Waymire v. Harris County, Tex.

• Decision Date: 13 June 1996
• Docket Number: No. 94-60483,94-60483
• Citation: 86 F.3d 424
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit
• Parties: 72 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 637 Jennifer WAYMIRE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS, et al., Defendants-Appellees.

Page 424

86 F.3d 424

72 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 637

Jennifer WAYMIRE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS, et al., Defendants-Appellees.

No. 94-60483.

United States Court of Appeals,

Fifth Circuit.

June 13, 1996.

Anthony P. Griffin, Galveston, TX, Sheila Owsley, Houston, TX, for appellant.

Jay Ronald Aldis, Eileen Cox Begle, Asst. County Attys., Houston, TX, for appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

Before POLITZ, Chief Judge, and HILL ¹ and DeMOSS, Circuit Judges.

DeMOSS, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff-Appellant Jennifer Waymire appeals from a district court grant of judgment as matter of law in favor of Defendant-Appellee Harris County on her claim of sex discrimination. Finding that Waymire failed to establish a hostile work environment claim because the county took prompt remedial action, we affirm the district court's grant of judgment as a matter of law.

BACKGROUND

Jennifer Waymire, a jailer for Harris County (the "county"), alleges that she was discriminated against because another jailer, Eric Smith, had an inmate draw an obscene picture of her. Smith then showed the picture to other jail employees.

On February 28, 1992, Eric Smith was working on the sixth floor of the newly opened 701 Jail in Houston. ² Smith was approached by an inmate who showed him several landscapes which he had drawn on handkerchiefs. Smith, who had taken several art classes in the past, asked the inmate if he could draw people. The inmate replied that he could, so Smith challenged him to draw a portrait in 15 minutes. The inmate asked what he should draw, and Smith said to draw a female deputy. Then Smith said to draw an inmate with a jumpsuit on, shooting craps on the dayroom table. Smith further instructed that the portrait should have a caption, "anything that's funny."

A short while later, the inmate returned with his 'artwork.' The drawing depicted a male inmate about to engage in sexual intercourse with a female deputy. The inmate was standing behind the deputy, jail jumpsuit at his feet, penis erect. The female deputy was on her hands and knees on the dayroom table. The caption above the inmate read, "Dam [sic ] Baby, you have some good pussy," while the female deputy was saying "Hurry up and get that Nut before the Sgt. come [sic ]." In the picture, the deputy's uniform was on the floor and attached to the belt was a flashlight.

Smith took the picture from the inmate. He did not, however, report the inmate's conduct, even though the obscene picture was contraband. Rather than turning the picture over to proper jail authorities, as regulations require, Smith took the picture home. Smith violated jail policies by accepting the picture from the inmate. Two days That day several jailers approached Waymire and told her about the handkerchief. They thought that the drawing was of her, because the deputy in the picture had a flashlight, and Waymire was the only female deputy who wore a flashlight on her belt. She was understandably upset about the drawing and asked Smith if she could see it. He was initially reluctant to show it to her, but finally relented. Waymire was disgusted by the picture.

later Smith brought the picture back to work and showed it to other jailers at roll call.

Sergeant Mayberry, Smith's and Waymire's supervisor, was present when Waymire saw the picture. He confiscated the drawing and orally reprimanded Smith. Later, Sergeant Mayberry issued a written reprimand to Smith. Sergeant Mayberry immediately began an investigation of the incident. Within a week he wrote a report of the incident and forwarded it to his immediate supervisor.

Within a month, the matter reached Chief Thomas, second in command of the Sheriff's Department, who decided to fire Smith. Chief Thomas initially prepared a letter firing Smith, but changed his mind. Instead, Chief Thomas decided to wait for the results of an investigation by the county's equal employment opportunity compliance office. That report determined that Smith had not harassed Waymire. Chief Thomas then instructed Captain Adams, the head of the 701 Jail, to reprimand Smith instead. Captain Adams gave Smith a formal letter of reprimand, which was placed in his permanent file. In the letter, Smith was warned that further conduct of this nature could lead to his dismissal.

In late April 1992, Waymire filed a claim of discrimination with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), alleging that she had been sexually harassed. In August 1992, six months after the picture incident, Waymire resigned from the Sheriff's Department.

In May 1993, Waymire filed suit against Harris County, alleging that (1) she was discriminated against based on sex because of a hostile work environment and (2) Harris County retaliated against her for filing a complaint with the EEOC, both in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2, et seq. Specifically, she alleges that: (1) a lieutenant in the jail told her that he was going to make her life hell and (2) she was often trapped in elevators with inmates, ³ putting her in danger.

A jury found in favor of Waymire on her claim of sexual harassment, awarding her $38,375. The jury also found that Waymire was constructively discharged. The jury, however, rejected her claim of retaliation. The county moved for judgment as a matter of law at the close of Waymire's case-in-chief, and renewed that motion at the close of all evidence. After the verdict, the county again moved for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Rule 50 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The district court granted that motion and judgment was rendered in favor of the county. Waymire filed a timely notice of appeal.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

In reviewing a district court's grant of judgment as a matter of law we apply the same standard of review as the district court. Robertson v. Bell Helicopter Textron, Inc., 32 F.3d 948, 950 (5th Cir.1994). We must consider all the evidence presented in the light most favorable to the non-movant, Waymire. Id. "The motion is properly granted when the facts and inferences point so strongly in favor of the movant that a rational jury could not arrive at a contrary verdict." London v. MAC Corp. of America, 44 F.3d 316, 318 (5th Cir.1995). "If there is substantial evidence--that is, evidence of such quality and weight that reasonable and fair-minded jurors might reach a different conclusion--then the motion should have been denied." Robertson, 32 F.3d at 951.

DISCUSSION

To state a claim under Title VII for sex discrimination based on a theory of a hostile work environment, a plaintiff must prove: (1) that she belongs to a protected class; (2) that she was subject to unwelcome harassment; (3) that the harassment was based on sex; (4) that the harassment affected a term, condition or privilege of employment; and (5) that the employer knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take prompt remedial action. Weller v. Citation Oil & Gas Corp., 84 F.3d 191, 194 (5th Cir.1996); Nash v. Electrospace System, Inc., 9 F.3d 401, 403 (5th Cir.1993). The district court granted the county's motion for judgment as a matter of law because it determined that no rational juror could find that elements four and five were met. After a detailed review of the record, we agree with the district court that no rational juror could find that the county failed to take prompt remedial action. Because the county's prompt remedial action protects it from liability, we need not address whether the harassment affected a term, condition or privilege of employment, or whether Waymire was constructively discharged.

In the recent case of Carmon v. Lubrizol Corp., 17 F.3d 791, 795 (5th Cir.1994), we found that an employer took prompt remedial action because "[i]t took the allegation seriously, it conducted prompt and thorough investigations, and it immediately implemented remedial and disciplinary measures based on the results of such investigations." These...