White v. Home Depot

• Decision Date: 13 March 2019
• Docket Number: Case No. 17-cv-00752-BAS-AGS
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of California
• Parties: STEPHEN RAYMOND WHITE, Plaintiff, v. HOME DEPOT U.S.A. INC., Defendant.

STEPHEN RAYMOND WHITE, Plaintiff, v. HOME DEPOT U.S.A. INC., Defendant.

Case No. 17-cv-00752-BAS-AGS

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

March 13, 2019

ORDER:

(1) GRANTING DEFENDANT HOME DEPOT U.S.A., INC.'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

[ECF No. 30];

(2) DISMISSING COMPLAINT WITH PREJUDICE

[ECF No. 1 Ex. A];

(3) DIRECTING ENTRY OF FINAL JUDGMENT PURSUANT TO RULE 58;

AND

(4) CLOSING CASE

This case concerns Plaintiff Stephen White's ("White") April 9, 2015 termination from his position as a Customer Order Specialist ("COS") by Defendant Home Depot U.S.A., Inc. ("Home Depot") after some 24 years of employment. White contends that Home Depot terminated him because of his age in violation of California anti-discrimination law. White raises several other claims concerning his tenure with Home Depot, including harassment based on age, retaliation, wrongful termination, defamation, and violations of California labor law. Home Depot now moves for summary judgment on all claims or, in the alternative, partial summary judgment. (ECF Nos. 30, 53.) White opposes. (ECF No. 42.)

The Court provided the parties with its tentative ruling to grant Home Depot's motion in full and held oral argument on the motion. (ECF Nos. 57, 63.) For the reasons herein, the Court: (1) grants Home Depot's motion for summary judgment in its entirety, (2) dismisses with prejudice White's claims in his Complaint, (3) directs entry of final judgment in favor of Home Depot, and (4) closes this case.

RELEVANT BACKGROUND¹

Home Depot hired White on June 17, 1991. (ECF No. 54 Joint Statement of Undisputed Facts² ("JSUF") ¶ 1; ECF No. 45-1 Marie Mirch ("M. Mirch") Decl. ¶ 5Ex. 1.) During his entire tenure with Home Depot, White was always over 40 years old. (JSUF ¶ 25; White Dep. at 26:01-03 (White "had just turned 40" before his 1991 hire).) After nearly twenty years serving in other roles at Home Depot, White became a COS on January 3, 2011, a position he held until his termination. (JSUF ¶¶ 18, 24; ECF No. 42 at 1 (statement by White's counsel that "[i]n 2011, White was promoted to a [COS].").) Home Depot contends that it terminated White after determining he violated two "major rules" of the company. White contends his age was the true reason. Central to this dispute are White's COS duties, a workers' compensation claim White filed, White's COS performance reviews and disciplinary actions, and the rules violations.

The COS Duties. At Home Depot, "[COS]s are primarily responsible for the timely and accurate fulfillment of all special order and installation projects from the initial sale through project completion[.]" (Brown Decl. Ex. A at 15.) The COS job description expressly enumerates certain duties, including: "provide[] proactive post-sale follow up" with customers and vendors, "maintain[] oversight on special orders and installs to ensure execution," and "respond[] to service provider/vendor . . . notes in a timely manner[.]" (JSUF ¶ 19; Brown Decl. ¶ 3 Exs. A, B.) White expressly recognizes that his job was to "work[] on customers complaints[.]" (Compl. ¶ 25; White Dep. at 18:10-14 ("following up with customers on special orders" is "technically what we did"); id. at 19:12-14 ("We followed up with the customers to let them know what was going on.").) White viewed the position "was a lot more work" than his prior Home Depot position and believed he was doing "about the job of five people." (JSUF ¶ 20.)

Worker's Compensation Claim. In December 2011, while in his COS position, White sustained an injury to his left foot or ankle while working and filed a claim for worker's compensation. (JSUF ¶ 21.) Ultimately, the claim was resolved in May 2014 with Home Depot agreeing to pay White some $9,700. (JSUF ¶ 22.) White, however, contends that two Home Depot employees, Carmona and Coronado "retaliated" against him because of his claim. (JSUF ¶¶ 23, 61.) White contends that Specialty Supervisor Carmona ordered him to perform certain work despite his doctor-imposed limitations. (JSUF ¶ 51.) After White complained to a Home Depot manager, Carmona was told to abide by the work restrictions. (White Dep. at 45:5-9.) White contends that Carmona did not like this response and "she gave negative reviews all the time." (Id. at 45:10-16.) White further contends that Operations Manager Melissa Coronado "retaliated" against him for filing the claim. (JSUF ¶ 52; White Dep. 195:14-22; 197:5-7.) Specifically, Coronado told White that he should not have gone to his own doctor for a work-related injury and, rather than completing White's paperwork for the claim, told White that a different assistant manager do so. (White Dep. at 198:17-199:9.)

