Zavadil v. Alcoa Extrusions, Inc.

• Decision Date: 28 February 2005
• Docket Number: No. CIV. 04-4013.,CIV. 04-4013.
• Citation: 363 F.Supp.2d 1187
• Parties: Robert D. ZAVADIL, Plaintiff, v. ALCOA EXTRUSIONS, INC., Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of South Dakota

363 F.Supp.2d 1187

Robert D. ZAVADIL, Plaintiff, v. ALCOA EXTRUSIONS, INC., Defendant.

No. CIV. 04-4013.

United States District Court, D. South Dakota, Southern Division.

February 28, 2005.

Scott N. Heidepriem, Johnson, Heidepriem, Miner, Marlow & Janklow, Sioux Falls, SD, for Plaintiff.

Jon C. Sogn, Lynn, Jackson, Shultz & Lebrun, Sioux Falls, SD, Paul Amata, Shelly R. Pagan, LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, LLP, Pittsburgh, PA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

PIERSOL, Chief Judge.

Plaintiff, Robert D. Zavadil, filed his Complaint in this diversity action, alleging breach of contract with regard to his employment with Defendant, Alcoa Extrusions, Inc. Doc. 1. Defendant submitted a document entitled "Motion to Dismiss or, in the alternative, for Summary Judgment." Doc. 5. Attached as Exhibit A to this Motion are portions of the Employee Handbook that was issued by Defendant to Plaintiff during Plaintiff's employment. The parties have also submitted a Statement of Material Facts (Doc. 9) and a response to the Statement of Material Facts (Doc. 18). Since the Court is considering Exhibit A to the Motion to Dismiss, as well as the Statement of Material Facts and response thereto in resolving this matter, and since these documents contain matters outside Plaintiff's complaint, this Court is treating Defendant's motion as a motion for summary judgment. See Fed.R.Evid. 12(b).

Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment shall be entered "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the Court is required to view the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and must give that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts. AgriStor Leasing v. Farrow, 826 F.2d 732, 734 (8th Cir.1987). The moving party bears the burden of showing both the absence of a genuine issue of material fact and its entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff worked as a shift supervisor for Defendant in its Yankton, South Dakota, plant from 1996 until his employment was terminated in January of 2003. On March 16, 2000, Plaintiff signed an Employee Receipt for Defendant's Employee Handbook. The introduction to the Employee Handbook states: "The contents of this handbook state the philosophy, policies and current procedures of your Company; they are subject to change from time to time as the Company may decide without prior notice to (or with the consent of) the employees." A footnote to the introduction states, "The policies and procedures contained in the handbook are intended as guidelines only and are subject to change at the sole discretion of the Company."

In a section of the Employee Handbook entitled "Employment at Will," the following advisement is made:

Although we expect that your employment relationship with us will be mutually beneficial, in accordance with South Dakota state laws, your employment is "at will" and either you or Alcoa Extruded Construction Products may terminate your employment at any time, for any reason, with or without cause or notice.

The contents of this booklet are not intended to be, nor do they constitute a contract of employment.

The provisions of this handbook are not intended to, nor do they represent a binding agreement or promise.

In a section of the Employee Handbook entitled "Personal Behavior," a list of examples of unacceptable conduct which are grounds for immediate discharge are given. However, this section of the Employee Handbook contains the following disclaimer: "This list is not all-inclusive, nor is it intended to restrict the employment-at-will status of the employee or Company. The Company reserves the right to discipline and/or terminate an employee for reasons other than those listed below."

The Employee Handbook contains a section entitled "Termination Review" which states:

At Alcoa Extruded Construction Products Yankton Operation, we take the decision to terminate employment very seriously. While we are an "At Will" employer, we give each regular employee the opportunity to have his termination reviewed by the General Manager of the operation. You may request this review by submitting, in writing, a letter which requests the review and describes the reasons why you feel the decision to terminate should be changed.

