Wilson v. Stroh Companies, Inc.

• Decision Date: 21 February 1992
• Docket Number: No. 91-1430,91-1430
• Citation: 952 F.2d 942
• Parties: 57 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1155, 57 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 41,190 Gary WILSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. STROH COMPANIES, INC., a Delaware corporation; Stroh's Ice Cream Company, a division of the Stroh Brewery Company, an Arizona corporation, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 942

952 F.2d 942

57 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1155,

57 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 41,190

Gary WILSON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. STROH COMPANIES, INC., a Delaware corporation; Stroh's Ice

Cream Company, a division of the Stroh Brewery

Company, an Arizona corporation,

Defendants-Appellees.

No. 91-1430.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued Nov. 8, 1991.

Decided Jan. 6, 1992.

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc

Denied Feb. 21, 1992.

Marilyn A. Madorsky argued & briefed, Provizer, Eisenberg, Lichtenstein & Pearlman, Southfield, Mich., for plaintiff-appellant.

David B. Calzone, Virginia F. Metz argued & briefed, Butzel, Long, Gust, Klein & Van Zile, Detroit, Mich., for defendants-appellees.

Before MERRITT, Chief Judge, GUY, Circuit Judge, and BROWN, Senior Circuit Judge.

BAILEY BROWN, Senior Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff, Gary Wilson, appeals the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants, Stroh Companies, Inc. and Stroh's Ice Cream Company (collectively "Stroh's"), in this Title VII employment discrimination case. For the following reasons, we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Stroh's.

I

Stroh's employed Wilson, who is black, from January of 1978 until October 9, 1987. During September of 1987, Stroh's established new, staggered work schedules for employees, including Wilson, at its Detroit ice cream plant. It changed Wilson's former 6:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. shift to 11:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. The union complained that the later starting time interfered with union steward Wilson's ability to interact with union members. Wilson complied with the new schedule on September 29 and 30, 1987. Members of the union met with management on September 30, 1987, to discuss Wilson's request for an earlier starting time. Phillip Roselli, general manager of Stroh's ice cream division, Ronald Holloway, corporate industrial relations manager, and Dennis DeJaeghere, plant manager, represented management at the meeting. Wilson, Ray Richardson, and Ed Smith represented the union. The meeting ended without resolution of Wilson's request.

After the meeting, Wilson, Richardson, and Smith of the union, and Holloway of management continued the discussion. Wilson claims that Richardson told him to report for work at 6:00 A.M. on the following day, not as scheduled at 11:00 A.M. Wilson claims that he advised DeJaeghere of this arrangement. Later that evening, Wilson called James Rauen, a co-employee to inform him that they would exchange work starting times for the next day.

DeJaeghere, the plant manager, made several attempts to contact Wilson by phone that evening, but Wilson refused to accept his calls. ¹ Acting on instructions from industrial relations manager Holloway, DeJaeghere then attempted to send a Western Union telegram to Wilson, informing him that he should comply with the 11:00 A.M. starting time. Wilson refused to accept the telegram. Both Wilson and Rauen showed up for work at 6:00 A.M. the next day.

The events of September 30, 1987, became the subject of an October 7, 1987, meeting of management and the union. Wilson admitted that he called Rauen at home but denied that he attempted to reschedule Rauen. Wilson claimed that he merely advised Rauen's wife that he should expect a call from DeJaeghere, the plant manager, who would reschedule him. Roselli, the general manager, told Wilson that he should not attempt to reschedule employees. Holloway, the industrial relations manager, then conducted an independent investigation of the events on behalf of Stroh's. Holloway interviewed Rauen, who stated that he had listened, on another extension, to Wilson's phone conversation with Rauen's wife. ² Rauen disputed Wilson's version of the call, asserting that Wilson instructed him to report at 11:00 A.M. on the following morning. Holloway concluded that Wilson had lied. On October 8, 1987, Stroh's suspended Wilson pending a final determination of discipline.

