Opinion ID: 1843594
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Adverse Employment Action Attributable to Papa John's

Text: The retaliation provision of Title VII states: It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate against any of his employees ... because he has opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice by this subchapter, or because he has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this subchapter. 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e-3. Similarly, the Iowa Civil Rights Act (ICRA) states: It shall be an unfair or discriminatory practice for ... Any person to discriminate or retaliate against another person in any of the rights protected against discrimination by this chapter because such person has lawfully opposed any practice forbidden under this chapter, obeys the provisions of this chapter, or has filed a complaint, testified, or assisted in any proceeding under this chapter. Iowa Code § 216.11(2) (2001). Title VII was designed to ensure equal opportunity in employment for all, regardless of sex. Pecenka v. Fareway Stores, Inc., 672 N.W.2d 800, 803 (Iowa 2003) (citing Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp., 400 U.S. 542, 544, 91 S.Ct. 496, 497-98, 27 L.Ed.2d 613, 615 (1971)). The ICRA was modeled after Title VII, and therefore we have consistently employed federal analysis when interpreting the ICRA. See id. Nonetheless, the decisions of federal courts interpreting Title VII are not binding upon us in interpreting similar provisions in the ICRA. Id. To establish a prima facie case of retaliation under Title VII and the ICRA, a plaintiff must show: (1) the plaintiff engaged in protected activity; (2) the employer took adverse employment action against the plaintiff; and (3) a causal connection between the protected activity and the adverse employment action. Channon v. United Parcel Serv., Inc., 629 N.W.2d 835, 861-862 (Iowa 2001) (citing, in part, Manning v. Metro. Life Ins. Co., 127 F.3d 686, 692 (8th Cir.1997)). Once the plaintiff establishes a prima facie case, the burden shifts to the employer to rebut a presumption of retaliation. See Cross v. Cleaver, 142 F.3d 1059, 1071-72 (8th Cir.1998). In the district court, Papa John's argued the Estate could not establish that it took adverse employment action against Harris. The district court did not conclude a chest shot was not an adverse employment action but held Shields's actions were not attributable to Papa John's. The court dismissed the Estate's retaliation claim. Although the parties continue to frame the issue in this bifurcated manner, we do not. The question before us is simply whether the chest shot is not, as a matter of law, an adverse employment action attributable to Papa John's. When the facts of the case are viewed in a light most favorable to the plaintiffs and affording them all legitimate inferences, we conclude the chest shot could be construed as an adverse employment action attributable to Papa John's. See Phillips, 625 N.W.2d at 717-18 (setting forth standard of review for summary judgment rulings). We therefore reverse and remand for further proceedings. It is possible a jury would view the chest shot as a private matternothing more than a barbaric display of youthful machismo. Yet a more sinister interpretation of the facts is readily available, and it is for this reason the district court should have denied Papa John's motion for summary judgment. Harris reported a violation of Papa John's sexual harassment policy, was summoned to his workplace by his angry supervisor, Shields, at whose hands he ended up dead hours later. Shields killed Harris after Meeks, one of Papa John's general managers with responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the Locust Street store, told him to take care of the problem. Although the chest shot violated company policy, the mere enactment of a policy will not necessarily insulate an employer from liability for the acts of its employees. See Gentry v. Exp. Packaging Co., 238 F.3d 842, 847 (7th Cir.2001). Put simply, a jury ought to decide whether Shields's actions constituted adverse employment action attributable to Papa John's. We see no reason why punching an employee for making a report of sexual harassment cannot constitute adverse employment action. Compare Strother v. S. Cal. Permanente Med. Group, 79 F.3d 859, 869 (9th Cir.1996) (including physical abuse among actions which would support a finding of an adverse employment action), with McDonnell v. Cisneros, 84 F.3d 256, 259 (7th Cir.1996) (although [s]hooting a person for filing a complaint of discrimination would be an effective method of retaliation, the fact such a claimant would have other remedies in tort is a reason for confining the provision to retaliation that takes the form of an adverse job action (emphasis added)). Harris's death, after all, did result in termination of his employment. Far lesser punishments have supported a finding of retaliation. See, e.g., Harris v. Richards Mfg. Co., 511 F.Supp. 1193, 1203 (W.D.Tenn.1981), aff'd in part and rev'd in part, 675 F.2d 811 (6th Cir.1982) (employee moved to isolated corner). This decision is consistent with our definition of an adverse employment action as an action that detrimentally affects the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. Channon, 629 N.W.2d at 862; see also Burlington Indus., Inc. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742, 761, 118 S.Ct. 2257, 2268, 141 L.Ed.2d 633, 652-53 (1998) (tangible employment action defined as a significant change in employment status, such as hiring, firing, failing to promote, reassignment with specifically different responsibilities, or a decision causing significant change in benefits); Farmland Foods, Inc., v. Dubuque Human Rights Comm'n, 672 N.W.2d 733, 742 (Iowa 2003) (in racial discrimination claims, [c]onduct which constitutes a materially adverse employment action embraces a wide variety of facts). But see Ellerth, 524 U.S. at 762, 118 S.Ct. at 2269, 141 L.Ed.2d at 653 (A tangible employment action in most cases inflicts direct economic harm. (Emphasis added.)); Ray v. Henderson, 217 F.3d 1234, 1240 (9th Cir.2000) (federal circuit courts of appeal are split on how broadly adverse employment action must be defined). To summarize, summary judgment was not proper. When the facts are viewed in a light most favorable to the plaintiffs and all legitimate inferences are afforded to them, we think a jury could find the chest shot was an adverse employment action attributable to Papa John's.