Vivian Garriga v. Novo Nordisk, Inc.

390 F. App'x 952
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedAugust 5, 2010
Docket09-14232
StatusUnpublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 390 F. App'x 952 (Vivian Garriga v. Novo Nordisk, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vivian Garriga v. Novo Nordisk, Inc., 390 F. App'x 952 (11th Cir. 2010).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Vivian Garriga appeals the summary judgment in favor of her former employer, Novo Nordisk, and against her complaint of a hostile work environment, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a); Fla. Stat. § 760.10(1), and retaliation, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a); Fla. Stat. § 760.10(7). We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

From April 2001 until her termination on September 6, 2007, Vivian Garriga sold medicines in the St. Petersburg, Florida area for Novo Nordisk, Inc., a subsidiary of Novo Nordisk A/S, a Danish manufac *953 turer and distributor of drugs for diabetes. Garriga was a successful sales' representative praised by her supervisors. Garriga’s success changed when Novo Nordisk hired Brian Taylor in March 2007 as the new Business Manager for Garriga’s territory.

As business manager, Taylor had limited interaction with Garriga and other Novo Nordisk sales representatives, but from their first encounter, Garriga objected to Taylor’s conduct. Taylor asked everyone at his first district-wide staff meeting in early May to name the celebrity with whom they would like to have sex. Garri-ga was “speechless,” but she did not complain to Taylor because she thought that once she got to know Taylor, they would “get along well.” Taylor’s sexual banter instead continued. Taylor called Garriga and her work partner, Shannon Duffy, by nicknames that Garriga perceived as sexual in nature and offensive. On May 17, during a two-day “ride-along” in which Taylor accompanied Garriga to her meetings with physicians, Taylor “put his arm around” Garriga in the parking lot of a restaurant. Taylor also “constant[ly]” leered at Garriga’s breasts and backside that day, as well as during a meeting in June and another ride-along in July. During these ride-alongs, Taylor negatively reviewed Garriga’s work and observed that her sales of certain drugs failed to meet his expectations.

On July 10, Garriga asked Taylor to stop leering at her. When Taylor’s conduct continued during meetings on July 16 and 17, Garriga complained of sexual harassment to Roger Arnell, a human resources representative, who interviewed Garriga, Taylor, and four other employees. Arnell determined that Garriga’s story could not be corroborated. Taylor learned of Garri-ga’s complaint on July 22. By that date, Taylor and Garriga had interacted eight times over the course of three months.

Ten days later, on August 1, Taylor placed Garriga on a “coaching worksheet,” a tool used by Novo Nordisk to evaluate employee performance and identify skills that need improvement. The coaching worksheet required an employee to spend more time with her supervisor. After placement on a coaching worksheet, the employee had 60 days to improve the identified deficiencies.

Garriga never had time to improve her work because Taylor learned during a ride-along the next day that Garriga had sponsored a dinner at the private residence of one of her physician clients. The dinner originally had been planned as a farewell dinner for a physician, but Garri-ga and Duffy arranged to pay for the meal as part of an informational training presentation. Both Garriga and Duffy had attended with their boyfriends, and the wife of one of the physicians also attended. Taylor notified Arnell about the party and expressed concern that it violated policies of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. The policies allow employees “occasionally ' [to] provide meals” to doctors, but not their spouses or other guests, “in a venue and manner conducive to informational communication,” (e.g., “at a quiet restaurant”) so long as “the primary purpose of the meal is a sales call, medical dialogue, or educational program.”

Taylor recommended that the company terminate Garriga. Arnell and another representative of human resources investigated the dinner and determined that it violated company policy because its primary purpose was something other than an informational presentation. Human resources and the compliance department recommended the termination of Garriga and Duffy. Sheila Sewock, Regional Business Director for the Florida Region for Novo Nordisk, independently reviewed the *954 findings from the investigation and terminated Garriga and Duffy on September 6, 2007, for violating company policy.

Garriga filed a complaint against Novo Nordisk and alleged a hostile work environment, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a); Fla. Stat. § 760.10(1), and retaliation, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a); Fla. Stat. § 760.10(7). Novo Nordisk moved for summary judgment in its favor. The district court entered summary judgment against Garri-ga’s complaint.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

“We review de novo an order granting summary judgment.” Reeves v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., 594 F.3d 798, 807 (11th Cir.2010) (en banc). We will affirm a summary judgment “if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). There is a genuine issue of material fact “if the record taken as a whole,” and viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, “could lead a rational trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party.” Allen v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 121 F.3d 642, 646 (11th Cir.1997) (internal quotation marks omitted).

III. DISCUSSION

Garriga raises two arguments on appeal, but both fail. She argues that a reasonable jury could conclude that she endured a hostile work environment. Garriga also argues that a reasonable jury could conclude that Novo Nordisk retaliated against her by placing her on the coaching worksheet and terminating her. We discuss each argument in turn.

Garriga’s claim of a hostile work environment fails. To prove a prima facie claim of a hostile work environment, an employee must subjectively perceive that the harassment is “sufficiently severe and pervasive to alter the terms or conditions of employment,” and that

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Seal v. General
M.D. Florida, 2022
Herman v. AAR Aviation Corp
M.D. Florida, 2022

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
390 F. App'x 952, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vivian-garriga-v-novo-nordisk-inc-ca11-2010.