Sharon v. Yellow Freight System, Inc.

872 F. Supp. 839, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19068, 75 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 545, 1994 WL 731555
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedNovember 7, 1994
Docket94-2035-KHV
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 872 F. Supp. 839 (Sharon v. Yellow Freight System, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sharon v. Yellow Freight System, Inc., 872 F. Supp. 839, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19068, 75 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 545, 1994 WL 731555 (D. Kan. 1994).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

VRATIL, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Defendant Yellow Freight System, Inc.’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. # 38). Plaintiff Ed M. Sharon claims that defendant Yellow Freight Systems, Inc. (“YFS”) unlawfully discriminated in the terms and conditions and termination of his employment on the basis of religion, national origin, gender, and age, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”). Plaintiff also claims breach of express and implied employment contract and/or promissory es-toppel. Defendant seeks summary judgment on the grounds that plaintiff cannot establish a prima facie case of employment discrimination or show that defendant’s justification for his discharge is pretextual. Defendant further asserts that, as a matter of law, plaintiff cannot establish breach of contract or promissory estoppel.

Summary judgment is appropriate if “the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); see Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The Court considers all evidence and reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587-88, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). The nonmoving party, however, “may not rest upon its pleadings but must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial as to those matters for which it carries the burden of proof.” Applied Genetics Intern., Inc. v. First Affiliated Securities, Inc., 912 F.2d 1238, 1241 (10th Cir.1990); see Anderson, 477 U.S. at 256, 106 S.Ct. at 2514.

A. FACTS

The following facts are either undisputed or construed in the light most favorable to plaintiff.

Plaintiff is an Israeli male who practices the Jewish faith. At all relevant times he was over 40 years old. In December, 1990, he contacted YFS to explore the possibility of a full-time employment position to develop systems similar to the ones he had formerly proposed to YFS. At the time he contacted YFS, plaintiff was operating an independent consulting business in New Jersey. He possessed four advanced degrees (B.S., M.S., MBA & Ph.D.) and had 15 years of experience in transportation and research. YFS was familiar with plaintiffs work before he inquired about employment.

In late January or early February, 1991, Mike Bunch, a technical recruiter for YFS, telephoned plaintiff. He stated that YFS was impressed with plaintiffs background and wanted to discuss an employment position paying a salary in the mid $50,000 range, less than plaintiff had earned as an independent consultant. YFS personnel subsequently arranged for an interview in mid-February. Prior to the interview, plaintiff completed and signed an employment application, which he brought with him to the interview. On the application, plaintiff stated that he desired full-time employment with YFS in information research.

During the interview, plaintiff met with supervisors of the position Joyce Drummond and Cathy Larrimer, Mike Bunch, and the personnel office. Bunch discussed a career job, one with a starting date with no ending date. Larrimer met with plaintiff for three hours. They discussed a position in the information technology research task force and the purpose/mission of the group. Plaintiff met or exceeded all background requirements for the position. Larrimer represented that the position would be long-term and stable, and that if plaintiff did a good job he could continue to work there for as long as he wished. Larrimer recognized that plaintiff had qualifications, including computer modeling and simulations, industrial engineering, and operations research, which no *842 other member of her department possessed. During the interview, Larrimer was aware of plaintiffs age, national origin, religion, and sex.

Larrimer recommended that YFS hire plaintiff. She believed plaintiff would generate an interest in new projects for the department, reduce backlog, improve the standing or prestige of department, and open an avenue to gain new internal clients. Drum-mond and Bob Callaghan, the department head over Drummond and Larrimer, approved the recommendation. When YFS recruits an out-of-state candidate, it expects that the position will be permanent and that as long as the employee performs satisfactorily he or she will stay with the company for some period of time, as long as conditions remain favorable. Callaghan, an officer of YFS, understood that YFS would retain a permanent employee as long as conditions warrant. Drummond considered the position offered to plaintiff to be a career position.

A few days after the interview, Larrimer called plaintiff and offered him a full-time, career position as an information technologist research specialist. She stated that YFS was impressed with plaintiffs background and that he would make a nice addition to the group. Plaintiff requested an offer in writing. He believed that the short response time between the interview and offer indicated that YFS was strongly interested in him. While contemplating the YFS offer, plaintiff turned down an opportunity with a pharmaceutical company in his area on the basis that YFS was willing to commit to a long-term career opportunity. He also ceased pursuing an opportunity with the Long Island R.R., where he had progressed through three interview stages.

On February 18, 1991, Bunch wrote to plaintiff, formally extending an employment offer. Before accepting, plaintiff conferred with Bunch and Larrimer concerning his benefit package including relocation expense, temporary living expense, medical benefits, and vacation. On March 19, 1991, Bunch sent plaintiff a letter addressing plaintiffs questions about the benefit package. Plaintiff accepted the offer. On March 20, 1991, Bunch wrote to plaintiff confirming the terms of employment and a starting date of April 1, 1991. The letter did not recite all the agreements and representations which YFS made in the interview process and subsequent correspondence. Plaintiff read the letter carefully and did not question why additional terms of employment were not in the letter.

At the time plaintiff accepted the offer, his wife had a professorship with Rutgers University in New Jersey. She continued to reside there with their three children until August, 1991, when she and the children relocated to Kansas.

When plaintiff began working for YFS, he learned YFS policies and procedures through various orientation materials and programs. YFS characterizes its communication policy as one of freedom and openness, removal of organizational boundaries, and exchange of ideas.

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872 F. Supp. 839, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19068, 75 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 545, 1994 WL 731555, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sharon-v-yellow-freight-system-inc-ksd-1994.