Walker v. Allison Transmission, Inc.
| Decision Date | 10 June 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. 1:12-cv-01392-SEB-TAB,1:12-cv-01392-SEB-TAB |
| Parties | JAMES WALKER, II, Plaintiff, v. ALLISON TRANSMISSION, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Indiana |
This cause is before the Court on Defendant Allison Transmission, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment [Docket No. 31], filed on August 30, 2013 pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is GRANTED.
Plaintiff James Walker, an African American male, began working as a temporary employee for the Allison Transmission division of General Motors at its Indianapolis plant in 2006. Def.'s Br. 2. In 2008 he became a full-time employee of Defendant Allison Transmission, Inc., which had become an independent company the previous year. Id. Throughout his tenure with Allison Transmission, Walker was a member of the bargaining unit represented by United Auto Workers Local 933. Harbin Aff. at ¶ 5. He worked in several departments before transferring to Department 6A03 in August 2009; he remained stationed there until his termination. Id. at ¶ 7.
Walker worked the afternoon shift in Department 6A03 along with several coworkers who were involved in the events giving rise to this suit. Andrea McElroy, an African Americanwoman, began working in the department in early 2010, Appx. D at 8-9; Tammi Holland, also an African American woman, began work there in May 2010. Appx. E at 6-7. Stacie Zachary, a Caucasian woman, was the department's "group leader" and among the longest-tenured employees in the department, having worked there since 2006. Harbin Aff. at ¶ 10. The company's labor relations representative for the department was Jeff Pence, a Caucasian male. Appx. F at ¶¶ 1-3.
In August 2010, McElroy, Holland, and Zachary complained to Allison management that they had been sexually harassed by Walker. McElroy alleged that Walker harassed her on several occasions both verbally and physically, including the following conduct: approaching her from behind and unsnapping her bra after being told that the contact was unwanted, grabbing her breasts during a work shift break, pulling her onto his lap at work despite her protests, asking her to perform oral sex on him, attempting to force his head between her legs, and offering her a motorcycle jacket in exchange for her doing "what he wanted." Appx. N, Ex. 14 at 3-5. She recounted that these incidents came to a head on July 26, 2010, when she and Walker had a verbal confrontation in her work area, in which Walker became irate, called her a "lying bitch," and had to be restrained by his coworkers. Id. at 1.
Stacie Zachary also submitted a complaint to management about Walker's behavior. In a written statement, she described Walker's generally disruptive behavior and poor performance as contributing to a perpetual atmosphere of "drama" in the department for which she was team leader. More specifically, she related that Walker had called her a "fat bitch" to other co-workers and had discussed his intention "to buy her a ho-ho [snack cake] so she'll sit the fuck down." Appx. N, Ex. 75 at 2. She later found a ho-ho, together with a derogatory note, on her desk, andshe concluded that Walker had put it there. Id. at 2. Zachary also corroborated elements of McElroy's sexual harassment allegations, confirming that she had seen Walker touch McElroy in an unwelcome fashion and that she had witnessed the July 26 altercation between Walker and McElroy. Id. at 5.
Tammi Holland provided a report of Walker's misconduct largely consistent with the other complaints. On July 26, 2010—the same day as Walker's work altercation with McElroy—Holland said she had confronted Walker about his calling her a "little Oompa Loompa." Appx. N., Ex. 20 at 1. According to Holland, Walker implicitly confirmed that he had used the epithet, and he further described Zachary as a "big Oompa Loompa."1 Id. Holland further stated that she had seen Walker purchase the ho-ho and leave it with a note on Zachary's desk, and she confirmed that Walker had called Zachary a "bitch." Id. at 4. According to labor relations representative Jeff Pence, Holland confirmed in an investigatory conversation with Pence that she had witnessed Walker grab McElroy's breasts at work despite McElroy's warnings that the contact was unwelcome. Id. at 5.
Walker denied most of these accusations at the time when confronted by management, and he continues to deny them now. According to him, he had had consensual sexual relationships first with Zachary and then with McElroy, and he contends that many of the sexual harassment allegations were either mischaracterizations of consensual behavior or outright fabrications. With regard to McElroy's allegations of inappropriate sexual touching at work, he denies that such contact with McElroy was anything but consensual, and he asserts that none of it took place at work. Walker Aff. ¶ 14; see generally Pl.'s Resp. 3-5. He admits that he had aconfrontation with McElroy on July 26, 2010, but he contends that it was initiated by McElroy, who was upset when, shortly after Walker ended his relationship with her, she discovered that he had previously had a sexual relationship with Zachary as well. Pl.'s Resp. 6.2 He notes that a number of the alleged instances of misconduct had no witnesses other than McElroy, and he alleges that McElroy, Zachary, and Holland engaged in a coordinated effort to force him out of the department by making sexual harassment accusations. To corroborate this theory, Walker points to Holland's deposition testimony, in which she states that McElroy and Zachary got her "hyped up" to submit a complaint against Walker. Pl.'s Resp. 9 (citing Holland Dep. 33-34). Co-worker Monica Nelson, whose deposition was taken in this case but who did not participate in Allison's initial investigation, stated that the end of the sexual relationship between Walker and McElroy precipitated the July 26 confrontation, and that McElroy fabricated the allegations of harassment to punish Walker and in order to save her own job. Nelson Dep. 29. According to Nelson, she heard McElroy express to another co-worker her intention to "get that nigger out of here." Id. at 30.
Jeff Pence, Allison's labor relations representative with responsibility for Department 6A03, received and reviewed the written statements submitted by McElroy, Zachary, and Holland in August 2010. Pence Aff. 1-2. He also spoke to Walker's friend and co-worker LaMarcus Jones after he received the complaints. Pence Dep. 40. Pence then scheduled Walker for a Disciplinary Interview (DI), a procedure mandated by United Auto Workers' collective bargaining agreement with the company before an employee may be disciplined. Harbin Aff. ¶11. Walker learned that he was scheduled for a DI on August 9, 2010. Apparently on the advice of his union representative Kevin Cox, Walker went on medical leave to forestall the DI and any attendant discipline. At some point after learning that he was the subject of sexual harassment complaints, he and Cox in collaboration wrote and circulated what Walker called a "petition," denying that he engaged in misconduct. In part, the petition stated: Appx. N, Ex. 17. Below the typewritten statement on the petition appear five signatures—all apparently belonging to co-workers of Walker's. Id.
Walker finally returned to work at Allison on October 25, 2010, and his DI took place the same afternoon. Walker Dep. 114. Besides Walker himself, four men were present at the hearing: UAW representatives Kevin Cox and Phil Doyle, and Allison labor relations representatives Jeff Pence and Maurice McDaniel. Appx. N, Ex. 21. According to Pence and McDaniel, Walker appeared apathetic during the hearing, playing with his cell phone and giving nonchalant answers to questions about his conduct. Pence Aff. at ¶ 7; McDaniel Aff. at ¶ 5. Upon questioning at the hearing, the transcript shows that Walker conceded the truth of some of the accusations: he admitted calling McElroy a "lying bitch," referring to Zachary as an "Oompa Loompa," and referring to Zachary and McElroy as "jealous bitches." Appx. N, Ex. 21 at ¶¶ 1-3. He also admitted offering McElroy presents in exchange for sexual favors, but he insisted that any such conversation took place at his motorcycle shop and not at work—and before he terminated his consensual relationship with McElroy. Id. at ¶ 6. Prompted by union representative Kevin Cobb, Walker explained his theory that the accusations were "revenge" for his breaking offrelationships with McElroy and Zachary. Id. at 3. At the close of the hearing, Cobb stated: Id.
Prior to the DI, Pence had discussed the accusations against Walker with McDaniel, Allison Manager of Labor Relations Tony Harbin, and Director of Labor Relations Mary Coari, who had final disciplinary authority. Although the Allison officials had reviewed the written statements made by the three women, it is not clear whether they were aware of the "petition" circulated by Walker and signed by some of his co-workers. Pence Dep. 45. After discussion, Coari determined that Walker should be terminated, subject to the outcome of the DI. Coari Dep. 18-20. After his official interview with Walker, Pence determined to go forward with the termination; he informed Walker later that same afternoon that he was being terminated for violation of Allison's sexual...
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