The introduction to the Employee Handbook provides that any changes to the handbook will be publicized. Subsequent to distribution of the Employee Handbook, Defendant publicized its "Peer Review Policy and Procedures,"which was attached as Exhibit 1 to Plaintiff's Complaint, and which was relied upon by Plaintiff in support of his breach of contract allegations. The Introduction to the "Peer Review Policy and Procedures" explains:

[T]he Company recognizes that from time to time an employee may encounter a problem, concern or complaint that if left unresolved could affect job satisfaction and work performance.

As always, employees are encouraged to speak up when they have a concern or complaint about how the application of a company policy has affected them. Alcoa Extruded Construction Products' Open Door Policy provides access to any member of management or Human Resources with whom an employee wishes to express a concern.

However, when an individual is faced with a situation that has not been satisfactorily resolved by traditional means, the Peer Review Process may be utilized. Peer Review is a formal problem-solving process designed to ensure that each employee's concerns are given careful consideration and conflicts are resolved quickly, fairly and confidentially.

The above policy provides for Peer Review Panels which hear appeals involving the application of policies, procedures, established practices and work rules involving Defendant's Employees. The policy provides that the Peer Review Panels "may review management's actions to ensure that the policy or practice was applied properly and consistently." If the Peer Review Panels determine that the policy or practice was not applied properly and consistently, they have the authority under the policy to "make appropriate remedies consistent with Company practice and/or policies." On page 3, the "Peer Review Policy and Procedures" points out that "Steps one and two may be bypassed in cases involving termination of employment." Step 3 on page 4 of the same publication provides, "A final and binding decision will be given by whichever avenue of appeal the appellant chose in Step 3." The peer review policy specifically addresses that termination are covered in the appeals to the Peer Review Panels. A flow chart on page 13 in the published policy sets forth the voting process of the Peer Review Panels in cases involving termination and cases other than termination. The flow chart for termination issues provides: "Vote `Yes' or `No' to the question: `Should the Employee be reinstated?'" The peer review policy establishes that Peer Review Panels have the authority to grant, modify, or deny an appeal. Finally, the policy states that the decisions of the Peer Review Panels are final and binding (page 11).

The peer review policy covers "all full-time employees" of Defendant who have completed their 90-day orientation period. Although Defendant states in its memorandum that it would explain at the appropriate time why the peer review policy did not apply to Plaintiff, the Court is unaware of any exclusion set forth in the peer review policy, which would apply to Plaintiff.

In October of 2002, the United Steelworkers Union began efforts to organize the employees at Defendant's plant at Yankton, South Dakota. Plaintiff contends that one of the mechanics he supervised told Defendant's Human Resources Manager that Plaintiff supported the Union. Plaintiff's supervisor then called Plaintiff into his office and advised Plaintiff that if he ever supported the Union, he would be "looking for another job." Plaintiff denied supporting the Union.

Plaintiff contends that when Union activity picked up momentum in January of 2003, he was called into his supervisor's office and questioned by the manufacturing manager about an allegedly careless remark he had made a month before to the manager of Environment, Health and Safety about safety guards. Plaintiff and other supervisors attended a meeting on January 14, 2003. At this meeting, Defendant's corporate labor attorney asked the supervisors to share their thoughts on why employees were interested in organizing. Plaintiff advised the attorney that he thought technician pay was the main concern of the maintenance personnel. The next morning Plaintiff was called into his supervisor's office and the manufacturing manager questioned Plaintiff about discussing pay with other supervisors and department managers and also brought up the allegedly careless remark that had been previously discussed. The manufacturing manager then informed Plaintiff that he was being suspended without pay pending an investigation. On January 21, 2003, the manufacturing manager informed Plaintiff that he was being terminated because of a safety violation and because he had talked with other shift supervisors about wages.

When the manufacturing manager informed Plaintiff that he was being terminated, Plaintiff inquired whether he could appeal the decision to a Peer Review Panel. The manufacturing manager advised Plaintiff that he did not know if he could take such an appeal. On January 24, 2003,¹ Plaintiff contacted the Corporate Human Resources Manager and again asked if he could appeal the...