Haug v. City of Topeka, Equipment Management Div., Civil Action No. 97-2094-DES.

13 F.Supp.2d 1153

Waunita HAUG, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF TOPEKA, EQUIPMENT MANAGEMENT DIVISION, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 97-2094-DES.

United States District Court, D. Kansas.

July 2, 1998.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Brian C. Fries, Sylvester James, Jr, Kenner & James, P.C., Kansas City, MO, for Waunita Haug, Plaintiff.

Thomas E. Wright, Michael M. Walker, Wright, Henson, Somers, Sebelius, Clark & Baker, LLP, Topeka, KS, Donald S. Lee, Song Ping Lee, Topeka, KS, for City of Topeka Equipment Management Div., Defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

SAFFELS, District Judge.

This employment discrimination action comes before the court on defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 36). Plaintiff has filed a Memorandum in Opposition to defendant's Motion (Doc. 41). Defendant has filed a Reply (Doc. 43). This case arises out of the following claims: (1) sexual harassment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e ("Title VII"); (2) retaliation for filing discrimination complaints in violation of Title VII; and (3) deprivation of Constitutional rights in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The court has considered the briefs of counsel, the uncontroverted facts and applicable law, and is now prepared to rule.

I. FACTS

The following facts are either uncontroverted or, if controverted, construed in a light most favorable to plaintiff as the nonmoving party. Immaterial facts and factual averments not properly supported by the record are omitted.

Plaintiff began her employment with defendant City of Topeka on September 24, 1984, in the positions of Senior Clerk and Office Assistant V in the Equipment Management Department ("EMD"). Plaintiff was employed in EMD until moving to the defendant's Health Clinic as a Health Clinic Aid on February 26, 1993. From 1987 through March or April 1991, plaintiff's supervisor was Larry Coffman. Mr. Coffman has been plaintiff's boyfriend for the past ten years. In March or April 1991, Stan Stringer ("Stringer") was placed in the position of Division Head of the EMD. In this capacity, he served as plaintiff's supervisor.

Plaintiff contends that Stan Stringer, from April 1991 through July 1991, mentioned, on more than one occasion, getting together with plaintiff for drinks. Plaintiff did not accept Mr. Stringer's offers and Mr. Stringer made no suggestion that plaintiff's continued employment with the EMD a precondition to her accepting his offer to have a drink.

Beginning in July 3, 1991, and continuing through April 20, 1993, plaintiff drafted a series of handwritten notes recording important events that happened at work involving Mr. Stringer. These notes were drafted contemporaneously with the events portrayed in her notes. According to plaintiff, she kept these notes at the request of other garage employees, including her boyfriend, who were unhappy with Mr. Stringer's management style.

As part of her sexual harassment claim, plaintiff contends that on July 3, 1991, Mr. Stringer confronted her and accused her of wasting time as a result of her using work time to respond to inquiries regarding a personal newspaper advertisement. Mr. Stringer told her she would be terminated if her work phone number was used again in an advertisement. During the same conversation, Mr. Stringer told plaintiff he did not want to hear any complaints or problems, shook his finger at her and told her to sit, shut up and smile. Mr. Stringer also told plaintiff she would be attending computer training. Plaintiff felt she was overqualified for the novice-level computer class and Mr. Stringer responded by informing her that she needed a good attitude for this training.

Plaintiff also believes Mr. Stringer sexually harassed her by blaming her for missing paperwork and suggesting to other employees of defendant that plaintiff had not prepared the paperwork. Plaintiff also contends that Mr. Stringer told dirty jokes and used foul language in the work environment. Plaintiff does not recall what kind of dirty jokes Mr. Stringer told, only that he told the jokes to his mechanics while standing in front of plaintiff's office. Plaintiff cannot recall when Mr. Stringer told the dirty jokes, but believes that he told the dirty jokes "at the most just twice when I was standing there."

