Watson v. Heartland Health Labs., Inc.
| Decision Date | 14 May 2014 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 13-0362-CV-W-ODS |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Missouri |
| Parties | CHAVONYA WATSON, Plaintiff, v. HEARTLAND HEALTH LABORATORIES, INC. and MICHELLE GAUNT, Defendants. |
ORDER AND OPINION GRANTING DEFENDANT HEARTLAND HEALTH
LABORATORIES, INC.'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Pending is Defendant Heartland Health Laboratories, Inc.'s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. # 36). The Motion is granted.
Defendant Heartland Health Laboratories, Inc. ("HHL") is a long-term care laboratory provider. It provides laboratory services, including taking blood draws, for patients at various facilities, including Plaza Manor. From June 18, 2012, to September 24, 2012, Plaintiff Chavonya Watson ("Watson") was employed by HHL as a route phlebotomist and was assigned a route that included Plaza Manor. Charles Ramsey ("Ramsey") was a patient at Plaza Manor.
On September 10, 2012, while Watson was beginning to draw Ramsey's blood, Ramsey touched Watson between her legs, grabbed her crotch, and grabbed the back of her head and tried to kiss her. Soon after, Watson reported the incident to her teamlead, Michelle Gaunt ("Gaunt"). Gaunt reported the incident to Watson's supervisor, Tina Akers ("Akers"). Gaunt Dep. 27:16-21. The incident did not require medical attention, counseling, or result in any physical injury or any noticeable marks. Prior to this incident, there was nothing Ramsey did that Watson considered harassment.
That afternoon, HHL put a "male only" alert in their system for any HHL employee who was asked to provide Ramsey with medical services. Anyone providing Ramsey with medical services would know that only males should attend him. Thereafter, every time Watson went to Plaza Manor there was a "male only" alert in the system concerning blood draws for Ramsey. Watson agrees that HHL took prompt action to make sure she never again provided Ramsey with medical services. Subsequent draw lists indicate that Ramsey was taken care of by Robert McKee and never by a female.
Watson contends she requested a route change following the incident, but that Akers denied the request and told Watson that if she did not execute her route then Watson would not have a job. Watson Dep. 222:12-19. Watson also contends she was told she would not get a transfer because she only had an issue with one person and not the whole facility. Watson Dep. 223:16-18.
Watson recalls the following six additional encounters she had with Ramsey following the September 10, 2012 incident: On September 11, 2012, Watson saw Ramsey in the hallway. He was "belligerent" with her for a few seconds and said she was "just a bunch of bitches and nigger bitches." Watson Dep. 113:10-114:5. Following the encounter, Watson went to the nurses' station and "just went about [her] business." Watson Dep. 115:15-19. Ramsey did not follow her to the nurses' station. Watson Dep. 115:20-22. Hours later, when Watson returned to HHL, she reported the incident to Gaunt. Watson Dep. 116:14-16; 117:3-16. In discussing the incident, Watson testified she was venting about what happened and did not expect Gaunt to take direct action. Watson Dep. 118:6-11. Watson avers she also told Akers about the incident at some point. Watson Dep. 118:12-18.
Thereafter (Watson cannot remember the day or date), Ramsey saw Watson when she got off the elevator and told her "they were going to put him out." At this point, Watson did not know what Ramsey meant by this. Watson Dep. 121:7-19. Sometime later, Watson believed this to mean Ramsey was going to leave the facility.Watson Dep. 125:13-19. At some point, Watson also understood Ramsey would be leaving Plaza Manor, but she was not sure when. Watson Dep. 124:23-25.
The third incident occurred a few days later. Ramsey saw Watson and said to another patient (but loud enough for Watson to hear) "this bitch is getting me put out."
The next incident occurred when Ramsey saw Watson from his doorway and he stared at her for ten minutes while she was at the nurses' station. During this time, Ramsey did not sexually or racially harass Watson in any way. Watson Dep. 128:8-13.
At some date between September 10, 2012, and September 21, 2012, Ramsey got a roommate and Watson was assigned to do a blood draw for the roommate. When she got to the door, she realized it was Ramsey's room and he said, "What the fuck are you doing over here?" Watson immediately left and went to the nurses' station and indicated she was not going to draw Ramsey's roommate. Watson told Gaunt about the situation and Gaunt said she would get someone else to do the blood draw. Watson also suggests Gaunt told her she would be written-up for not drawing Ramsey's roommate's blood. Watson Dep. 186:22-187:13. Watson was never shown a write-up on this and never asked to sign one. Watson Dep. 186:22-187:22. Gaunt did not tell Watson she had to draw Ramsey's roommate in the future and Watson never drew blood for a roommate of Ramsey's.
