Morales v. Bottling Grp., LLC

374 F. Supp. 3d 257
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. New York
DecidedApril 15, 2019
Docket16-CV-6597L; 16-CV-6600L
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 374 F. Supp. 3d 257 (Morales v. Bottling Grp., LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morales v. Bottling Grp., LLC, 374 F. Supp. 3d 257 (W.D.N.Y. 2019).

Opinion

DAVID G. LARIMER, United States District Judge *263INTRODUCTION

Roberto Morales ("Morales") and his brother, Bobby Campbell ("Campbell") (together, the "plaintiffs"), filed separate pro se complaints against Bottling Group, LLC ("Bottling Group"),1 alleging race-and-color-based discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. ("Title VII") and the New York State Human Rights Law ("NYSHRL"), N.Y. Exec. Law § 298 et seq.

Pending are Bottling Group's motions for summary judgment. (Dkt. ## M31; C56).2 Because the allegations, backgrounds, and defenses in both cases are similar, the Court will address both motions in this single decision. For the following reasons, Bottling Group's motions are granted, and Morales's and Campbell's Complaints (Dkt. ## M1; C1), are dismissed in their entirety and with prejudice.

FACTS3

A. Bottling Group and the Account Merchandiser Position

Bottling Group is a seller and distributor of Pepsi products, and has a distribution facility in Rochester, New York. (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶ 12; C56-1 at ¶ 13). In addition to staff at the facility, Bottling Group employs Bulk Customer Representatives ("BCRs") and Account Merchandisers ("Merchandisers"), both of which service customer stores. (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶¶ 13-14; C56-1 at ¶¶ 14-15). BCRs travel daily to customer stores, interface with store managers, order necessary Pepsi products and provide merchandise for the stores. (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶¶ 16-17; C56-1 at ¶¶ 14-15). Merchandisers-a level below BCRs-act as "back up" for BCRs; they generally cover for BCRs when BCRS are off from work. (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶¶ 19-20, 23; C56-1 at ¶¶ 20-21, 24).

Morales and Campbell were both Merchandisers. They were supervised by several people at Bottling Group, including Sean Trottier ("Trottier") and Robert Flaherty ("Flaherty"), who are Caucasian, and James Sapp, Jr. ("Sapp"), who is African American. Trottier, Flaherty, and Sapp were all supervised by Jesse Pitts *264("Pitts"), who is Caucasian. (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶¶ 60-68; C56-1 at ¶¶ 62-70).

As Merchandisers, plaintiffs had to follow various company policies and procedures, specifically, the "P.R.E.M.I.E.R. In-Store Service Process," which provided guidance on how to service each customer's store. (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶¶ 28-41; C56-1 at ¶¶ 29-42). This process required Merchandisers to "scan-in" and "scan-out" at each location, in order to record the time spent at a specific location. (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶¶ 30, 42; C56-1 at ¶ 30, 44). Plaintiffs received formal and informal training on P.R.E.M.I.E.R. and failing to follow it was a "serious violation" of company policy. (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶¶ 44-46; C56-1 at ¶¶ 45-48).

Bottling Group also reimbursed Merchandisers for their work-related mileage. (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶ 47; C56-1 at ¶ 49). Accordingly, Merchandisers were expected to track and submit their mileage to Bottling Group at the end of each work week. (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶ 50; C56-1 at ¶ 52). Although there was no formal policy pertaining to tracking mileage, (Dkt. # C64 at 3-4), Trottier discussed, at least to some extent, the need for plaintiffs to track their mileage, (Dkt. ## M36 at ¶ 3; C59 at 2, ¶ 9). Plaintiffs maintain, however, that they were never formally trained on how to track their mileage. (Dkt. ## M36 at ¶ 6; C59 at 2, ¶ 12).

The parties do not seem to dispute the method of tracking mileage. According to Bottling Group, mileage generally "start[ed] with the first scheduled customer store and end[ed] with the last scheduled customer store, except when, on occasion, Merchandisers [had to] stop at the Rochester facility to attend a meeting, update handhelds, or pick up product displays." (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶ 47; C56-1 at ¶ 49). Based on the odometer, Merchandisers submitted the distance traveled from store to store during a shift. (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶ 49; C56-1 at ¶ 51). Morales calculated his mileage "starting after arriving at [his] first store or at the plant," (Dkt. # M36 at ¶ 2), and Campbell apparently tracked his mileage beginning and ending at the Rochester facility on occasions when he passed or stopped by that location, (Dkt. # C59 at 2, ¶ 9).

Merchandisers reviewed various company policies at the outset of their employment, including the General Rules of Conduct, the Global Code of Conduct, and the Employee Handbook. (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶ 53; C56-1 at ¶ 54). Pursuant to those documents, employees who felt discriminated against, retaliated against, or harassed, could report such conduct to a manager, Human Resource representative, or the company's "Speak Up" line. (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶¶ 54-55; C56-1 at ¶¶ 55-56). Company rules also prohibited the "misrepresentation of facts or falsification of Company records or other documents," and the "intentional concealment, alteration, or falsification of information for personal benefit"; violating these rules was deemed to be a "serious infraction." (Dkt. ## M31-1 at ¶¶ 56-57; C56-1 at ¶¶ 57-59).

B. Morales's Employment with Bottling Group

Morales began working as a part-time Merchandiser on June 26, 2013, and became full-time by December 29, 2013. (Dkt. # M31-1 at ¶ 81, 85).

1. The Open BCR Position

In December 2014, Morales applied for an open BCR position and was interviewed by Trottier and Flaherty. (Id. at ¶ 99). For these positions, Bottling Group maintained an internal policy to "promote the best suited individual for the job, based upon merit and seniority." (Id. at ¶ 101). Based on these criteria, Bottling Group promoted *265Chuck Jewell-not Morales. (Id. at ¶ 102). According to Bottling Group, Jewell was more qualified for the open BCR position because he was already a BCR for another geographical area and had been employed by Bottling Group since 2009. (Id. at ¶¶ 97, 102-03). Morales did not apply for Jewell's former BCR position and did not complain then about Bottling Group's decision. (Id. at ¶ 104-06).

2. Performance Issues

P.R.E.M.I.E.R. required Morales to obtain a customer's signature, such as the store manager, prior to leaving the store, (id. at ¶¶ 37-38), and to fill the store with Pepsi products, (id. at ¶ 35). Bottling Group claims that on February 7, 2015, Morales failed to do either these things at a specific store. (Id. at ¶¶ 107-08). Morales contends that he was not a regular at that store, that he signed out with who he believed to be the assistant manager, and that there was no more Pepsi products at the store. (Dkt. # M36 at ¶¶ 9-10). On February 9, 2015, Pitts discussed these issues with the customer, who requested that Morales no longer service his store.

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374 F. Supp. 3d 257, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morales-v-bottling-grp-llc-nywd-2019.