Hayes v. Compass Group Usa, Inc.

343 F.Supp.2d 112

Timothy HAYES, Plaintiff, v. COMPASS GROUP USA, INC., d/b/a Eurest Dining Services and Cary Orlandi, Defendants.

No. CIV. 300CV0973AHN.

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

October 8, 2004.

Frederick Paul Frangie, Simsbury, CT, Karen Kirsten Buffkin, Stephen F. Mceleney, Mceleney & Mcgrail, Hartford, CT, for Plaintiff.

Andrew P. Marks, New York, NY, Christopher A. Kenney, Sherin & Lodgen, Boston, MA, Lawrence Peikes, Wiggin & Dana, Stamford, CT, for Defendants.

RULING ON DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

NEVAS, Senior District Judge.

Plaintiff Timothy Hayes ("Hayes") brings this employment discrimination action against his former employer, Compass Group USA, Inc., d/b/a Eurest Dining Services, ("Compass"), alleging statutory violations under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. § 621, the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act ("CFEPA"), Conn. Gen.Stat. § 46a-60, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"), 29 U.S.C. § 1001. Hayes also alleges state law claims of negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress and defamation against Compass and his former supervisor, Cary Orlandi ("Orlandi").

Compass and Orlandi now move jointly for summary judgment on the respective counts of Hayes's complaint. For the following reasons, defendants' joint motion [dkt. # 45] is granted in part and denied in part.

FACTS

The evidence submitted to the court reflects the following undisputed material facts construed in the light most favorable to Hayes.

Compass provides on-site cafeteria and restaurant-style dining services to businesses and other institutions throughout the United States. Hayes was employed by Compass from July 1973, until his termination on June 1, 1998, at the age of forty-seven. Hayes was initially hired as Chef Manager. Three years later, he was promoted to General Manager. A year after that, Hayes was promoted to District Manager. Hayes worked as a district manager for nearly twenty years and consistently received "commendable" performance ratings by his superiors.

In June 1996, Orlandi, who had just been appointed Regional Vice President for the Northeast, promoted Hayes to Regional Manager. In his new position, Hayes was responsible for food operations in Connecticut, Western Massachusetts, Vermont, and the capital region of New York. His primary duties were to maintain and improve dining services and to develop new business. The district managers for those regions reported to Hayes, and Hayes reported to Orlandi.

In December 1996, after only six months as a regional manager, Orlandi gave Hayes a performance evaluation of "commendable." Orlandi stated that Hayes "[did] a good job in getting new business, [was] very active[,] ... relat[ed] well with the clients ... [and] was a true asset to [Compass]." Orlandi also stated that Hayes possessed "strong leadership" and "good organizational skills." Orlandi noted that there were no major areas in which Hayes required improvement. In addition to this written evaluation, Orlandi regularly complimented Hayes's job performance.

In the spring of 1997, Hayes was interviewed for a sales position in another sector within Compass. He viewed that position as an opportunity to advance his career. After the interview, Orlandi told Hayes that he was being seriously considered for the position, but asked him not to take it because he could not run the Northeast region without him. As a result, Hayes withdrew his application. Some time later, when another sales position became available, Orlandi again asked Hayes not to apply for the job, and Hayes acquiesced. Hayes interpreted Orlandi's actions to mean that his job was secure, and took out a $50,000 loan against his 401K savings to purchase a new home.

By August 1997, Orlandi's opinion of Hayes's job performance began to change. At that time he sent Hayes two memos stating concerns about his accounts. In the first memo, dated August 5, 1997, Orlandi noted that thirteen of Hayes's accounts were performing badly and showed decreased profits despite increased sales. Hayes responded by stating that "increased sales did not automatically equate to increased profits" and provided explanations for each of the accounts. Orlandi accepted his explanations. In the second memo, dated August 13, 1997, Orlandi referred to a negative customer survey from Dow Jones, an important client. Despite its derisive tone, the survey indicated that Dow Jones had a good relationship with Hayes and that Hayes was aware of its concerns and was working to address them. Still, Orlandi was disappointed that Hayes had not "shared [his] difficulties and management changes" with him and asked that "he not make management changes without [his] knowledge" and to keep him "well informed."

