Crotteau v. St. Coletta of Wisconsin

200 F. Supp. 3d 804, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101619, 2016 WL 4133598
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Wisconsin
DecidedAugust 3, 2016
Docket14-cv-652-jdp
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 200 F. Supp. 3d 804 (Crotteau v. St. Coletta of Wisconsin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crotteau v. St. Coletta of Wisconsin, 200 F. Supp. 3d 804, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101619, 2016 WL 4133598 (W.D. Wis. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

JAMES D. PETERSON, District Judge

Plaintiff Gina Marie Crotteau was fired from her job as a “direct support professional” at St. Coletta of Wisconsin, a provider of support services for people with developmental disabilities, run by an order of Catholic nuns. Plaintiff believes she was fired and subjected to a hostile work environment because she is Baptist and because she is over 40 years old. She brings claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) against defendant for subjecting her to a hostile work environment and ultimately firing her because of her religion and age. Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment and then supplemented that motion after I allowed [808]*808plaintiff to add her ADEA claims to the case.

After considering the parties’ briefs and supporting evidence, I will grant defendant’s motion for summary judgment because defendant is exempt from religious-discrimination claims under Title VII, and because no reasonable jury could conclude on the facts before me that defendant subjected plaintiff to a hostile work environment based on her age or was lying when it explains that it fired plaintiff for leaving clients’ unattended, rather than because of her age.

UNDISPUTED FACTS

Plaintiff Gina Marie Crotteau is a resident of Jefferson, Wisconsin. Defendant St. Coletta of Wisconsin, Inc. is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi and located in Jefferson. St. Coletta provides residential, day, and vocational programs and services for persons with developmental disabilities and “other challenges.” -

The Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi is a religious order of the Roman Catholic Church. The Sisters are the sole members of St. Coletta of Wisconsin, Inc., and own all of defendant’s assets. Defendant’s corporate bylaws specifically require that the corporation’s activities be consistent with the “mission, philosophy and values” of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi and that the Board of Directors include three members of the Sisters. Defendant’s mission statement provides: “Inspired by. the Franciscan Values of compassion, dignity and respect, we support persons with developmental and other challenges to achieve their highest quality of life, personal growth and spiritual awareness.”

A Catholic mass, attended by residents and employees, is held at the chapel every Thursday, and a recorded mass is available at all times. Prayers are regularly spoken at meetings and-in the residents’ homes. Symbols of the Catholic religion are located -throughout defendant’s property, including crucifixes and religious statutes depicting the Virgin Mary, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Colette, among others. The religious nature and operation of defendant’s organization is represented to the public in various forms, including on its website.

Plaintiff began working for defendant as a “direct support professional” (DSP). Plaintiff was responsible for providing support to residents (also called clients), who are individuals with moderate to severe developmental disabilities. These duties included monitoring clients during snack and lunch times to ensure their safety. DSPs are allowed two 15-minute breaks, which are to be taken before and after client programming. If a DSP needs to use the restroom or take an emergency phone call outside of her scheduled break period, she is allowed to do so, but must first arrange for another staff member or a supervisor to be present in her room, or with her clients during, the lunch period (during which time everyone is together in the lunchroom), so that that her residents are not left unattended.

Plaintiff generally found it uncomfortable that she could use only her two breaks to use the bathroom. Plaintiff thought lunch time “was the best time to use the restroom since all staff and clients were together in the lunchroom,” and “[t]his would not be an issue if there had been any such 15 minute scheduled breaks at any time.” Dkt. 44, at 3. Plaintiff states that she “was asked/told several times by staff, who, during lunch, needed to use the restroom,” id. at 3, and that she “provided coverage for any staff that needed to use the restroom at that time, as well,” id. at 7.

Defendant’s employee handbook states that “if an employee leaves a work area [809]*809with clients unsupervised, it will result in immediate termination,” and that “leaving a client(s) unattended” constitutes serious misconduct and is grounds for immediate termination. The parties dispute whether plaintiff received full training over her first three weeks on the job, but plaintiff does not dispute that she was aware that leaving clients unattended was considered misconduct.

On September 9, 2013, plaintiff was assigned to the Community Room, which had five individuals who required continued monitoring. Defendant says that plaintiff was responsible for two of the individuals. Plaintiff says that she was assigned to the room as an extra staff member, and was allowed to leave the room at least twice to collect supplies and meet with Stephanie McDonald for training.

Defendant says that at some point during lunch, plaintiff left the lunch area (I take the parties to be saying that the staff and clients in the Community Room were part of a larger gathering in the lunch area). McDonald says that employees alerted her to plaintiffs absence. Plaintiff says that her coworkers “were well aware where [she] was at all times.” Dkt. 44, at 5. McDonald eventually found plaintiff back in the Community Room. McDonald says she asked plaintiff where she was, plaintiff said that she was at the human resource offices, and McDonald told plaintiff that she needed to be in the lunchroom with her assigned clients during the lunch hour. It is unclear whether plaintiff disputes that she was not in the lunchroom during the entire lunch hour. Plaintiff says that she “completed all [of her] assignments on September 9,” id., at 6, which I will construe to mean that plaintiff disputes McDonald’s statement that plaintiff left the lunchroom.

On September 10, 2013, plaintiff left the lunchroom to use the bathroom, fax a document, and make a phone call. Plaintiff says that she talked to another staff member before leaving the lunchroom, and “alerted [the] co-worker for any coverage that day before I left the lunchroom.” Id. at 7. Plaintiff says, “The staff, my coworkers at the time, are very capable and professional persons and would not be compromised by my absence for a short time using the bathroom, nor desperately need one specific staffs’ help in the lunch room with the clients.”

- On September 10, 2013, several employees approached McDonald, reported that plaintiff had been gorfe" for at least 15 minutes and stated that they needed help. McDonald confirmed that plaintiff was not in her work area, ensured that plaintiffs clients were being cared for, and began looking for plaintiff. She asked two other employees to help her: Geralyn Dorn, the manager of Day Programs and Services, and Mario Dealca, the senior director of Programs and Services.

McDonald, Dorn, and Dealca eventually found plaintiff as she was finishing her phone call. McDonald began talking in a raised voice, and plaintiff asked her not to yell at her.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
200 F. Supp. 3d 804, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101619, 2016 WL 4133598, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crotteau-v-st-coletta-of-wisconsin-wiwd-2016.