On the following day, Holloway learned that Wilson told fellow employees George Beecher and James Carter that, because they began their shifts early at DeJaeghere's request, they were entitled to work until the end of their normal shift, thereby picking up overtime. Wilson claims he was merely doing his job as union steward. Holloway, the industrial relations manager, decided that Wilson was again attempting to reschedule employees in a manner contrary to the policies and directives of Stroh's. He recommended Wilson's immediate termination. Concurring in Holloway's recommendation, Roselli, the general manager, discharged Wilson that day.

Wilson then filed a grievance protesting his discharge. At the conclusion of protracted proceedings, the arbitrator concluded that Wilson engaged in eight acts of insubordination, which justified his dismissal. The issue of alleged racial discrimination in Wilson's discharge was not, as such, before the arbitrator.

Wilson then filed this suit. He claims that his termination was the product of racial animus, in violation of section 703 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1), and Michigan's Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act, M.C.L. §§ 37.2101 et seq. Specifically, Wilson claims that his direct supervisor, DeJaeghere, displayed animosity toward him because he is black. He claims that DeJaeghere was out to get him and that this prejudice should be imputed to Holloway and Roselli. Wilson did not claim that either Holloway or Roselli was directly racially motivated.

The district court refused to impute DeJaeghere's prejudice ³ to Holloway, who is black, and Roselli. It concluded that, because DeJaeghere's prejudice could not be attributed to Holloway and Roselli, Wilson had failed to submit evidence to support a prima facie case of discrimination. Additionally, the district court concluded that, even if Wilson were able to establish a prima facie case, the arbitrator's decision in this matter established Stroh's legitimate, non-discriminatory motive for terminating Wilson. Finally, it concluded that Wilson had failed to show that this non-discriminatory motive was a pretext.

II

We review a grant of summary judgment de novo. The evidence and all inferences to be drawn therefrom must be construed in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Summary judgment is appropriate only when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Kraus v. Sobel Corrugated Containers, 915 F.2d 227, 229 (6th Cir.1990).

In a Title VII employment discrimination case, the plaintiff bears the initial burden of submitting evidence to support a prima facie case of discrimination. Texas Dep't of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 252-53, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 1093-94, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981). The plaintiff must produce "evidence sufficiently strong to raise an inference that [the employer's conduct was] racially motivated." McKenzie v. Sawyer, 684 F.2d 62, 71 (D.C.Cir.1982); see also Hatton v. Ford Motor Co., 508 F.Supp. 620, 623 (E.D.Mich.1981). "Proof of discriminatory motive is critical" when disparate treatment is claimed. International Bhd. of Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324, 335, 97 S.Ct. 1843, 1854, 52 L.Ed.2d 396 (1977).

Once the plaintiff establishes a prima facie case, the defendant must articulate a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for his action. McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1824, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). If the defendant is successful, the plaintiff still may prevail if he establishes that the apparently non-discriminatory rationale was merely a pretext. Burdine, 450 U.S. at 256, 101 S.Ct. at 1095. A plaintiff may show pretext by establishing that he did not violate the work rule for which he was disciplined or that other employees who engaged in similar misconduct received less severe sanctions.

The district court held that Wilson failed to submit evidence supporting a prima facie case of employment discrimination because he failed to show the necessary nexus between DeJaeghere's racial animus, which we presume, and Roselli's decision to terminate his employment. The district court also dismissed Wilson's claim under Michigan's Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act for failure to establish a prima facie case.

Wilson offers several theories to support his attempt to establish a prima facie case. He first states that DeJaeghere's racial animus should be imputed to Holloway and Roselli. He argues that DeJaeghere's animus somehow infected the decision made by Roselli, based on Holloway's recommendation. He cites several cases as standing for the proposition that a supervisor's discriminatory animus regarding an employee may be imputed to the managers who discharge the employee, even though the managers lack discriminatory intent. See Shager v. Upjohn Co., 913 F.2d 398, 405 (7th Cir.1990); Perez v. Curcio, 841 F.2d 255 (9th Cir.1988); Crader v. Concordia College, 724 F.Supp. 558, 564 (N.D.Ill.1989); Montgomery v. Campbell Soup, 647 F.Supp. 1372 (N.D.Ill.1986). Wilson then conclusorily asserts that Holloway and Roselli relied on a false record, created by DeJaeghere, to fire him.

Stroh's responds by citing several cases as standing for the proposition that the discriminatory...