Gerdin v. Ceva Freight, L.L.C.
Gerdin v. Ceva Freight, L.L.C.
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Plaintiff, Katie Gerdin, brings this action against defendants, CEVA Freight, L.L.C, and CEVA Logistics U.S., Inc. (CEVA), for employment discrimination based on gender and pregnancy in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (Title VII), and Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code, and for violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. (FMLA). Pending before the court is Defendants’ CEVA Freight, LLC, and CEVA Logistics US, Inc’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket Entry No. 14). For the reasons set forth below defendants’ motion for summary judgment will be denied.
I. Standard of Review
Summary judgment is authorized if the movant establishes that there is no genuine dispute about any material fact, and the law entitles it to judgment. Fed. R. Civ.P. 56(c). Disputes about material facts are “genuine” if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2511, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The Supreme Court has interpreted the plain language of Rule 56(c) to mandate the entry of summary judgment “after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). A party moving for summary judgment “must ‘demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact,’ but need not negate the elements of the nonmovant’s case.” Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir. 1994) (en banc), (quoting Celotex, 106 S.Ct. at 2553-2554 (emphasis in original)). “If the moving party fails to meet this initial burden, the motion must be denied, regardless of the nonmovant’s response.” Id. If, however, the moving party meets this burden, Rule 56(c) requires the nonmovant to go beyond the pleadings and show by affidavits, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, or other admissible evidence that specific facts exist over which there is a genuine issue for trial. Id. (citing Celotex, 106 S.Ct. at 2553-2554). In reviewing the evidence “the court must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party, and it may not make credibility
II. Undisputed Facts
Plaintiff was hired by CEVA in September 2008 as an Administrative Assistant.
In March of 2009 Duff left CEVA,
In the summer of 2009 plaintiff informed defendants that she was pregnant.
In October 2009 Senior Vice-President Nelson Bettencourt transferred from the Corporate HR department to the Domestic department.
III. Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment
Defendants argue that they are entitled to summary judgment because plaintiff is unable to' present evidence in support of one or more of the essential elements of each of plaintiffs claims.
A. Federal Law Claims
1. Title VII
Plaintiff alleges that defendants terminated her employment because of her sex and her pregnancy in violation of rights protected by Title VII.
(a) Applicable Law
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in federal and private employment. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978(PDA) “amended Title VII by explicitly including discrimination based on pregnancy and related medical conditions within the definition of sex discrimination.” Stout v. Baxter Healthcare Corp., 282 F.3d 856, 859 (5th Cir. 2002). Specifically, Title VIPs definition of the terms “because of sex” and “on the basis of sex” was expanded to include “because of or on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions ...” Id. (quoting 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k)). A claim brought under the PDA is analyzed like any other Title VII discrimination claim. See Urbano v. Continental Airlines, Inc., 138 F.3d 204, 206 (5th Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1117, 119 S.Ct. 894, 142 L.Ed.2d 792 (1999).