Orlandi also had concerns about Hayes's accounting practices. In a September 24, 1997, memo that he drafted but never sent to Hayes, he admonished Hayes about improper item charges against certain accounts and warned Hayes that such practices constituted immediate grounds for termination. Orlandi did not send the memo to Hayes because he realized that Hayes had acted pursuant to what Hayes had believed were his instructions. At any rate, Hayes corrected the item charges before they were posted into the accounting system.

In another memo dated September 30, 1997, Orlandi indicated to Hayes that his "financial reporting and financial performance[] throughout 1997," was unsatisfactory and that he could no longer tolerate Hayes's "multitude of errors and mistakes." In response, Hayes stated that he was "shocked and disappointed" with Orlandi's memo and noted "that the Middletown [d]istricts [were] very close to target throughout the year, finishing 1997 13k better than plan." Hayes also acknowledged the problems with Electric Boat, but stated that "he could not force Electric Boat to meet [Compass's] schedule for completing the facility work necessary for [Compass] to realize the financial turnaround desired." Hayes also commented that delays by Electric Boat caused Compass's costs for the account to be $60,000 more than Compass had anticipated, but noted that "future concessions from Electric Boat" would greatly improve profitability.

On October 9, 1997, Orlandi sent Hayes a memo with cost-cutting suggestions for improving the Electric Boat account and stated that he had "heard a lot of good ideas from everyone" at the last meeting. On October 13, 1997, Hayes sent Orlandi a follow-up memo regarding Electric Boat and reported that the account would "continue to lose approx. $1800/wk until the Wet Dock opens."

On October 14, 1997, Hayes notified Orlandi that the administrator at J.C. Penney, Jim Franchere ("Franchere"), planned to take competing bids for the dining services account that Compass was handling because of an outdated contract, old vending machines, catering cost increases, and service issues in the satellite cafeteria. Hayes also listed the remedial measures he had taken and stated that "[w]e have a very good chance to remove this account from jeopardy if we move quickly and follow through on our promises."

Hayes fully implemented the action plans that were devised to deal with the service issues for Electric Boat and J.C. Penney. As a result, he managed to retain both accounts.

In a December 15, 1997, memo to Hayes, Orlandi listed several discrepancies he found in the financial figures that Hayes had submitted in his October 13, 1997, memo. Orlandi stated that "[t]here was a lot of opportunity financially to do better in fiscal 1997" and that he hoped "1998 [would] be a better year."

In the 1997 year-end performance evaluation, Orlandi rated Hayes's overall performance as "[a]pproaching [e]xpectations +," which ranked below "[c]ompetent" but above "[m]arginal." Orlandi noted in the evaluation that Hayes had "problems throughout the year," and had lost six accounts (Kimberly Clark, Lane Press, Axiom, Naval Hospital, Security, and Middlesex). Orlandi further noted that while Hayes had "excellent accounting knowledge" and was "even-tempered" and "hardworking," he had a problem with financial reporting and had a tendency to "do things his way" rather than following the "company's agenda." Orlandi also stated that Hayes's style was more "reactive than proactive," and that he needed to be better involved with the district managers he supervised. Orlandi's "action plan" for Hayes was "continued supervision and coaching." While Hayes disagreed with Orlandi's assessment of his performance, he did not challenge it.

Orlandi's concerns about Hayes's job performance continued in 1998. For instance, in January, Orlandi found several discrepancies in the budget numbers that Hayes had submitted for 1997. The discrepancies were the result of changes in accounting practices that had been instituted after the end of the previous year. Then, in March, the president of the Eurest division, James Carothers, contacted Orlandi about Middlesex Community College ("MCC"), which had terminated its service agreement with Compass in 1997, and in a subsequent survey complained about a lack of attention. MCC had not been a financially rewarding account for Compass and Orlandi had determined that the account would be closed unless MCC agreed to a higher fee arrangement. Indeed, Orlandi had sent MCC a strongly worded letter requesting the new fee. MCC took offense and refused to pay the higher fee, and the contract was not renewed. Although Robert Berg, the then-director at MCC, never expressed to Hayes that he was dissatisfied with Hayes's own performance, he stated in an affidavit that "without reservation" Hayes had "failed to properly manage the food services" at the college and "was completely unresponsive to [his] repeated pleas to make basic improvements."¹

In May 1998, Orlandi sent Hayes a "counseling report" in which he expressed disappointment with Hayes's performance and stated a...