Young v. Builders Steel Co.

• Decision Date: 09 June 2014
• Docket Number: No. 13–1556.,13–1556.
• Citation: 754 F.3d 573
• Parties: Michael YOUNG, Plaintiff–Appellant v. BUILDERS STEEL COMPANY, Defendant–Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

754 F.3d 573

Michael YOUNG, Plaintiff–Appellant

v.BUILDERS STEEL COMPANY, Defendant–Appellee.

No. 13–1556.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: Feb. 12, 2014.

Filed: June 9, 2014.

Alan V. Johnson, argued, Topeka, KS, for appellant.

Clifford Brooks Wood, argued, Kansas City, MO, for appellee.

Jacy J.H. Moneymaker, on brief, Kansas City, MO, for appellee.

Before RILEY, Chief Judge, LOKEN and BYE, Circuit Judges.

BYE, Circuit Judge.

Michael Young brought this employment discrimination case claiming race discrimination and retaliation against his former employer Builders Steel Company (“Builders Steel”). The district court ¹ granted summary judgment to Builders Steel on both claims. Young now appeals. We affirm.

I

Young, an African–American male, was employed with Builders Steel for twenty-six years. Builders Steel is a structural steel fabricator and constructor operating in Kansas City, Missouri. Until major lay-offs in 2011, Builders Steel employed about twenty-three people in its Kansas City shop. From 2009 until his employment ended in May of 2011, Young was the only African–American employee of Builders Steel.

Young was a member of Local Union No. 520 of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers (“the Union”). Some other, but not all, employees at Builders Steel were members of the Union. The Union and Builders Steel executed contracts every three years; those contracts governed the working conditions of the union-members and the relationship between the Union and Builders Steel. Two such agreements are relevant to this appeal, the 2005 Union Agreement and the 2008 Union Agreement (“the Union Agreements”). The 2005 and 2008 Union Agreements are similar in all relevant aspects. The Union Agreements divided the shop employees into separate job classifications and assigned each job classification a “Wage Group.” The Union Agreements state:

Each of the Company's employees shall be classified in accordance within the hereinafter mentioned classification which covers the class of work in which he is employed by the Company ... [E]ach employee shall be paid within the wage range, if applicable to the classification, but not less than the minimum hourly wage rate set forth ... for the classification in which such employee is included or classified.

Aplt. Add. at 23, 41. Before being laid-off, Young was in Wage Group 3. Pursuant to the Union Agreements, Wage Group 3 contains three different job classifications: Welder A, Burner A, and Maintenance/Machine Operator A.

The Union Agreements contain provisions providing seniority status to long-serving workers. The Union Agreements provide “in all cases of increase or decrease in forces, the following factors will be taken into consideration: (1) length of continuous service, (2) ability, and (3) experience. Ability and experience being equal, preference shall be given the employee with the greatest length of continuous service.” Aplt. Add. at 29–30, 47–48.

Young began working for Builders Steel in 1985 as a “Helper” in the production department, which is commonly referred to as “the shop.” In November 1992, Young was promoted to the position of “Layerout/Fitter Welder A,” which was assigned to Wage Group 1A. In January 2007, Young requested to “bid down” to the position of Burner A, which he claims was done on the request of Builders Steel. “Bidding down” refers to an employee requesting a transfer to a lower-classified job position. Burner A was assigned to Wage Group 3 in the Union Agreements. Young was transferred down to Burner A and his rate of pay was reduced from $17.58 per hour to $16.47 per hour. At the time of his “bid down,” Young was not a certified welder, and was therefore not qualified to be a Welder A, but there is no certification or machine qualification needed to be qualified as a Burner A. Young claims Builders Steel promised Young a pay-raise back to his original hourly rate before Young bid down. Young did not receive any pay-raise after bidding down.

A round of layoffs ensued in October 2009, because of a decreased demand for business, but those layoffs did not impact Young.

Young has filed a number of complaints about Builders Steel asserting race discrimination claims regarding the bidding down process and Builders Steel's subsequent failure to increase Young's wage. On March 2, 2009, Young filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Missouri Commission on Human Rights (“MCHR”) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). Young filed a second Charge of Discrimination on October 14, 2009. On March 15, 2010, Young filed a lawsuit against Builders Steel in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri. On September 13, 2010, Young filed a grievance with Builders Steel again asserting many of the same allegations filed in state court.