Plaintiff does not recall when Mr. Stringer used foul language, and concedes that after she told Mr. Stringer she did not like foul language, she does not recall whether she heard any further foul language from Mr. Stringer or not. She recalls that she and Mr. Stringer did not talk much while at EMD and thus believes he did not use foul language in her presence after she asked that it be curbed. She also admits to personally using some foul language in the workplace.

By no later than December 1991 plaintiff was aware that a consolidation of defendant's fleet services division was going to occur. As a result of its consolidation process, defendant needed to implement a software system to track inventory. Defendant viewed plaintiff as being instrumental in that process due to her familiarity with the equipment in the EMD. Plaintiff was brought into the consolidation process to enter items of equipment into the new data base and to assist in setting up the data base and getting it running. On one occasion shortly after plaintiff began her data base assignment, Ms. Schlegel approached plaintiff while at the 201 N. Topeka Boulevard site and asked her why she was not making the expected progress. Plaintiff responded that she was too busy performing her daily routine at the EMD to fully attend to her new responsibilities.

On September 10, 1992 plaintiff filed a grievance with the City of Topeka. The basis of plaintiff's grievance was a disagreement with her supervisor Bill Palmer. In her grievance she makes no reference to Stan Stringer sexually harassing her. However, she does reference Mr. Stringer and complains that he "has not implemented rules or guidelines with his employees and Mr. Palmer's beliefs and the rest of our shops procedures may not correspond."

On September 11, 1992, plaintiff was notified by Bob Collier via memorandum that her work location was to be changed from the EMD garage at 201 N. Topeka Boulevard to 515 Kansas Avenue. The same memorandum advised plaintiff that Stan Stringer was no longer going to be her supervisor and her new supervisor would be Deanna Schlegel. Plaintiff was upset when she was moved to 515 Kansas Avenue from the 201 N. Topeka Boulevard site. Plaintiff stated she liked working at the 201 N. Topeka Boulevard garage and wanted to stay at that location.

On October 22, 1992, plaintiff filed a second grievance with the City of Topeka. This grievance arose from her move to the 515 Kansas location. In her grievance, plaintiff alleges the move was done in retaliation for some conduct for which a reprimand was issued to her by her supervisor, Bill Palmer. What this conduct entailed is unclear from the record. In her October 22, 1992, grievance plaintiff concluded "Although I have been sexually harassed and discriminated against by my division head, Stan Stringer, I must conclude the actual move occurred due to retaliation [by Bill Palmer], especially since no real reason has been given for my sudden move." Prior to her October 22, 1992, grievance, plaintiff had not put anything in writing regarding Mr. Stringer's alleged sexual harassment towards her.

After plaintiff began working at the 515 Kansas Avenue location in September 1992, she sought employment in other areas of the city including the Health Department. On January 14, 1993, plaintiff interviewed at the Health Department for a vacant position. On February 24, 1993, plaintiff was again interviewed at the Health Department. On February 26, 1993, plaintiff entered into her diary that "Doty called and I decided to take job with Nola" at the Health Department. After plaintiff left fleet services and moved to the defendant's Health Clinic in February 1993, plaintiff received the same pay and benefits which she received as an Office Assistant V in the Equipment Management Division, and she still worked the same day shift. As an employee of the Health Clinic she was on full-time, permanent status.

Plaintiff filed a charge of discrimination with the Topeka Human Rights Commission on January 22, 1993. In her charge, she contended she had been discriminated against on account of her sex and was sexually harassed by Stan Stringer. Plaintiff filed a charge of discrimination before the Kansas Human Rights Commission on March 25, 1993. In her charge of discrimination, plaintiff alleged she was discriminated against on account of her gender and that she was retaliated against for complaining about gender based discrimination.

Plaintiff resigned her position with the City of Topeka on August 13, 1996, after working for the City approximately three years from the date she left Stan Stringer's supervision.

II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

A court shall render summary judgment upon a showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c). The rule provides that "the mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The substantive law identifies which facts are material. Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. A dispute over a material fact is genuine when the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could find for the nonmovant. Id. "Only disputes over facts that might properly affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment." Id.

The movant has the initial burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue...