Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ared-4_05-cv-00523/USCOURTS-ared-4_05-cv-00523-0/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 442
Nature of Suit: Civil Rights Employment
Cause of Action: 42:2000e Job Discrimination (Employment)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS 

WESTERK DIVISION 

CATHIE SIMMONS 

VS. CASE NO. 4:05CV00523 JMM 

ANTHONY J. PRINCIPI, SECRETARY, 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS DEFENDANT 

ORDER 

Pending before the Court is defendant's motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff has not 

responded to the pending motion. 

Plaintiff brought this lawsuit alleging gender, retaliatory, and racial discrimination in 

violation of 42 1J.S.C. $ 198 1, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 

5 2000e el seq. based upon an incident in which she was orally reprimanded and verbally 

harassed. 

I. FUC~U' 

Plaintiff is an African-American female employed by the United States Department of 

Veterans Affairs as a histopathology technician in the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine 

Service Department. 

On January 2 1,2004 plaintiff went to the agency employee health unit to turn in a duty 

status report regarding her claim with the Department of T.abor, Office of Workers' 

'The government has accepted plaintiff's version of the facts as being undisputed 

I 

Case 4:05-cv-00523-JMM Document 13 Filed 07/11/05 Page 1 of 5
Compensation Program, for an on-the-job injury. She told a co-employee where she was going 

becausc her supervisor Ms. Jones, a white female. was not present. 

At approximately 8:25 a.m. she returned to her work location and was reprimanded by 

Ms. Jones who appeared angry. Ms. Jones looked at plaintiff's statement from her doctor and 

pointed her finger at plaintiff and stated: 'The next time you leave your area, you better write on 

the board where you are going." 

Plaintirfatlempted to explain where she had been, and was again told to sign out when 

she left her work station. Plaintiff became nervous and nauseous. She went to the restroom and 

vomited. Plaintiff tried unsuccessfully to find her second level supervisor and was attempting 

to make an appointment with Dr. Margie Scott the Chief of the Pathology and Laboratory 

Medicine Service when Ms. Jones interrupted the process by stating in an angry voice that 

plaintiff was needed in the lab to do work. 

Plaintiff finished making her appointment, returned to Ms. Jones, and told her that 

plaintiff had to go to the employee health unit because she was stressed. Plaintiff saw the health 

unit nurse and then lcft to see her private doctor for stress. 

Plaintiff made an administrative complaint of discrimination which was dismissed for 

failure to state a claim. Plaintiff appealed the Final Agency Decision to the Equal Employment 

Opportunity Commission which affirmed the agency's decision and subsequently denied 

plaintiffs request for reconsideration. 

Plaintiff had previously filed other EEO claims in October of 2003. 

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11. Diccus.rion 

Su~n~nary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the 

dispute may be decided solely on legal grounds. Iowa Coal A-lin. Co. v. Monroe Counp, 257 

F.3d 846, 852 (SLh Cir.2001): Fed. R. Civ. P. 56. The initial inquiry is whether there are 

genuine factual issues that can be properly resolved only by a finder of fact because they may 

reasonably be resolved in favor of cither party. Anderson v. Liberp Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 

250 (1986). The burden is on the moving party to show that the record does not disclose n 

genuine dispute on a material fact. RSBIAerospace, Inc v. Afllia~ed FJ.iIns. Co., 49 F.3d 399 

(8"' Cir.1995). 

.4t the summary judgment stage in an employmcnt discrimination action, in the absence 

of direct evidence of racial or ethnic discrimination, an employee must produce sufficient 

circumstantial evidence of illcgal discrimination under the McDonnell Dolrglus paradigm, 

specifically, by presenting aprirna facie case of intentional discrimination plus sufficient 

evidence that one or more ofthe employer's proffered nondiscriminatory rcasons is a pretext for 

unlawful discrimination. Grifjrh v. Ciry of Des Moines: 387 F.3d 733 (SLh Cir. 2004). 

Under the burden-shifting framework of McDorznell Douglas v. Green, 41 1 U.S. 792. 

801-04, 93 S.Ct. 1817. 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), a plaintiff must first establish a prima facie case 

of discrimination to establish a claim under Title VII. Ross v. Kun.ras Cily Power & Lighl Co.. 

293 F.3d 1041, 1046 (Xth Cir. 2002). Once the plaintiff does this, the burden of production shifts 

to the employer to articulate a legitimate, nondiscriminatoq reason. Id. If the employer 

satisfies this burden, the burden of production shifis back to the plaintiff to demonstrate that the 

employer's proffered reason is pretext for unlawful discrimination. Id. To establish that an 

Case 4:05-cv-00523-JMM Document 13 Filed 07/11/05 Page 3 of 5
employer's legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason is pretext for discrimination, an employee must 

offer evidence for a reasonable trier of fact to infer discrimination. ,Marlhewu v. Trilogy 

Comrnunicalions, Inc., 143 F.3d 1160, 1165 (gLh Cir.1998). 

To establish n prima facie case of discrimination based upon gender, race, or rctaliation, 

plaintiff must first demonstrate that she suffered an adverse employment action. Schojjstall v. 

/fenderson, 223 F.3d 8 18, 825 (8"' Cir. 2000) (gender); Talum v. City ofBerkley, 408 F.3d 543, 

551 (8Ih Cir. 2005) (race); Haas v. Kelly Services, Inc., 409 F.3d 1030, 1037 (81h Cir. 2005) 

(retaliation) 

"An adverse ernploymcnt action is a tangible change in working conditions that produces 

a material employment disadvantage. . . . Termination, reduction in pay or benefits, and changes 

in employment that significantly affect an employee's future career prospects meet this standard, 

but minor changes in working conditions that merely inconvenience an employee or alter an 

employee's work responsibilities do not." Sallis v. Universify of Minn., 408 F.3d 470; 177 (8Ih 

Cir. 2005) (citing Spears v ,Missouri Dept. ofCorrecrions and Human Resources. 210 F3d 850, 

853 (8th Cir.2000). 

Plaintiff has failed to present any evidence that she has suffered an adverse employment 

action. She did not wffer Any reduction in grade, salary or job benefits. She was not 

demoted, suspended, or reassigned. Her claim does not rise to the level of an actionable adverse 

employment action. 

To the extent plaintiff is contending that she was subjected to a hostile work environment. 

she has also failed to establish aprimafacie case. To prove a hostile work environment, 

plaintiff must establish aprima facie case by showing that (1) she belongs to a protected group; 

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(2) she was subject to unwelcome harassment; (3) a casual nexus exists between ths harassment 

and thc protected group status; (4) the harassment affected a term, condition, or privilege of 

employment: and (5) her employer hcw or should have known of the harassment and failed to 

take pruper action. Tattrm v. Arkurlsas Depr. O?f'Health, - F.3d -, 2005 U'L 1421689 (81h 

Cir. 2005). 

In order to " violate TitIe VII, the conduct must be extreme. and 'isolated incidents 

(unless extremely seriousj will not amount to discriminatory changes in the ' terms and 

conditions ofemployment.' Hesse v. Avlr Rent-a-Cur Systen~, Inc., 394 F.3d 624, 629 (8Ih Cir. 

2005) (quoting Furugher v. Cil): of Bocu Raton, 24 U.S. 775 (1998)). 

The facts of plaintiffs case do not rise to the level of such extreme conduct. 

111. Cuncltr.rion 

Because plaintiff has failed to establish aprimafacie case of an advcrse employment 

action or a hostile work environment, defendant's motion for summary judgment is 

granted (#I 0). Judgment will be entered accordingly. 

11' IS SO ORDERED this & day of July, 2005. 

United States District Judge 

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