Performance Reviews and Disciplinary Actions. White received biannualperformance reviews, including as a COS. (JSUF ¶ 37.) Between September 24, 2012 and April 1, 2015, White received five performance reviews which rated his "overall performance" as "V" for "Valued Associate" and his promotion "Potential Code" as "2 - Well Positioned." (JSUF ¶¶ 27, 29, 32, 34, 36; ECF No. 30-1 Charles Brown Decl. ("Brown Decl.") ¶ 11 Exs. K, L, N, O, P.)³ The reviews, however, also rated White with an "I" for "Improvement Needed" for certain categories, typically the "professionalism" and "time management" categories. (JSUF ¶¶ 26, 28, 31, 33, 35; Brown Decl. ¶ 11 Exs. K, L, N, O, P.) Several notes identified as areas for improvement White's response to "dealing with issues in a timely fashion" and "proactively provid[ing] consistent post-sale follow up on all special orders," commenting that "he picks and chooses which orders he will fix and take care of [.]" (Brown Decl. ¶ 11 Exs. K, L, M.) White's October 8, 2013 review rated him an "I" in six categories. (JSUF ¶ 30; Brown Decl. ¶ 11 Ex. M.) White did not agree with his "I" ratings. (White Decl. ¶¶ 23, 30.) Home Depot store managers and supervisors, including Carmona and Coronado, completed or approved these reviews. (Brown Decl. ¶ 11 Exs. K, L, M.)

During his final two years, White received several disciplinary notices.⁴ Specifically, on March 7, 2013, Operations Assistant Store Manager Randy Phillips gave White a "coaching" Progressive Disciplinary Notice ("PDN") because "[w]ithin the last week there has [sic] been two incidents where Steve has provided poor customer service." (Brown Decl. ¶ 12 Ex Q.) White received another "coaching" PDN on December 16, 2014 for a similar reason. (Brown Decl. ¶ 12 Ex V.) Whitereceived "counseling" PDNs on August 26, 2013 and October 4, 2013, for issues with orders, including his failure to follow up on "notes left to Steve that required immediate attention" resulting in delays over 45 days and his interactions with customers. (Brown Decl. ¶ 12 Exs. R, S.) White also received Manager's Notes regarding customer service and customer order issues, including notes dated August 14, 2014, March 10, 2015, and March 10, 2015. (Brown Decl. ¶ 12 Exs. W, X, Y.) White did not agree with the Manager's Notes or the disciplinary actions. (White Decl. ¶¶ 33, 35, ¶¶ 38-40, 42.)

The Wine Cooler Purchase and First Major Rule Violation. In the months leading up to his termination, Home Depot determined that White had violated two major rules. The first major rule violation stemmed from Home Depot's Standard Operating Procedures ("SOP") ADM 06-30 policy, titled "Associate Purchases." (Brown Decl. ¶ 13 Ex. Z.) The policy stated in relevant part that "[a]ssociates . . . may buy marked down merchandise . . . only if: . . . the merchandise has been on display and available to regular customers for at least 24 hours at the same price the associate . . . is buying the merchandise for." (Id. at 178.) Home Depot determined that White violated this policy based on his February 3, 2015 purchase of a marked down wine cooler.

Angela Harris, an advisor in Home Depot's Associate Advice and Counsel Group ("AACG") based in Atlanta, Georgia, investigated the incident, interviewing White and ASM Lauren Donna. As part of the investigation, ASM Donna verified that White purchased the wine cooler only seven hours after it was marked down and apparently overheard White tell another Home Depot employee that he purchased the wine cooler "within 24 hours of it being on the floor." (JSUF ¶ 47; Brown Decl. ¶ 13; White Dep. at 250:02-252:16.) By February 10, 2015, AACG had determined that White had violated ADM 06-30 and sent a recommendation to Home DepotManager Rick Carpenter that White be placed on a "Final Warning." (JSUF ¶¶ 46-47; Brown Decl. ¶ 13 Ex. BB.) "Based on the Company's investigation," ASM Donna issued White the PDN on February 17, 2015, which stated that "Steve violated a major work rule violation under the Associate Purchases SOP" and warned that "Steve should refrain from further violations of the Standards of Performance. Further infractions will result in additional disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment." (Brown Decl. ¶ 13 Ex. AA.) White acknowledged the PDN. (Id.)

Second Major Rule Violation and Termination. Two months after being placed on a "Final Warning" for the wine cooler purchase, Home Depot determined that White had committed a second "major rule" violation in the discharge of his COS duties. Home Depot's Code of Conduct establishes that "disregarding a customer's needs . . . may individually or cumulatively result in termination of employment," particularly when an "associate does not follow up in a timely manner with customers[.]" (JSUF ¶ 48; Brown Decl. ¶ 9 Ex. I.) Home Depot determined that White failed to comport with this standard.

Specifically, on March 24, 2015, a customer complained to Carpenter about an overdue order the customer placed on January 24, 2015 and re-placed on February 16, 2015. (ECF No. 30-2 David Nystrom Decl. ("Nystrom Decl.") ¶ 4.) A note "was left in the system addressed to White requesting that he follow up on the order[.]" (Id.) It appears that ASM Donna contacted AACG regarding White's failure to follow...