her tardiness. Her tardiness continues to fall outside of Sanford's expectations." Doc. 16-8 at 22. The DML further directed that Wade was to present an action plan when she returned on December 6, 2012, detailing how she would commit to meeting performance expectations or resign her position. Doc. 16-8 at 22. The final paragraph of the DML stated that "[t]his is the final step in the discipline process. If you commit to staying in your position, you need to commit to fully acceptable attendance and punctuality. Failure to meet the Sanford expectation of performance will result in termination of your employment." Doc. 16-8 at 23. The DML documentation was signed by Wade, Josko, and a representative from Human Resources. Doc. 16-8 at 23. Wade also hand wrote an action plan, dated December 5, 2012, indicating she would leave for work 15 minutes earlier and would contact Josko in the event she was delayed on her way to work. Doc. 16-8 at 24.

Wade left her shift on December 31, 2012, to attend a personal appointment and rescheduled a patient appointment to do so. Doc. 15 at ¶¶ 37-38; Doc. 26 at ¶¶ 37-38. Josko emailed Wade to explain that, because Wade left her shift without prior management approval, her absence would be documented as an unapproved absence, and attached portions of the Attendance and Punctuality policy which establish that employees "must receive prior authorization from their supervisor before leaving Sanford premises during their scheduled work hours." Doc. 16-8 at 50; see also Doc. 16-10 at 2. Wade's 2013 annual evaluation, dated June 4, 2013, documented that she was placed on a DML in December of 2012 for excessive tardiness, though it did not mention the December 31, 2012 appointment incident. Doc. 28-7. While the evaluation noted that Wade "often needs to be remined that she holds a position at Sanford as a dual registered sonographer, which comes with more responsibility than a single registered sonographer[,]" Wade received scores of "Meets Expectations," "Exceeds Expectations," or "Outstanding Performance" in eachevaluative category. Doc. 28-7 at 2-7. Wade's 2014 annual evaluation also noted that she meets or exceeds expectations in every evaluative category but documented that Wade "continues to struggle with time management."...