Walker v. International Business Machines Corp., 82-1467

• Citation: 698 F.2d 959
• Decision Date: 10 February 1983
• Docket Number: No. 82-1467,82-1467
• Parties: 30 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 1840, 31 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 33,325 George WALKER, Appellant, v. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 959

698 F.2d 959

30 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 1840,

31 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 33,325

George WALKER, Appellant, v. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION, Appellee.

No. 82-1467.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Jan. 11, 1983.

Decided Feb. 10, 1983.

Richard Quiggle, Little Rock, Ark., for appellant.

Charles Lister, Jeffrey G. Huvelle, Covington & Burling, Washington, D.C., for appellee; James McHaney, Jr., Owens, McHaney & Calhoun, Little Rock, Ark., Richard J. Sweetnam, Armonk, N.Y., of counsel.

Before ROSS and FAGG, Circuit Judges, and BEAM, District Judge. ^*

ROSS, Circuit Judge.

Appellant George Walker, a black male, brought suit against appellee, IBM Corporation, alleging that IBM had engaged in discriminatory employment practices in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981. Following a bench trial, the district court found that a prima facie case was made by Walker; however, the case was rebutted by IBM's articulation of a legitimate nonpretextual justification for the termination of Walker. Accordingly, judgment was entered in favor of IBM. On appeal, we affirm.

Walker came to IBM in June of 1967, and worked for four years as a systems engineer in the Data Processing Division's office in Little Rock, Arkansas. In December of 1971, Walker was transferred to a marketing position in the Office Products Division. In this position, Walker's job involved the sale of a large variety of IBM equipment. In August 1973, Walker was promoted to sales representative, and in January 1974, he was promoted to account representative. Walker held this position until his termination in August of 1978.

It is undisputed that Walker's performance was satisfactory through 1975; however, at that time, it appears that his performance began to deteriorate. IBM has what is known as an "open door" policy: that is, any employee with a complaint can bring it to the attention of management at any level. In late 1976, Walker complained to his manager, Bob Jones, that he was not getting enough sales support from his marketing manager and that racial discrimination was occurring within the Little Rock branch. Upon investigation, Jones found no basis for Walker's claim of racial discrimination. Jones did conclude that Walker's perception of his marketing manager's lack of support could be an obstacle to effective performance. Therefore, Jones transferred Walker to another sales team under the direction of marketing manager, Tommy Anderson. Because this transfer took place in November, Walker's 1976 evaluation was prepared by his former marketing manager. That evaluation was the worst of Walker's career.

During the course of 1977, Walker claimed that he experienced difficulty with Anderson; specifically, a lack of support and disagreement over sales methods. Walker alleged that this was due in large part to his use of the "open door" policy which predicated his transfer into Anderson's department. In March of 1978, Walker filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging racial discrimination. Walker claims that after he filed these charges, Anderson made his life at work more difficult. Walker then filed retaliation charges with the EEOC on May 29, 1978.

IBM's regional manager in Kansas City, Clyde Campbell, then met with Walker to discuss the situation. Walker described his problems to Campbell at a meeting in Kansas City. Following an investigation, Campbell told Walker that he found no basis for Walker's allegations of race discrimination, but Campbell stated that if Walker was still not satisfied he should continue to pursue his EEOC charges.

On June 14, 1978, Walker was told that his performance must improve or he would be terminated. However, before Walker could be evaluated after his 1978 "warning," Walker violated one of IBM's "Rules of Business Conduct," and was terminated. The IBM rule involved was known as the "firm order" rule. Basically, it requires that a salesperson not process any order if a customer has implied in any way that the order is not yet firm. Further, it requires a salesperson to notify the company if an order becomes "unfirm." IBM alleges that Walker was guilty of a number of rules violations, but the most serious violation arose under this "firm order" rule, a violation which, under the rules, warrants an employee's termination. The trial court found that Walker was aware of the fact that a customer had no authority to order a machine, but went ahead and processed the sale anyway. The order was then cancelled but Walker did not notify his superior that it had been cancelled. He had earlier collected his commission on the sale. Walker was terminated in August 1978, after regional manager Clyde Campbell reviewed the report on Walker's rules violations. In November 1978, Walker filed suit under Title VII, but that case was voluntarily dismissed on April 28, 1980. In August 1981, the instant action was filed under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981. The trial court issued oral findings of fact...