The evidentiary analysis required in cases brought under Title VII for sex discrimination was enunciated in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), and has been reaffirmed in many subsequent cases, including, e.g., St. Mary’s Honor Center v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993). Under the McDonnell Douglas procedure the initial burden of establishing a prima facie case lies with the plaintiffs. 93 S.Ct. at 1824. Once plaintiffs have established a prima facie case, a rebuttable presumption arises that obligates the defendant to articulate a legitimate, nondiscriminatory business reason for the
(b) Application of the Law to the Facts
(1) Plaintiff Has Established Prima Facie Case
To carry the initial burden on her claim of sex discrimination based on pregnancy, plaintiff must establish a prima facie case by showing that: (1) she is a member of a protected group; (2) she was qualified for her position; (3) she suffered an adverse employment action; and (4) that other similarly situated employees were more favorably treated, or that she was replaced by a person who was not a member of her protected class. See McDonnell Douglas, 93 S.Ct. at 1824. See also Urbano, 138 F.3d at 206; McCoy v. City of Shreveport, 492 F.3d 551, 556 (5th Cir. 2007). Defendants do not dispute that plaintiff was qualified for her position or that she suffered an adverse employment action. Instead, asserting that plaintiff “was not pregnant when CEVA eliminated her position, having given birth approximately 10 weeks before and returned to work full-time,”
Defendants do not dispute that plaintiff was discharged less than three weeks after she returned from her maternity leave, and that while plaintiff was out on maternity leave her job duties were reassigned to two women, Margarita Rodriguez and Wendy Valdemar, neither of whom were pregnant, and both of whom retained plaintiffs job duties after plaintiffs discharge. These undisputed facts are sufficient to satisfy the disputed elements of plaintiffs prima facie case, i.e., that plaintiff was a member of the protected class of pregnant women, and that plaintiff was replaced by employees who were not members of her protected class, i.e., women who were not pregnant. See McLaughlin v. W & T Offshore, Inc., 78 Fed.Appx. 334, 338 (5th Cir. 2003) (per curiam) (plaintiff established prima facie case under the PDA by showing that plaintiff was pregnant, she was discharged following return from maternity leave, and her duties were delegated to two nonpregnant employees).
(2) Genuine Issues of Fact Exist as to Pretext
Once plaintiff has established a prima facie case of sex discrimination based on pregnancy, the question becomes whether defendants have offered a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the adverse employment action at issue, here plaintiffs discharge, and whether plaintiff can satisfy her burden of presenting evidence from which a reasonable fact-finder could conclude that the defendants’ stated reason for her discharge is not true but is, instead, a pretext for sex discrimination based on pregnancy.
(i) Defendants’ Legitimate Non-Discriminatory Business Reason for Plaintiff’s Discharge
Defendants argue that they are entitled to summary judgment on plaintiffs Title VII claims because her position was eliminated as part of a RIF. As evidence that plaintiffs position was eliminated as part of a RIF, defendants cite the deposition testimony of Wendy Valdemar, supervisor of the P & D Department, and Cathy Kilgore, who at all relevant times was Vice-President of Human Resources, and the declaration of Stacey Harrison, Human Resources Business Partner Manager for CEVA Freight, L.L.C.
Kilgore testified that in the fall of 2009 CEVA began a series of layoffs, that plaintiff was considered for layoff then, but another person was discharged instead.
Valdemar testified that in January of 2010 she and plaintiffs supervisor, Bob Livingston, told plaintiff that she would be trained in line haul payable functions because she would be assuming those duties upon her return from maternity leave. Valdemar testified that later that month plaintiff moved to a cubicle to sit among the other line haul clerks and begin training in their duties.
Harrison stated in her declaration that plaintiff was employed by CEVA Freight, L.L.C., not by CEVA Logistics U.S., Inc., that on October 11, 2009, CEVA trans
CEVA instituted a reduction in force (“RIF”) associated with outsourcing all accounting functions in the U.S., including the Domestic P & D Department. Approximately 41 persons were terminated as part of the RIF during September and October 2010. Later terminations as part of the RIF took the total layoffs to approximately 62 persons.25
Defendants’ articulated reason for discharging the plaintiff is that plaintiff had been transferred to the P & D Department prior to her maternity leave, and that plaintiff was discharged on June 9, 2010, because her position was eliminated when P & D was outsourced. If believed by the trier of fact, defendants’ legitimate, non-discriminatory business reason for discharging plaintiff would support a finding that her discharge was not caused by unlawful discrimination. See Texas Instruments, 100 F.3d at 1181 (recognizing a RIF as a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for discharge).
(ii) Plaintiff’s Evidence of Pretext
Where an employer produces a legitimate, non-discriminatory explanation, the plaintiff bears the ultimate burden of persuading the trier of fact that the defendant engaged in intentional discrimination. Evidence showing that the defendants’ explanation is false, taken together with the plaintiffs prima facie case is likely to support an inference of discrimination. Laxton v. Gap, Inc., 333 F.3d 572, 578 (5th Cir. 2003). Here, plaintiff presents several types of evidence to rebut defendants’ claim that she was discharged because her position was eliminated in a RIF.
