James v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.

21 F.3d 989
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedApril 11, 1994
DocketNos. 92-4091, 92-4096
StatusPublished
Cited by110 cases

This text of 21 F.3d 989 (James v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
James v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 21 F.3d 989 (10th Cir. 1994).

Opinion

BRORBY, Circuit Judge.

Six1 former Sears employees (Plaintiffs) alleged Sears used its buy-out program to force them out of their jobs in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The jury returned a verdict in favor of Plaintiffs. Sears appeals alleging there is insufficient evidence to support the verdict. Plaintiffs appeal the amount of damages the jury awarded, the trial court’s award of reinstatement instead of front pay, the refusal to award expert witness fees, and the trial court’s dismissal of their claim for breach of implied contract. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

The facts before the jury presented either an ill conceived and poorly executed corporate efficiency move or a deliberate corporate attempt to reduce payroll costs by replacing experienced and well paid workers forty years of age or older with lesser experienced and lower paid, younger workers. The jury decided it was the latter and rendered judgment in favor of Plaintiffs.

Sears decided .to cut costs in its service centers. Sears transferred some of the clerical functions formerly performed at its Ogden, Utah service center to a larger center in Salt Lake City, Utah even though at the time the Ogden center was the more profitable of the two centers. Sears then eliminated the jobs of the two oldest full-time clerical employees of its Ogden service center. One of those terminated service center employees is a plaintiff in this suit. Sears did not allow the service center plaintiff to transfer to the Salt Lake center where her former work had been transferred. Sears then hired predominately younger, part-time employees to work in the Ogden and Salt Lake service centers.

Simultaneous with the service center euts, Sears offered the employees in its Ogden retail store and service center a buy-out. Five of the Plaintiffs worked at the retail store. Under the buy-out, employees leaving Sears’ employment would receive a week of severance pay for each year they worked for Sears, with a cap of twenty-six weeks. The purpose of the buy-out was to provide the cut service center employees “comparable jobs” in the retail store. However, the turnover at the Ogden and Salt Lake City service centers was so high the cut service center employees could have been easily reabsorbed within three months.

A form of the buy-out called early retirement was offered to employees fifty years of age or older. As offered by Sears, Plaintiffs accepting early retirement lost thirty-five per cent of their accrued pension because they were under sixty-two years of age. Further, plaintiffs between ages fifty and fifty-four had to wait until reaching age fifty-five before their pension payments could begin.

Sears pressured Plaintiffs to accept the buy-oui/early retirement in order to achieve its predetermined quota for older employees leaving. Sears’ internal document shows it planned on thirteen older, full-time employees leaving under the buy-out. There were twenty full-time employees under the age of forty who were eligible for the buy-out. Sears did not plan for any of the eligible younger employees to accept.

Sears obtained the acceptances of the five retail store Plaintiffs by conduct that constituted their constructive discharge. Sears’ •treatment of Plaintiffs included negative job reviews, and threatening them with transfers to less desirable and lower paying positions if they did not accept the buy-out/early retirement.

Sears’ internal document shows that the retail store was not being reorganized and none of the retail employees were to be moved or lose their jobs as a result of the changes in the service centers or the buy-out.

SEARS’ APPEAL

On appeal, Sears raises a single issue: insufficiency of evidence. The jury found Sears discriminated against all the Plaintiffs on the basis of age. It found Sears constructively discharged the five retail store Plaintiffs on the basis of age and found the redue[992]*992tion in force termination of the service center Plaintiff was motivated by age discrimination. Sears challenged this verdict, and the trial court denied Sears’ motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict.

On appeal, Sears contends the evidence does not support a finding (1) the retail store Plaintiffs were constructively discharged, (2) any of the Plaintiffs were the victims of age discrimination, or (3) the elimination of the service center Plaintiffs’ jobs was due to age discrimination instead of reduction in force. Sears also contends it presented a nondiscriminatory business justification for its actions that was not rebutted.

In reviewing the denial of Sears’ motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, “we must view the evidence most favorably to the non-moving party and give that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences to be drawn from the evidence.” Spulak v. K Mart Corp., 894 F.2d 1150, 1153 (10th Cir.1990). Error may be found only when the evidence ‘“is susceptible to no reasonable inferences sustaining the position of the party against whom the motion is made.’ ” Id. (quoting Cooper v. Asplundh Tree Expert Co., 836 F.2d 1544, 1547 (10th Cir.1988)).

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) provides it is unlawful for any employer “to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual ... because of such individual’s age.” 29 U.S.C. § 623(a)(1). The protected class under the ADEA includes individuals “who are at least 40 years of age.” 29 U.S.C. § 631(a).

Plaintiffs had the burden of establishing age discrimination by a preponderance of the evidence. Faulkner v. Super Valu Stores, Inc., 3 F.3d 1419, 1425 (10th Cir.1993). The often repeated elements of a prima facie case of age discrimination are met when an employee shows “(1) [employee] was within the protected age group, (2) [employee] was doing satisfactory work, (3) [employee] was discharged, and (4) [employee’s] position was filled by a younger person.” MacDonald v. Eastern Wyoming Mental Health Center, 941 F.2d 1115, 1119 (10th Cir.1991).

Once the employee establishes these elements, the employer can offer evidence to show it was motivated by a legitimate nondiscriminatory reason for the challenged action. Faulkner, 3 F.3d at 1425. The employee need not prove the employer’s justifications were false, id., or “that age was the sole motivating factor in the employment decision,” EEOC v. Prudential Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass’n, 763 F.2d 1166, 1170 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 946, 106 S.Ct. 312, 88 L.Ed.2d 289 (1985). Instead, the employee must show age was also a reason for the employer’s decision, and “age was the factor that made a difference.” Id.; Perrell v. FinanceAmerica Corp., 726 F.2d 654

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

Related

Vargas v. Martinez
D. New Mexico, 2024
Brian Glanden v. Kilolo Kijakazi
86 F.4th 838 (Ninth Circuit, 2023)
Housden v. Wilke Global, Inc.
111 N.E.3d 1264 (Court of Appeals of Ohio, Tenth District, Franklin County, 2018)
Aliotta v. Bair
614 F.3d 556 (D.C. Circuit, 2010)
Gormley v. Coca-Cola Enterprises
2005 NMSC 003 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2005)
Gower v. IKON Office Solutions, Inc.
177 F. Supp. 2d 1224 (D. Kansas, 2001)
Hall v. Claussen
6 F. App'x 655 (Tenth Circuit, 2001)
O'Neal v. Ferguson Construction Co.
237 F.3d 1248 (Tenth Circuit, 2001)
Aquilino v. University of Kansas
109 F. Supp. 2d 1319 (D. Kansas, 2000)
Hipp v. Liberty National Life Insurance
29 F. Supp. 2d 1314 (M.D. Florida, 1998)
Ternullo v. Reno
8 F. Supp. 2d 186 (N.D. New York, 1998)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
21 F.3d 989, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/james-v-sears-roebuck-co-ca10-1994.