Sample v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

273 F. Supp. 2d 185, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12876, 2003 WL 21738770
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedJanuary 13, 2003
DocketNo. 3:01CV545 (WWE)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 273 F. Supp. 2d 185 (Sample v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sample v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 273 F. Supp. 2d 185, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12876, 2003 WL 21738770 (D. Conn. 2003).

Opinion

RULING ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

EGINTON, Senior District Judge.

This action arises from a complaint of employment discrimination filed with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (“CHRO”) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) by the plaintiff against defendant Wal-Mart. Upon obtaining releases from the CHRO and EEOC, plaintiff filed this action alleging racially motivated discrimination, pursuant to the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (“CFEPA”), C.G.S. §§ 46a-60 (a)(1) [Count One], Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C.2000e, et seq. [Count Two]; and a retaliation claim based on violation of her right to free speech pursuant to C.G.S. § 31-51q, the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, and Article One, Section Four of the Connecticut Constitution [Count Three].

Pending before the Court is defendant Wal-Mart’s motion for summary judgment. For the reasons set forth below, the defendant’s motion will be granted.

FACTS

The plaintiff, an African-American female, brings this action alleging racial discrimination based upon the termination of her employment as assistant manager at the Shelton, Connecticut, Wal-Mart store. [187]*187The plaintiffs association with Wal-Mart began when Wal-Mart interviewed her when she was in college, and hired her to join its six-month management plan after graduation. In June, 1998, plaintiff joined Wal-Mart’s training program, and as part of the training, she was assigned to work in Wal-Mart’s Newnan, Georgia, store.

After her training was complete, she was appointed assistant manager. The plaintiff requested, and received, transfer to the Shelton, Connecticut, store which is a ten-minute drive from her hometown of Bridgeport. At the Shelton store, the racial composition of the non-salaried workers was approximately 57% white, 28% African American, and the remaining 15% were members of other minority groups. Sample’s immediate supervisors were Caucasian, but of the five salaried assistant managers at the Shelton store, two were African American, the plaintiff and a male, Robert Davis.

The Shelton store and ninety to one hundred other Wal-Mart stores in Connecticut, New Jersey, Rhode Island and parts of New York and Pennsylvania were overseen by Castural Thompson, an African-American male. Thompson’s office was at Wal-Mart corporate headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. The plaintiff contacted Mr. Thompson on a regular basis regarding her dissatisfaction with events in the Shelton store, even after Mr. Thompson instructed her to cease.

The plaintiff alleges that her termination was discriminatory and retaliatory in nature, and that her Caucasian superiors created a hostile work environment, consistently undermining her authority. In addition, the plaintiff claims that the defendant’s Caucasian employees were allowed to steal time, submit false records, and disregard orders issued by management in general without fear of discipline, but the plaintiff was repeatedly disciplined, and finally terminated, for bringing such misconduct to the attention of her supervisors.

The plaintiff sets forth a litany of specific incidents, covering the time span from September 11, 1998, through her termination on August 31, 1999. On February 22, 2002, the Court dismissed with prejudice factual allegations in Counts One and Two that occurred in Georgia in 1998, and dismissed Count Three in its entirety as to all parties, with prejudice.

DISCUSSION

A motion for summary judgment will be granted where there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and it is clear that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). “Only when reasonable minds could not differ as to the import of the evidence is summary judgment proper.” Bryant v. Maffucci, 923 F.2d 979, 982 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 849, 112 S.Ct. 152, 116 L.Ed.2d 117 (1991).

The burden is on the moving party to demonstrate the absence of any material factual issue genuinely in dispute. American International Group, Inc. v. London American International Corp., 664 F.2d 348, 351 (2d Cir.1981). In determining whether a genuine factual issue exists, the court must resolve all ambiguities and draw all reasonable inferences against the moving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). If a nonmoving party has failed to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of his case with respect to which he has the burden of proof, then summary judgment is appropriate. Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. If the nonmoving party submits evidence which is “merely colorable,” legally sufficient opposition to the motion for summary judgment is not met. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

[188]*188To. survive summary judgment, the plaintiff must first establish a prima facie case of discrimination by a preponderance of the evidence. McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). If she meets this prima facie burden, the burden of production then shifts to the defendant, which must rebut the presumption by articulating a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason or reasons for its action. To meet its burden, the defendant need do no more than offer an explanation and the presumption raised by the plaintiffs prima facie case is rebutted and it drops from the case. St. Mary’s Honor Center v. Hicks, 509 U.S. 502, 507, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993).

The burden then shifts to the plaintiff, who must then show that the defendant’s articulated legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons are false, and more likely than not discrimination was the real reason for the adverse employment action. The burden of proving intentional discrimination remains at all times with the plaintiff. This burden-shifting framework applies equally to the plaintiffs Title VII and Connecticut state law claims. Sorrentino v. All Seasons Services, Inc., 245 Conn. 756, 767, 717 A.2d 150 (1998).

To prove a Title VII racial discrimination claim, the plaintiff must prove the following elements to make out a prima facie case: (1) she is a member of a protected class; (2) she was qualified for her position; (3) she suffered an adverse employment action; and (4) the adverse action occurred under circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination. Fisher v. Vassar College,

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273 F. Supp. 2d 185, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12876, 2003 WL 21738770, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sample-v-wal-mart-stores-inc-ctd-2003.