Womack v. Munson

• Decision Date: 23 May 1980
• Docket Number: No. 79-1306,79-1306
• Parties: 22 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 1079, 22 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 30,837 Thomas WOMACK, Appellant, v. Lee MUNSON, Prosecuting Attorney for the Sixth Judicial District of Arkansas, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 1292

619 F.2d 1292

22 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 1079,

22 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 30,837

Thomas WOMACK, Appellant, v. Lee MUNSON, Prosecuting Attorney for the Sixth Judicial

District of Arkansas, Appellee.

No. 79-1306.

United States Court of Appeals,

Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Nov. 6, 1979.

Decided April 17, 1980.

Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc Denied May 23, 1980.

Richard L. Mays, Mays & Crutcher, Little Rock, Ark., for appellant.

Philip K. Lyon, House, Holmes & Jewell, Little Rock, Ark., for appellee; J. Bruce Cross and Hugh L. Brown, Chief, Civil Division, Deputy Pros. Atty., Little Rock, Ark., on brief.

Before LAY, Chief Judge, ^* and BRIGHT and McMILLIAN, Circuit Judges.

LAY, Chief Judge.

This appeal challenges judgment entered in favor of the defendant in a title VII action that alleged retaliatory discharge from employment. ¹ Thomas Womack had worked in various positions since 1966 in the county sheriff's department and the state district prosecutor's office. He was discharged from employment as a deputy sheriff in 1973, and filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, (EEOC), protesting the discharge. ² In February 1975 he was hired as an investigator by the state prosecutor, Lee Munson. In June 1975 Womack filed a class action suit against the sheriff based upon the allegations contained in his EEOC charge. Shortly thereafter Munson questioned Womack about the lawsuit and suspended him; an investigation followed, and Womack was discharged 20 days later.

The district court found Womack had made a prima facie case of retaliatory discharge, but that Munson had established an independent, nondiscriminatory ground for the discharge. It dismissed the complaint. We reverse with directions to enter judgment for Womack, and to award back pay from the date of discharge. ³

I. Facts.

Womack filed the lawsuit against the sheriff on June 3, 1975. On Thursday morning, June 5, 1975, Munson called Womack into his office to "determine what sort of a lawsuit this was." Munson testified his initial concern was the potential conflict of interest raised by his employee suing a party whom he had the responsibility of defending. According to a June 9 memorandum filed by chief deputy prosecutor Bentley, Womack was told at this June 5 meeting that he had placed the prosecutor's office in an embarrassing position because it would appear the office sanctioned his charges, and there was a further problem because the office was responsible for defending the sheriff. Munson verified these statements on cross-examination by admitting the lawsuit put him in an awkward position, and that retaining Womack on his payroll might give the sheriff and others the impression he sanctioned the charges. At the June 5 meeting, Womack asked if Munson wanted him to withdraw the lawsuit. Munson said he did not want him to, but was concerned with the position the lawsuit put his office in at the particular time. Munson then suggested Womack take a leave of absence with pay and offered to help him find suitable employment.

At this initial meeting Womack was questioned about an allegation in the lawsuit concerning abuse of suspects by the sheriff's office, and his knowledge of and involvement in the abuse. He testified at trial that he told Munson that the sheriff's practice was to call in black officers when white officers were interrogating black suspects. He stated he had once been "called in" when a white officer was abusing a black suspect. Munson, Bentley and deputy prosecutor Haynes testified Womack said at the June 5 meeting that he had personally participated in the physical abuse of black prisoners in order to keep his job. Womack denied making the statement. The trial judge credited Munson's testimony that Womack had made this admission on June 5.

On the morning of Monday, June 9, Womack told Bentley he did not want to leave and take a job Bentley had suggested to him on June 6. Later that day, Womack was placed on leave of absence and told the matter of mistreatment of black prisoners would be investigated. Deputy prosecutor Crank, who had been put in charge of the investigation, then interrogated him further. Womack refused to give a sworn statement without a lawyer present. In response to Crank's questions, he denied he had said at the June 5 meeting that he had personally been required to brutalize anyone.

Crank investigated and failed to find any corroboration for Womack's allegations that black deputy sheriffs had been required to abuse black suspects. ⁴ Crank orally reported his findings to Munson and Bentley on June 26. Munson determined after consultation with Bentley and others in the office, that Womack should be discharged. Bentley told Womack he was fired on June 26. Both Bentley and Munson testified the main reason for Womack's discharge was his denial that he had told them on June 5 that he had personally abused black suspects. According to Munson, regardless of whether Womack had in fact physically abused suspects or had lied about it, either situation was "untenable" and Womack had to be fired. This was given in the pretrial stipulation as Munson's "business reason" for the discharge, and was Munson's defense theory at trial.

