Stone v. Trader Joe's Co.

186 F. Supp. 3d 395, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63314, 2016 WL 2766491
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 13, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 15-3294
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 186 F. Supp. 3d 395 (Stone v. Trader Joe's Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stone v. Trader Joe's Co., 186 F. Supp. 3d 395, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63314, 2016 WL 2766491 (E.D. Pa. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

Bartle, District Judge.

Plaintiff Dorothy Stone (“Stone”) has sued her employer, Trader Joe’s Company (“Trader Joe’s”), for age discrimination and retaliation. Her complaint alleges violations of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621 et seq., and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (“PHRA”), 43 Pa. Stat. §§ 951 et seq.

Before the court is the motion of Trader Joe’s for summary judgment on each of Stone’s claims.

[397]*397I.

Summary judgment is appropriate “if the movant shows that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the mov-ant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986),1 A dispute is genuine if the evidence is such that a reasonable factfinder could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 254, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Summary judgment is granted where there is insufficient record evidence for a reasonable factfinder to find for the nonmovant. Id. at 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505. “The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the [nonmoving partyj’s position will be insufficient; there must be evidencé on which the jury could reasonably find” for that party. Id.

When ruling on a motion for summary judgment, we may only rely on admissible evidence. See, e.g., Blackburn v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 179 F.3d 81, 95 (3d Cir.1999). We view the facts and draw all inferences in favor of the nonmoving party. In re Flat Glass Antitrust Litig., 385 F.3d 350, 357 (3d Cir.2004). However, “an inference based upon a speculation or conjecture does not create a material factual dispute sufficient to defeat entry of summary judgment.” Robertson v. Allied Signal, Inc., 914 F.2d 360, 382 n. 12 (3d Cir.1990).

A party asserting that a particular fact “cannot be or is genuinely disputed” must support its assertion by “citing to particular parts of materials in the record” or by “showing that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute, or that an adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support the fact.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(1). In reviewing a motion for summary judgment, the court may consider any materials in the record but is not required to look beyond those materials cited by the parties. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(3). It is not the responsibility of the court to “comb the record in search of disputed facts.” N.J. Carpenters Pension Fund v. Hous. Auth. & Urban Development Agency of the City of Atl. City, 68 F.Supp.3d 545, 549 (D.N.J. 2014). As our Court of Appeals has emphasized, “[jjudges are not like pigs, hunting for truffles buried in briefs.” Doeblers’ Pa. Hybrids, Inc. v. Doebler, 442 F.3d 812, 820 n. 8 (3d Cir.2006) (quoting United States v. Dunkel, 927 F.2d 955, 956 (7th Cir.1991)).

II.

The following facts are undisputed or viewed in the light most favorable to Stone as the nonmovant.

Stone is 66 years old. Her employment with Trader Joe’s, a grocery store chain, began in 2002 at the company’s location in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania (the “Jenkin-town store”). She still remains an employee at that location. When she was hired, Stone was classified by Trader Joe’s as a “demo specialist.” Employees who work in “demo” offer samples of Trader Joe’s products to customers. For approximately the first ten years of her employment, Stone was scheduled to work whenever she [398]*398was available. This was generally on Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. “For a while” during that period she began her workday at 7:30 a.m.

In 2011, Trader Joe’s implemented a policy change whereby all of its nonmanag-erial employees, which it refers to as “Crew” or “Crew members,” would be assigned to a range of tasks such as working at cash registers, stocking shelves, cleaning, and speaking to customers. Crew members would no longer concentrate on specific areas such as demo. At around the same time, the Jenkintown store hired a number of new Crew members. Thereafter, Stone began to be assigned fewer work hours. In 2011 she averaged 46.18 paid hours of work per week, while in 2012 she averaged only 41.28 hours per week. At the time, Stone did not express any dissatisfaction about the reduction in hours. She did ask that she be assigned to work only every other Saturday.

In January 2013, Stone received a performance review from Camille Adams (“Adams”), who was at the time the “Captain,” or manager, of the Jenkintown store. Adams gave Stone an overall rating of “does not meet expectations” and offered areas for potential improvement. Upon receiving the review, Stone had what she now describes as a “meltdown.” She followed up in February 2014 by contacting Diane Carroll (“Carroll”), a member of the Trader Joe’s human resources staff. During their conversation, Stone characterized the January 2013 review as unfair and suggested that she was considering quitting her job or transferring stores. Stone also expressed concern that Trader Joe’s wanted to eliminate her from its staff because she was “capped out,” meaning that she had worked for the company for so long that she was paid the maximum available hourly wage.

Within days of the conversation between Stone and Carroll, Adams was transferred from the Jenkintown store to another Trader Joe’s location.2 She was replaced by David Wagenschutz (“Wagenschutz”). During Stone’s July 2013 performance review, Wagenschutz gave her an overall rating of “meets expectations,” although he noted that she had a tendency to become defensive. He suggested that she “work on the tone and style of her communication” and “focus on active listening or taking notes.”

Wagenschutz served as Captain of the Jenkintown store until late August 2013, at which point he was replaced by Anthony Fernandez (“Fernandez”). Fernandez was never made aware of the February 2014 conversation between Stone and Carroll.

Around the time of the arrival of Fernandez in August 2013, Trader Joe’s adopted a computer scheduling system called Dayforce. Dayforce works as follows: Crew members input their availability into the system, indicating when they are and are not available to work. The store’s management, meanwhile, inputs and adjusts certain performance indicators, such as sales per hour, hours required prior to opening and closing, and historical sales.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
186 F. Supp. 3d 395, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63314, 2016 WL 2766491, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stone-v-trader-joes-co-paed-2016.