Opinion ID: 629124
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Defendants Liability Under Title VII

Text: 18 Initially, this Court must deal with defendants' cross-claim that the district court erred in finding for Saulpaugh on her claims under Title VII. This contention could have been complicated by the Supreme Court's recent decision in St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 2742, 125 L.Ed.2d 407 (1993), which must be applied retroactively pursuant to Harper v. Virginia Dept. of Taxation, --- U.S. ----, 113 S.Ct. 2510, 125 L.Ed.2d 74 (1993). Under Hicks we would have been required to vacate the judgment had the district court reached its conclusion that Saulpaugh was discharged in retaliation for engaging in a protected activity based solely on her showing that defendants' proffered reason for their actions was false. The Court in Hicks emphasized that a showing by Title VII plaintiffs that their employer's justification was false does not compel a finding of liability. Even after so demonstrating, Title VII plaintiffs retain the ultimate burden of proving that an employer's action was prompted by an impermissible motive. Id. However, Hicks does not impact the instant case because Saulpaugh introduced a substantial amount of direct evidence indicating that Rosemond fired her in retaliation for complaining about his sexual overtures. The district court could and did find this evidence to be credible. Having carefully weighed the evidence, the district court did not clearly err, as defendants contend, in finding that Saulpaugh had met her burden of proving that she had been subjected to a retaliatory action. 19 Section 704(a) of Title VII prohibits an employer from discriminating against any of his employees ... because [the employee] has opposed any practice made unlawful by this subchapter. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e-3(a) (1988). We note that in the context of a discharge in retaliation for engaging in a protected activity, this Court had developed a test based on the framework outlined in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), see Kotcher v. Rosa and Sullivan Appliance Center, Inc., 957 F.2d 59 (2d Cir.1992); Johnson v. Palma, 931 F.2d 203 (2d Cir.1991), which has now been clarified by Hicks. In applying this test, the district court first concluded that Saulpaugh had established a prima facie case, 1 because she demonstrated participation in a protected activity known to the defendant, an employment action disadvantaging [her], and a causal connection between the protected activity and the adverse employment action. Kotcher, 957 F.2d at 64 (citations omitted). The court then properly heard and considered the defendants' proffered non-discriminatory reason for their actions. See Johnson, 931 F.2d at 207. Because defendants presented evidence indicating that they had dismissed Saulpaugh due to her poor performance, the court appropriately evaluated whether this justification was merely pretextual, i.e., a pretext for improperly motivated action. See Kotcher, 957 F.2d at 64-65. The district court's finding that Saulpaugh performed well in her capacity as Executive Housekeeper, and that defendants' justification for her dismissal was pretextual, is amply supported by the record. 20 As noted above, had the district court stopped its analysis short of this point and reached its conclusion that Saulpaugh was subjected to a retaliatory discharge based simply on her demonstration that the defendants' excuse was false, we would have been forced to vacate the judgment and remand in light of Hicks. In the instant case, however, the district court credited Saulpaugh's testimony that Rosemond threatened to fire her if she complained further about his actions. Furthermore, the court intimated that Saulpaugh's credibility was bolstered by the testimony of Wise, the former Executive Housekeeper, who described a similar pattern of sexual harassment and retaliation. Saulpaugh in effect produced not one but two smoking guns. Therefore, we find that Saulpaugh unquestionably satisfied her burden of proving that she was discharged in retaliation for complaining about Rosemond's harassment. 21 We emphasize that despite the dire warnings to the contrary, Justice Scalia soundly concluded that Hicks would not cause [p]anic ... [to] break out among the courts of appeals. --- U.S. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2750. We read Hicks as doing no more than reiterating the longstanding rule that despite shifting burdens of production, a plaintiff always shoulders the ultimate burden of proof. As carefully explained by Justice Scalia in Hicks, once a Title VII plaintiff has established his or her prima facie case, the burden of production shifts to the defendant to provide a non-discriminatory rationale for its action. Because of the presumption attached to the establishment of a prima facie case in this area of jurisprudence, the failure of a defendant to meet its burden of production would result in a directed verdict for the plaintiff. See Texas Dep't of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 254, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 1094, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1980). However, if a defendant carries its burden by producing a non-discriminatory motive, the McDonnell Douglas framework--with its presumptions and burdens--is no longer relevant. Hicks, --- U.S. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2745. Instead, the question simply becomes whether the plaintiff has proven its case by a preponderance of the evidence. In some instances, as Justice Scalia notes, a plaintiff may meet this ultimate burden of proof by combining her proof of the elements constituting a prima facie case with evidence that defendant's proffered reasons for its acts were false. --- U.S. at ----, 113 S.Ct. at 2749. Justice Scalia emphasizes that a factfinder's disbelief of a defendant's proffered rationale may allow it to infer the ultimate fact of intentional discrimination in some cases. Id. We were not required to evaluate whether this was such a case, because Saulpaugh, in addition to demonstrating the falsity of defendants' rationale, produced direct evidence of defendants' discriminatory intent. Nevertheless, because of the ill-founded confusion that has surrounded Hicks ' pronouncements, we believe it important to emphasize that a Title VII plaintiff does not necessarily meet its burden of persuasion by convincing the factfinder that the employer's non-discriminatory explanation is not credible; rather, the trier of fact must find that the plaintiff has proven its explanation of discriminatory intent by a fair preponderance of the evidence. Id. A Title VII plaintiff may succeed in this either directly by persuading the court that a discriminatory reason more likely motivated the employer or indirectly by showing that the employer's proffered explanation is unworthy of credence. Burdine, 450 U.S. at 256, 101 S.Ct. at 1095. Because Saulpaugh succeeded in doing both, the district court unquestionably was justified in finding that Saulpaugh had proven her case by a fair preponderance of the evidence. 22 Likewise, the district court correctly outlined and applied the legal standard for Saulpaugh's quid pro quo theory of sexual harassment. As the district court noted,  '[u]nder a quid pro quo theory, the plaintiff-employee must establish that she was denied an economic benefit either because of gender or because a sexual advance was made by a supervisor and rejected by her.'  (quoting Kotcher, 957 F.2d at 62). The district court then concluded that, [a]fter carefully considering and evaluating the credibility of the witnesses' trial testimony, I have determined that plaintiff has established that her rejection of Rosemond's sexual advances resulted in the deprivation of a job benefit for which she was otherwise qualified, i.e. a fair evaluation of her work. Accordingly, the Hospital as Rosemond's employer was held strictly liable for Rosemond's actions. See Carrero v. New York City Hous. Auth., 890 F.2d 569, 579 (2d Cir.1989). Essentially defendants are asking this Court to substitute our evaluation for that of the trier of fact. We decline this invitation.