EEOC v. Independent Stave Co., Inc.

754 F. Supp. 713, 1991 WL 1715
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedJanuary 3, 1991
DocketS88-0156-C
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 754 F. Supp. 713 (EEOC v. Independent Stave Co., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
EEOC v. Independent Stave Co., Inc., 754 F. Supp. 713, 1991 WL 1715 (E.D. Mo. 1991).

Opinion

754 F.Supp. 713 (1991)

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff,
v.
INDEPENDENT STAVE COMPANY, INC., Defendant.

No. S88-0156-C.

United States District Court, E.D. Missouri, Southeastern Division.

January 3, 1991.

*714 *715 Charles Shanor, E.E.O.C., Washington, D.C., Barbara A. Seely, Loraine Bryson, E.E.O.C., St. Louis, Mo., for plaintiff.

Thomas M. Hanna, McMahon Berger Hanna Linihan Cody & McCarthy, St. Louis, Mo., Donald W. Jones, Hulston Jones & Sullivan, Springfield, Mo., for defendant.

MEMORANDUM

LIMBAUGH, District Judge.

Plaintiff Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") filed this action against defendant Independent Stave Company, Inc. alleging that defendant's failure to recall Verna Turner from a layoff violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq., and Section 7(b) of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 621, et seq. The action arises out of charges filed with the EEOC by Mrs. Turner alleging discrimination in employment on the basis of her sex and age.

This case was tried before the Court on February 1, 1990 and February 2, 1990. The Court, having considered the pleadings, deposition testimony of witnesses, and documents admitted into evidence hereby makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law as required by Fed.R. Civ.P. 52.

I. Findings of Fact

Mrs. Turner is a female who was born May 16, 1931. Defendant is a company that manufactures wooden staves for barrels. Defendant purchases white oak logs, debarks them, and then saws them into barrel staves and barrel headings which are shipped to one of defendant's barrel manufacturing plants. Mrs. Turner was employed at defendant's stave mill in Bunker, Missouri ("Bunker Mill").[1]

Ed McNail was the mill manager at the Bunker Mill from 1974 until 1988. The mill managers hire mill employees on an hourly basis. Mr. McNail maintained cards on all employees of the Bunker Mill on which he recorded personnel information such as employee hire and termination dates and observations concerning the employees' performance. On July 2, 1976 Mr. McNail hired Mrs. Turner to work in the Bunker Mill.

Mrs. Turner was initially assigned the jobs of strip catcher, stacker, and second edger. Mr. McNail removed her from these positions because he felt that she was unable to keep up with production demands. Mr. McNail noted Mrs. Turner's unsatisfactory performance in these positions on Mrs. Turner's personnel card. On August 5, 1976 Mr. McNail assigned Mrs. Turner to the position of grader. Although Mrs. Turner was initially unable to keep up with production as a grader, Mr. McNail judged her performance to be satisfactory after several weeks. Mrs. Turner continued as a grader for approximately three years. On June 22, 1979 Mrs. Turner voluntarily terminated her position with defendant.[2] After terminating her position with *716 defendant, Mrs. Turner accepted employment with Fox and Lee Lumber Company. Mrs. Turner terminated her position with Fox and Lee Lumber Company after five months because her position there was even more physically demanding than her position as a grader with defendant.

On March 6, 1980 Mr. McNail rehired Mrs. Turner. Mrs. Turner was initially assigned to work as a second edger, stacker, and strip catcher on the second shift. On April 17, 1981 Mrs. Turner transferred to the new mill in the position of grader. Mrs. Turner continued as a grader for approximately four years. During her employment with defendant Mrs. Turner helped train and supervise employees in the positions of grader, stacker, strip catcher, and second edger.

In 1985 defendant suffered a loss of business due to a diminished demand for bourbon barrels. Defendant explored the possibility of combining positions as a means of cutting operating costs. On June 4, 1985 defendant combined the jobs of grader and stacker and assigned them to Mrs. Turner. The grader receives staves delivered by a chute, sorts them based on size and appearance, and places the sorted staves on a table approximately three feet away. The stacker removes the staves from the table and places them on a pallet in a particular pattern. Mrs. Turner performed the combined position of grader/stacker on June 4, 1985 and June 5, 1985. After the positions were combined, Mrs. Turner was unable to keep up with production, and it was necessary for other employees to assist her.[3]

On June 6, 1985 the Bunker Mill shut down. Nine of the thirteen employees of the Bunker Mill, including Mrs. Turner, were laid off. Mrs. Turner was the only woman working at the Bunker Mill at the time of the layoff. On June 6, 1985 Mrs. Turner, who was fifty-four years old, was the oldest employee at the Bunker Mill except for Mr. McNail. On January 6, 1986 defendant offered to recall all persons who had been laid off except Mrs. Turner. On January 13, 1986 Mr. McNail notified Mrs. Turner that she was permanently laid off because the position of grader had been eliminated.

The Bunker Mill reopened on January 9, 1986 with the positions of grader and stacker combined. Several men, who were younger than Mrs. Turner, attempted to perform the combined position of grader/stacker, but none were able to perform satisfactorily. The grader/stackers were unable to keep up with production and the Bunker Mill received complaints that poor quality staves were not being culled. Quinton Barton testified on behalf of plaintiff. Mr. Barton was hired in January, 1986 and was assigned to the position of grader/stacker for approximately one month. During his tenure as grader/stacker Mr. Barton was unable to keep up with production and was assisted by other employees approximately twice per day. Mr. Barton remained at the Bunker Mill for approximately four months and never observed any employee being able to perform the combined position satisfactorily. No employee, however, was disciplined for being unable to perform the combined position of grader/stacker. After a few months, the positions of grader and stacker were separated. After the separation Mrs. Turner was not recalled to fill the recreated position of grader.

Mrs. Turner testified that she had no trouble performing her position as a grader until the combination of the grader and stacker positions on June 4, 1985. Throughout her tenure Mr. McNail never reprimanded her or in any other way disciplined Mrs. Turner for being too slow as a grader. Several persons who worked at the Bunker Mill with Mrs. Turner testified on her behalf. Jim Radford was employed by defendant in the Bunker Mill from July, 1982 to January, 1985. Mr. Radford worked at all positions in the Bunker Mill and was effectively second in command *717 after Mr. McNail. Mr. Radford testified that he observed Mrs. Turner grade staves every day and that she had no trouble keeping up with production.[4] Corinne Williamson worked at the Bunker Mill from 1974 to January, 1985. Although Ms. Williamson occasionally helped Mrs. Turner pick up staves, she testified that Mrs. Turner was always able to keep up with production in the position of grader. Lanoy Wilson worked at the Bunker Mill with plaintiff. Mr. Wilson observed that Mrs.

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