First, plaintiff points to the temporal proximity between her protécted activity and her discharge, i.e., plaintiff was discharged less than three weeks after she returned from maternity leave. Second, while defendants claim that the decision to discharge plaintiff was precipitated by the decision to outsource the P & D Department’s accounting functions, plaintiff disputes the defendants’ contentions that the duties she performed were outsourced accounting functions. Plaintiff testified in her deposition that she never did much with the ladies in the P & D Department because they did billing while she performed other administrative duties such as timekeeping; assisting with human resource paperwork; scheduling leave, training, meetings, and conference calls; making travel arrangements; preparing expense reports; recording overhead payables; ordering office supplies; preparing reports; Sprint invoicing; and researching special projects as requested by department managers.
Q. Who took over the duties of ordering supplies while Katie was on maternity leave?
A. Margarita.
Q. Who took over Katie’s timekeeper duties while she was on maternity leave?
A. Margarita and myself.
Q. And do you know if anybody took over the things that Katie was doing to help the help desk and the managers with the website?
A. That came back to me.29
Third, defendants’ human resources representative, Kilgore, testified that when there is a RIF, defendants conduct a “peer group analysis” to determine who to lay off, but that no such analysis was ever done for plaintiff. Kilgore also testified that when a RIF is needed, every effort is made to reduce extra staff by transferring and rebalancing individuals as appropriate, but that she was not aware of any such efforts having been made for the plaintiff. Nor did Kilgore know whether any consideration had been given to discharging any other administrative assistants, such as Rodriguez. Instead, Kilgore testified that Rodriguez was not considered for the RIF.
Finally, plaintiff points to comments made to her by her supervisor, Livingston, both before and after her maternity leave. Plaintiff testified that prior to her maternity leave, Livingston expressed displeasure with her having to take time off work to go to her prenatal doctor appointments, and questioned her as to how long her appointments would take, and whether they could be made at different times.
The court concludes that when viewed in totality and in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, the evidence that plaintiff has presented is sufficient to create a genuine issue of material fact as to whether defendants’ stated reason for her discharge is not true but is, instead, a pretext for sex discrimination based on pregnancy. While temporal proximity
Although defendants cite evidence indicating that plaintiffs position was eliminated in a RIF, defendants’ evidence shows that the RIF occurred in September and October of 2010, while plaintiff was discharged on June 9, 2010. In addition, the plaintiff appears to be the only employee discharged in June of 2010. The contradiction between defendants’ evidence of when the RIF occurred and when plaintiff was discharged, in addition to plaintiffs position apparently being the only position eliminated in June 2010, taken together with the temporal proximity of plaintiffs discharge to her return from maternity leave, the defendants’ failure to follow internal procedures, and her supervisor’s remarks, raise credibility issues that are sufficient to create material issues of disputed fact as to whether defendants’ articulated reason is true. See Reeves, 120 S.Ct. at 2109 (“a plaintiffs prima facie case, combined with sufficient evidence to find that the employer’s asserted justification is false, may permit the trier of fact to conclude that the employer unlawfully discriminated”); Blow v. City of San Antonio, Tex., 236 F.3d 293, 297 (5th Cir. 2001) (recognizing that one is “simply not required to believe” defendants’ proffered reason for plaintiffs discharge); Hunt v. Rapides Healthcare System, LLC, 277 F.3d 757, 762 (5th Cir. 2001) (“Credibility determinations are not part of the summary judgment analysis.”); Palasota v. Haggar Clothing Co., 342 F.3d 569, 576 (5th Cir. 2003), cert. denied, 540 U.S. 1184, 124 S.Ct. 1441, 158 L.Ed.2d 89 (2004) (“the establishment of a prima facie case and evidence casting doubt on the veracity of the employer’s explanation is sufficient to find liability”). Accordingly, the court concludes that the evidence of pretext provided by plaintiff, in its totality, is sufficient to support a finding that summary judgment is unwarranted.
