Mears v. Flint Hills Resources, LLP

238 F. Supp. 3d 1137, 2017 WL 723895, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26307
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedFebruary 23, 2017
DocketCiv. No. 16-111 (RHK/KMM)
StatusPublished

This text of 238 F. Supp. 3d 1137 (Mears v. Flint Hills Resources, LLP) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mears v. Flint Hills Resources, LLP, 238 F. Supp. 3d 1137, 2017 WL 723895, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26307 (mnd 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

RICHARD H. KYLE, United States District Judge

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Beverly Mears commenced this action after her employers, Defendants Flint Hills Resources, LLP and Flint Hills Resources Pine Bend, LLC (collectively “FHR”), demoted her. She alleges the demotion was discriminatory and retaliatory, in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act (“MHRA”), Minnesota Statutes section 363A.01 et seq. Presently before the Court is FHR’s Motion for Summary Judgment. For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant the Motion.

BACKGROUND

The following facts are presented in a light most favorable to Mears. FHR is an oil refinery in Rosemount, Minnesota. (Sheck Decl. ¶ 2.) Mears has worked there as a union employee in various roles since 1998. In 2012, she was working in a maintenance position when she took disability leave—she is deaf in her left ear, and a bacterial infection resulted in severe nerve damage in her legs, making it difficult for her to stand and walk. (Mears Dep. 108, 112-13.) She was cleared to return to work on November 7, 2013, when the events at issue began. (Id. Ex. 19.)

At the time, FHR had an opening for a Process Lead (“PL”) in its alkylation unit (referred to by the parties as the “alky unit”), one of several units at FHR.1 (Id. Ex. 16.) The PL monitors the unit for optimal performance from a Central Control Room using the “alky board.” (Sheck Decl. ¶ 5.) When adjustments in the unit’s temperatures, pressures, and flow rates are required, it is the PL’s responsibility to identify the appropriate adjustments and implement them using the alky board, instruct outside field operators to make adjustments manually, or both. (Id.) “A PL has a very high level of responsibility to maintain the proper balance and quality of process. A PL’s failure to perform the position could result in a fee, explosion, or release of product into the environment.” (⅛)

FHR’s posting for PL of the alky unit listed several job requirements, including “[tjechnical knowledge of process operations,” “[q]ualif[ifcation] on associated area in reasonable amount of time (this will require training on both the outside equipment and inside console),” “teamwork abilities,” “communication skills,” and the ability to “adapt[] to change.” (Mears Dep. [1139]*1139Ex. 16.) It also announced that FHR would offer the position to the most senior union member who placed a bid regardless of qualifications. (Id.) Mears bid and, because she was the most senior union member to do so, FHR offered her the job. She accepted on October 30, 2013, and her training began on November 11. (Id. Ex. 20.) This was the only union position Mears’s disabilities would allow her to perform. (Id. 104.)

On her first day, Mears disclosed her disabilities to her supervisor, Senior Process Engineer Dave Sheck. (Id. 112.) She also received several documents related to her training and employment. Among them was a “[PL] Job Description.” (Id. 104.) It provided, in pertinent part:

• 8 to 10 hours sitting with flexibility to move around; must be immediately available by radio.
• During emergency situations may be necessary to work continuously adjusting parameters (temperature, pressure, flow) on control screen with use of computer mouse until the situation is resolved.
• Initial training does require walk through of physical equipment in an outside environment on concrete in order to understand the location of equipment and process flow through the equipment.

(Id. Ex. 17.) It further provided that the PL must monitor “eight screens for a full shift.” (Id.) Mears reviewed these requirements and decided to move forward with her training. (Id. 104.)

The same day, Mears and Sheck reviewed a five-page document entitled “Refining Skills Training Kick Off Form.” (Id. 122, Ex. 25.) It listed Sheck as Mears’s supervisor and indicated she would be trained by the alky unit PLs. The form also provided that the default “Planned Training End Date” was one year after training began but the “actual [end] date may be sooner or later.” (Id. Ex. 25.) Indeed, Sheck noted on the form that July 11, 2014, eight months later, was Mears’s expected end date for training. (Id.) He testified in his deposition that, although the alky board was “one of the less complicated consoles,” he did not actually expect Mears to complete her training in eight months (Sheck Dep. 12, 22).

The form detailed a six-part training process: the first four components involved the study of voluminous training materials and completion of intermittent competency tests. (See Mears Dep. 130, Ex. 25.) The final two components were “Skills Demonstration” and “Board Review.” (Id.) Skills Demonstration was a “field confirmation with the Trainer .., that the trainee understands the tasks to be demonstrated and the expected standards of performance. The Trainee must complete 100% of the tasks correctly to pass.” (Id.) Board Review, the final step in the process, was “an open discussion with the candidate, senior employees, and supervision to ensure the candidate has the knowledge, critical thinking, job skills and confidence needed, to safely and accurately perform [her] responsibilities in the position.” (Id.)

Finally, the form specified “Trainee Expectations & Responsibilities,” including a directive to “[f]ocus on one task at a time.” (Id.) It provided:

FHR[ ] does not require you to become qualified by a certain date ... The amount of time it takes to qualify varies from individual to individual, because we all learn at different paces. Most individuals will qualify within a year. But again, this is not a race and qualifying time varies ... If you are having difficulty learning or grasping concepts, you, [your] Trainer, Supervisor and Training Department will discuss how best to proceed.

[1140]*1140(Id.) After reviewing these documents with Mears, Sheck directed her to begin studying her training materials at a desk located twenty-five feet from the alky board. (Mears Decl. ¶¶ 7, 34.)

For the next two months, Mears progressed through the training process without incident. She studied the materials provided and relied on the four alky unit PLs—Randy Edstrom, Charlie Martin, Kevin Allmendinger, and Pat Bergin—to guide her and answer her questions. (Mears Dep. 125.) When Mears completed a portion of her training materials, she was required to obtain a qualified PL’s signature confirming her completion. (Id. 126-27.) Often times, prior to signing, a qualified PL would simulate tasks “by talking through them and pointing out what you would do or having the procedure in front of you.” (Id. 127.) According to Mears, “[r]ight from the time that [she] got there,” she heard Bergin express to others that he “wasn’t going to train” Mears, but Bergin subsequently signed off on her training several times. (Id. 128-29.)

On February 25, 2014, Mears had a negative interaction with Martin, who was training her at the time. (Willing Decl. Ex. H.)2 She posed a question to Martin and, in response, he threatened to stop training her until she toured the outdoor aspects of the alky unit. (Id.; see also Mears Dep. 136.) She explained that her disability prevented her from doing so, and Martin “crossed his arms and started getting in depth on what [she had] to do.” (Mears Dep. 136.) Mears reported the incident to Sheck.

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238 F. Supp. 3d 1137, 2017 WL 723895, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26307, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mears-v-flint-hills-resources-llp-mnd-2017.