On May 27, 2011, Builders Steel laid off twelve employees in the shop, including Young, due to the decline in available work. Young was the most senior person laid off and was the only employee classified as Burner A to be laid off. The parties contest how many employees were retained after the May 27, 2011, layoffs. According to Builders Steel, employees with the most skills were retained and Young was qualified only to be a Burner A, but not a Welder A or a Maintenance/Machine Operator A (the other Wage Group 3 jobs). However, Builders Steel claims any person classified as Welder A or Maintenance/Machine Operator A is necessarily qualified to perform the job duties of, and could be qualified as, a Burner A.

Later, two workers who had been laid off were called back to work, each of whom had less seniority than Young, but Young was not called back. Those two workers had higher job classifications than Young. One was a “Group Lead” and “Machine Operator A” and the other was a “Material Handler.” Young does not claim he was qualified to perform any of these jobs.

On February 29, 2012, Young commenced this lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, alleging discrimination and retaliation in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Builders Steel moved for summary judgment on both of Young's claims, which the district court granted. Young now appeals.

On appeal, Young argues the district court improperly granted summary judgment because genuine issues of material fact exist and the district court erroneouslyweighed the evidence and failed to view the evidence in the light most favorable to Young. Young specifically appeals two issues: (1) whether Young presented sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case of race discrimination; and (2) whether Young presented sufficient evidence to establish a prima facia case of retaliation for opposing race discrimination.

II

“We review a district court's decision to grant a motion for summary judgment de novo, applying the same standards for summary judgment as the district court.” Tusing v. Des Moines Indep. Cmty. Sch. Dist., 639 F.3d 507, 514 (8th Cir.2011). Summary judgment is appropriate “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). In considering summary judgment motions, the burden of demonstrating there are no genuine issues of material fact rests on the moving party, and we review the evidence and the inferences which reasonably may be drawn from the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Davis v. Jefferson Hosp. Ass'n, 685 F.3d 675, 680 (8th Cir.2012). The non-moving party must substantiate his allegations by “sufficient probative evidence [that] would permit a finding in [his] favor on more than mere speculation, conjecture, or fantasy.” Mann v. Yarnell, 497 F.3d 822, 825 (8th Cir.2007) (quotation and citation omitted). “Where the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party, there is no genuine issue for trial.” Torgerson v. City of Rochester, 643 F.3d 1031, 1042 (8th Cir.2011) (en banc).

A

To survive a motion for summary judgment on the race discrimination claim, Young must either “present admissible evidence directly indicating unlawful discrimination,” or alternatively, Young could create “an inference of unlawful discrimination under the burden-shifting framework established in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973).” Humphries v. Pulaski Cnty. Special Sch. Dist., 580 F.3d 688, 692 (8th Cir.2009) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). “To prove intentional discrimination through direct proof, a plaintiff must establish ‘a specific link between the alleged discriminatory animus and the challenged decision, sufficient to support a finding by a reasonable fact finder that an illegitimate criterion actually motivated the employer's decision.’ ” Gibson v. Am. Greetings Corp., 670 F.3d 844, 853 (8th Cir.2012) (quoting Putman v. Unity Health Sys., 348 F.3d 732, 735 (8th Cir.2003)). Because Young did not present direct evidence of race discrimination, we analyze his claim under the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework. See Barber v. C1 Truck Driver Training, LLC, 656 F.3d 782, 792 (8th Cir.2011).

Under the McDonnell Douglas framework, a presumption of discrimination is created when the plaintiff meets his burden of establishing a prima facie case of employment discrimination. Davis, 685 F.3d at 681. To establish a prima facie case for race discrimination, “a plaintiff must show (1) he is a member of a protected class, (2) he met his employer's legitimate expectations, (3) he suffered an adverse employment action, and (4) the circumstances give rise to an inference of discrimination (for example, similarly situated employees outside the protected class were treated differently).” Gibson, 670 F.3d at 853–54 (internal quotation omitted). Once a plaintiff successfully establishesa prima facie case, the...