2. The Family and Medical Leave Act
Plaintiff alleges that defendants willfully discriminated against her and interfered with her rights under the FMLA by failing to return her job duties to her when she returned from FMLA-covered maternity leave, and by discharging her less than three weeks later.
(a) Applicable Law
The FMLA allows eligible employees working for covered employers- to take temporary leave for medical reasons without risk of losing their employment. 29 U.S.C. § 2601(b)(1) and (2).
virtually identical to the employee’s former position in terms of pay, benefits, and working conditions, including privileges, prerequisites, and status. It must involve the same or substantially similar duties and responsibilities which must entail substantially equivalent skill, effort, responsibility, and authority.
29 C.F.R. § 825.215(a). Proscriptive provisions of the FMLA make it “unlawful for any employer to interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of or the attempt to exercise, any right provided under” the FMLA. 29 U.S.C. § 2615(a). The FMLA provides a private right of action against employers who violate its provisions. 29 U.S.C. § 2617.
(b) Application of the Law to the Facts
Plaintiff alleges that she was unlawfully terminated in retaliation for taking FMLA leave following the birth of her second child. See 29 C.F.R. § 825.220(c). As with Title VII claims, the McDonnell Douglas framework applies to those plaintiffs who can state a prima facie case of retaliation. Hunt, 277 F.3d at 757. For the reasons stated in § III.A.1, above, the court concludes that plaintiff has raised a genuine issue of material fact for trial as to whether defendants discharged her in retaliation for having taken maternity leave. For the reasons stated below, the court also concludes that plaintiff has raised a genuine issue of material fact for trial as to whether defendants violated the FMLA by failing to return plaintiff to an equivalent position following her maternity leave.
The undisputed evidence is that plaintiffs job duties still existed within the company during and after her maternity leave, but that they were given primarily to Rodriguez, with some being shared among other employees, including Wendy Valdemar who testified, for example, that:
Q. Who took over the overhead payables during the time that Katie was on maternity leave?
A. That was absorbed back into my accounting group.
*833 Q. Who took over those duties within your accounting group?
A. Multiple people. Whoever was available.
Q. Who took over the duties of ordering supplies while Katie was on maternity leave?
A. Margarita.
Q. Who took over Katie’s timekeeper duties while she was on maternity leave?
A. Margarita and myself.
Q. And do you know if anybody took over the things that Katie was doing to help the help desk and the managers with the website?
A. That came back to me.37
Because defendants have failed to present any evidence showing that these duties were returned to plaintiff following her maternity leave, the court concludes that plaintiff has raised a genuine issue of material fact for trial that precludes granting the defendants’ motion for summary judgment on her FMLA claims.
B. Plaintiffs TCHRA Claims
Plaintiff alleges that defendants terminated her employment in violation of rights protected by the TCHRA.
IV. Conclusions and Order
For the reasons explained above, the court concludes that plaintiff has raised genuine issues of material fact for trial as to whether defendants discharged her because of her pregnancy in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (Title VII), and Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code, and violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. (FMLA). Accordingly, Defendants’ CEVA Freight, LLC, and CEVA Logistics US, Inc’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket Entry No. 14) is DENIED.
. Defendants CEVA Freight, LLC and CEVA Logistics US, Inc.’s Motion for Summary Judgment ("Defendants’ MSJ”), Docket Entry No. 14, p. 2; Plaintiff’s Response in Opposition to Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment ("Plaintiff's Opposition”), Docket Entry No. 15, p. 2.
. Defendants' MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 2; Plaintiff's Opposition, Docket Entry No. 15, p. 2.
. Defendants' MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 2; Plaintiff’s Opposition, Docket Entry No. 15, pp. 3-4.
. Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 2; Plaintiffs Opposition, Docket Entry No. 15, p. 2. See also Plaintiff’s Deposition, Exhibit A attached to Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 56:13-16; Oral Deposition of Wendy Valdemar ("Valdemar Deposition”), Exhibit B attached to Defendants' MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 21:15-25.
. Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 3 (citing Valdemar Deposition, Exhibit B attached to Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, pp. 13 and 16); Plaintiff’s Opposition, Docket Entry No. 15, p. 3 (citing Plaintiff’s Deposition, Exhibit A to Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 86:17-19).
. Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 3 (citing Exhibit B, Valdemar Deposition, pp. 14, 49-50).
. Id. (citing Exhibit B, Valdemar Deposition, p. 49).
. Id. (citing Exhibit A, Plaintiff's Deposition, pp. 10-12).
. Id. (citing Exhibit D, Declaration of Stacey Harrison, ¶ 5).
. Id. (citing Exhibit B Valdemar Deposition, p. 42, and Exhibit C, Kilgore Deposition, p. 12).
. Id. (citing Exhibit A, Plaintiff's Deposition, p. 37, Exhibit B, Valdemar Deposition, pp. 17, 31-32).
. Id. (citing Plaintiffs Deposition, p. 37). See also Plaintiffs Opposition, Docket Entry No. 15, p. 3.
. Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 4; Plaintiff’s Opposition, Docket Entry No. 15, p. 4.
. Plaintiff’s Deposition, Exhibit A to Defendants' MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, pp. 122:7-123:6.
. Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 5; Plaintiff’s Opposition, Docket Entry No. 15, p. 4.
. Plaintiff's Amended Complaint, Docket Entry No. 13, pp. 3-5 ¶¶ 15-21.
. Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 11.
. Id.
. Deposition of Cathy Kilgore, Exhibit C to Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, pp. 9-12.
. Id. at 13 and 29.
. Deposition of Wendy Valdemar, Exhibit B to Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 13, pp. 19-32, 46, 53.
. Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, pp. 4-5 (citing Deposition of Wendy Valdemar, Exhibit B to Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 13, pp. 32-35).
. Id. at 5 (citing Deposition of Wendy Valdemar, Exhibit B to Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 13, pp. 44-45).
. Declaration of Stacey Harrison, Exhibit D to Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, ¶¶ 4-6.
. Id. ¶ 7.
. Defendants' MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 2; Plaintiff’s Opposition, Docket Entry No. 15, pp. 3-4.
. Plaintiff's Opposition, Docket Entry No. 15, p. 4 (citing Valdemar Deposition, Exhibit B to Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 32:13-16).
. Plaintiff's Opposition, Docket Entry No. 15, p. 4 (citing Exhibit A to Defendants' MSJ, Plaintiff's Deposition, pp. 82:7-84:3).
. Exhibit B to Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, Valdemar Deposition, p. 27:3-19.
. Exhibit C to Defendants' MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, Kilgore Deposition, pp. 17-18, and 22-23.
. Plaintiff's Opposition, Docket Entry No. 15, p. 4 (citing Plaintiff’s Deposition, Exhibit A to Defendants' MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 39).
. Id. (citing Plaintiff's Deposition, Exhibit A to Defendants’ MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 71).
. Id.
. Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint, Docket Entry No. 13, pp. 6-7 ¶¶ 24-27.
. The Act applies to private-sector employers with fifty or more employees. 29 U.S.C. § 2611(4)(A)(i). An employee who has worked for a covered employer for at least
. 29 U.S.C. § 2612(a)(1) provides in relevant part that
[A]n eligible employee shall be entitled to a total of 12 workweeks of leave during any 12-month period for one or more of the following:
(A) Because of the birth of a son or daughter of the employee and in order to care for such son or daughter.
. See Deposition of Wendy Valdemar, Exhibit B to Defendants' MSJ, Docket Entry No. 14, p. 27:3-19.
. Plaintiff's Amended Complaint, Docket Entry No, 13, pp. 5-6 ¶¶ 22-23.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Katie GERDIN v. CEVA FREIGHT, L.L.C. and CEVA Logistics U.S., Inc.
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published