Sellars v. CRST Expedited, Inc.

385 F. Supp. 3d 803
District Court, N.D. Iowa·Decided July 15, 2019·No. No. C15-117-LTS·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

Leonard T. Strand, Chief Judge *806TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION ...806

II. BACKGROUND ...806

III. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARDS ...807

IV. RELEVANT FACTS ...808

A. CRST's Business Model ...808

B. Driver Pay ...809

C. CRST's Policies Regarding Sexual Harassment and Retaliation ...810

D. Plaintiffs' Commencement of Employment with CRST ...815

E. Plaintiffs' Allegations Against Other Drivers ...816

F. Plaintiffs' Separation from CRST ...825

V. ANALYSIS ...826

A. Plaintiffs' Hostile Work Environment Claims ...826

B. Plaintiffs' Retaliation Claims ...837

C. Plaintiffs' Constructive Discharge Claims ...838

VI. CONCLUSION ...840

I. INTRODUCTION

This case is before me on a motion (Doc. No. 216) for summary judgment on plaintiffs' individual claims filed by defendant CRST Expedited, Inc. (CRST). Plaintiffs have filed a response (Doc. No. 239) and CRST has filed a reply (Doc. No. 246). I find that oral argument is unnecessary. See Local Rule 7(c).

II. BACKGROUND

On March 30, 2017, I entered an order certifying a hostile work environment class and a retaliation class in this case. See Doc. No. 85. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(c)(4)(A), I also certified the following issues with respect to each class pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(c)(4)(a) :

a. As to the Hostile Work Environment Class, whether CRST has any of the following policies, patterns or practices that create or contribute to a hostile work environment:

(1) failing to find their complaints were corroborated without an eyewitness or admission,
(2) failing to discipline drivers after complaints were corroborated and
(3) failure to discipline [driver managers] for failing to promptly respond to sexual harassment complaints and

b. As to the Retaliation Class:

(1) Whether CRST has a policy, pattern or practice of retaliating against women complaining of sexual harassment by requiring them to exit the truck except when they are a lead driver or owner-operator.

Id. at 55. I noted that pursuant to Rule 23(c)(1)(C), the order could be altered or amended before final judgment. Id. at 56.

CRST subsequently moved for summary judgment on the retaliation claim and decertification of the hostile work environment class. See Doc. Nos. 171, 172. I granted both motions on January 15, 2019. See Doc. No. 204. I denied plaintiffs' motion *807to amend the decertification order; motion to stay, or alternatively amend, the trial scheduling order; and motion to certify final judgment upon the class retaliation claims for appeal. See Doc. No. 233. As such, only plaintiffs' individual claims of hostile work environment, retaliation and constructive discharge under Title VII remain. Those claims are now the subject of CRST's motion for summary judgment.1 See Doc. No. 2.

III. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARDS

Any party may move for summary judgment regarding all or any part of the claims asserted in a case. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a). Summary judgment is appropriate when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a 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).

A material fact is one that " 'might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.' " Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Thus, "the substantive law will identify which facts are material." Id. Facts that are "critical" under the substantive law are material, while facts that are "irrelevant or unnecessary" are not. Id.

An issue of material fact is genuine if it has a real basis in the record, Hartnagel v. Norman , 953 F.2d 394, 395 (8th Cir. 1992) (citing Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp. , 475 U.S. 574, 586-87, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986) ), or when " 'a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party' on the question." Woods v. DaimlerChrysler Corp.

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Sellars v. CRST Expedited, Inc., 385 F. Supp. 3d 803 (N.D. Iowa 2019).

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