The final encounter occurred on September 21, 2012. While Watson was waiting for the elevator, Ramsey said to her, Watson suggests she told Gaunt about the incident but no one else.
Ramsey never physically touched Watson following the September 10, 2012 incident. Although Watson contends Ramsey would say or gesture something sexual or racial toward Watson everyday she worked after September 10, 2012, not all of the incidents described by Watson involve anything sexual or racial. Watson Dep. 120:10-121:2 (); 123:9-19 (Ramey said he was "getting put out"); 126:14-127:8 (Ramsey stared at Watson, but did not say anything). Further, the deposition cites referenced by Watson do not describe any inappropriate gestures made by Ramsey toward Watson. Watson Dep. 126:16-25; 129:1-11.
Watson asserts she called Gaunt multiple times from Plaza Manor's garage parking lot crying before starting her shift because she was scared of Ramsey. WatsonDep. 218:9-219:23. Further, Watson claims she was told "it comes with the territory" and "you just got to roll with the punches" after reporting that Ramsey called her a "nigger bitch." Watson Dep. 203:18-25; 222:1-7; 223:10-18. At this point, Watson contends she realized no changes would be made by HHL. Watson Dep. 223:10-18. Watson admitted that if Ramsey would have left Plaza Manor her problem would have been alleviated. Watson Dep. 231:8-24. Ramsey left Plaza Manor on or before September 24, 2012.
Watson received two write-ups in September 2012. On September 13, Watson received a write-up from Akers, which was signed by Watson without comment. Watson Dep. 174:10-25. The specifics of the write-up are not detailed, and the write-ups are not part of the Record. However, Watson admits that the warning accurately described what happened. Watson Dep. 175:1-18. Watson also contends she did not put any comments on the write-up because she provided Akers verbal explanation. Watson Dep. 175: 1-18. On September 18, Watson received another write-up for an incident that occurred at a facility other than Plaza Manor. This write-up is also not in the Record but Watson testified there was nothing inaccurate in the write-up, and that she verbally explained to Akers that "that's not the way it happened." Watson Dep. 177:7-17; 178:19-21. Watson signed the write-up without comment. Watson's pay was not docked due to the write-ups, nor was she ever told not to report to work, nor were her job assignments changed in any way. Watson Dep. 179:20-180:1.
On September 18, Watson had her 90-day review. Watson was expected to work 40 hours per week. However, during her tenure at HHL, there were a number of weeks Watson worked less than 40 hours. During the review, it was mentioned that Watson had missed a significant amount of work during her first 90 days and as a result, HHL extended her probationary employment time. Watson Dep. 180:17-181:18. Watson was "completely fine" with the extended probationary period and the reasons for the extension. Watson Dep. 182:18-21.
By September 24, 2012, Watson believed she had no choice but to quit. Watson Dep. 225:15-227:16. That day, Watson sent a text to someone at HHL indicating that her tire blew out and she would be in later that day. Following the text, HHL made repeated efforts to contact Watson and she made no effort to return those calls. Shedid not show up for work on September 24, September 25, or September 26, nor did she call and indicate that she was not going to work on any of those days. HHL tried to reach Watson over the next few days and left voice messages to find out where she was. Watson did not respond to any of the calls from HHL. It is HHL's position that Watson voluntarily resigned her position due to her failure to call or report for multiple days beginning September 24, 2012. Watson would still have a job if she had not resigned.
Watson's state-court Petition for Damages ("Complaint") (Doc. # 1-1) contains four counts brought under the Missouri Human Rights Act ("MHRA"), Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 213.010 et seq.:
The Court now considers HHL's Motion.
A moving party is entitled to summary judgment on a claim only if there is a showing that "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." See generally Williams v. City of St. Louis, 783 F.2d 114, 115 (8th Cir. 1986). "[W]hile the materiality determination rests on the substantive law, it is the substantive law's identification of which facts are critical and which facts are irrelevant that governs." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248 (1986). Thus, "[o]nly disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing...
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