Bentley's memorandum to his file, dated June 26, stated Womack's discharge was for: (1) moonlighting as an armed security guard; (2) campaigning for political office; and (3) his admission that he had mistreated blacks while employed as a deputy sheriff. No mention was made of Womack's denial of the admission. Bentley testified he had informed Munson of the first two reasons, but that the principal reason for Womack's discharge was the admission of abuse. ⁵ Munson testified the real or primary reason was the admission coupled with the subsequent denial.

II. Legal Standards.

Section 704(a) of title VII provides:

It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate against any of his employees or applicants for employment, . . . because he has opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice by this subchapter, or because he has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this subchapter.

42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a).

The order and allocation of proof in title VII suits generally, see McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802-04, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1824-1825, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973); Furnco Construction Corp. v. Waters, 438 U.S. 567, 577-78, 98 S.Ct. 2943, 2949-50, 57 L.Ed.2d 957 (1978); Board of Trustees v. Sweeney, 439 U.S. 24, 99 S.Ct. 295, 58 L.Ed.2d 216 (1978) (per curiam), is also applied in cases alleging retaliation for participation in title VII processes. See Garrett v. Mobil Oil Corp., 531 F.2d 892, 895 (8th Cir. 1976); Aguirre v. Chula Vista Sanitary Service, 542 F.2d 779, 781 (9th Cir. 1976); Hochstadt v. Worcester Foundation, 425 F.Supp. 318, 324 (D.Mass.), aff'd, 545 F.2d 222 (1st Cir. 1976); B. Schlei, Employment Discrimination Law, ch. 15 at 436 (1976). Section 704(a) requires a plaintiff to show: (1) statutorily protected participation; (2) adverse employment action; and (3) a causal connection between the two. Hochstadt v. Worcester Foundation, 425 F.Supp. at 324; B. Schlei, supra at 417. Once Womack had made out a prima facie case of retaliatory termination, the burden shifted to Munson to articulate a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the dismissal. Miller v. Williams, 590 F.2d 317, 320 (9th Cir. 1979); Hochstadt v. Worcester Foundation, 425 F.Supp. at 324. Munson did not have to prove absence of retaliatory motive, but only produce evidence that would dispel the inference of retaliation by establishing the existence of a legitimate reason. Furnco Construction Corp. v. Waters, 438 U.S. at 577-78, 98 S.Ct. at 2949-50, Kirby v. Colony Furniture Co., 613 F.2d 696, at 702 (8th Cir. 1980). If Munson produced evidence of a reason other than retaliation, Womack could still prevail if the evidence showed the proffered justification was in fact a pretext, a cover up for retaliation. Aguirre v. Chula Vista Sanitary Service, 542 F.2d at 781; Hochstadt v. Worcester Foundation, 425 F.Supp. at 324. The overall burden of persuasion remained with Womack.

III. Analysis.

We hold the district court erred in concluding Munson's reason for discharge was a legitimate and nonretaliatory one. We also hold Womack met his burden of showing he was discharged because of the lawsuit he filed against the sheriff.

A. Legitimacy of the Reason for Discharge.

We agree with the district court that Womack made out a prima facie case of retaliatory discharge. ⁶ It is a strong case. The evidence shows that Munson initially called Womack in upon learning of the lawsuit, before Womack had made any admission. At that meeting, Munson told Womack he wanted him to leave because his continued employment in the prosecutor's office was an embarrassment. Within five days of this discussion Womack was suspended; within twenty days he was fired.

The district court found Munson established a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the discharge: Womack's admission of physically abusing black suspects and subsequent denial of both the admission and the abuse. We agree that there is substantial evidence to support the finding that the admission and denial occurred, and although the evidence is contradictory, that Munson and his chief deputy considered these as factors in their decision to terminate Womack. We differ with the district court in its legal conclusion that these factors were sufficiently independent from the filing of the complaint to constitute legitimate and nonretaliatory reasons for discharge under section 704(a).

Womack alleged in his complaint that the sheriff required black deputies to physically abuse black suspects. Womack's standing to raise that claim stemmed from his prior employment as a black deputy sheriff the crux of his complaint was racial discrimination...