Opinion ID: 598977
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Denial of Promotions Prior to EEOC Filing

Text: 33 Plaintiff contests the trial court's decision to exclude the background evidence pertaining to Texaco's failure to promote her on six occasions prior to the filing of her 1980 EEOC complaint, saying that Judge Mukasey, who ruled this evidence inadmissible, erred because he misinterpreted Judge Haight's earlier decision on the same issue. See Malarkey v. Texaco, 559 F.Supp. at 121. According to plaintiff, though Judge Haight held the claims themselves time-barred, he said the underlying evidence should be admitted at trial. She insists this ruling was compelled by the Supreme Court's holding in United Air Lines, Inc. v. Evans, 431 U.S. 553, 97 S.Ct. 1885, 52 L.Ed.2d 571 (1977). 34 We do not think Judge Mukasey abused his discretion in refusing to admit this evidence. In our view, he correctly held that Judge Haight's 1982 discussion of the evidentiary point was a passing comment not intended to bind the judge who would preside at trial. We are unable to accept the proposition that Judge Haight intended to make an evidentiary ruling for a future trial, before the start of discovery, where he did not in the end actually preside at the trial. Instead, we believe, as is customary in pre-trial decisions, Judge Haight left the door open for the trial judge to rule on the use of this background evidence. In any event, Judge Mukasey was free to revisit the issue. 35 Nor does Evans posit a rule of law to the contrary. It merely states that earlier discriminatory acts may constitute relevant background evidence. Evans, 431 U.S. at 558, 97 S.Ct. at 1889 (emphasis supplied). As such, it obviously does not compel the admission of such evidence, but rather affords the trial court discretion to decide whether such evidence is admissible under the ordinary evidentiary standards of probity and prejudice. See Song v. Ives Labs., Inc., 59 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 1069, 1071-72, 1990 WL 96768 (S.D.N.Y.1990) (noting that background evidence is admissible at trial under Fed.R.Evid. 403 only if more probative than prejudicial); Ganguly v. New York State Dep't of Mental Hygiene, 511 F.Supp. 420, 427 (S.D.N.Y.1981) (holding background evidence admissible subject to evidentiary rules); see also Wingfield v. United Technologies Corp., 678 F.Supp. 973, 983 (D.Conn.1988) (excluding time-barred evidence because it was prejudicial, confusing, and would delay the trial). Weighing these considerations, as was done here, we see no error in the trial court ruling the background evidence inadmissible. 36 III May Refusal to Place in a Lower Grade Position be Discrimination? 37 Texaco points to two reversible errors it believes were made respecting the Cavanaugh and Coronel secretarial positions, upon which the jury based its retaliation verdict for plaintiff. First, the employer contends that these claims, based on the two grade 10 positions, should not have been cognizable as a matter of law in a case where plaintiff alleges a failure to promote, as the lower grade positions were not promotions but instead were demotions from plaintiff's grade 11 spot. According to Texaco, failure to place Malarkey in the Coronel and Cavanaugh grade 10 positions could only constitute an adverse employment action for ADEA purposes under an anomalous failure to demote theory. Second, Texaco asserts that it was entitled to a judgment notwithstanding the verdict because there was no evidence to show that the decisionmakers involved in filling these two positions were aware of Malarkey's EEOC filing, and even if they were aware, that they acted with a retaliatory purpose. We deal with each of these arguments in turn.A. Admission of Grade 10 Proof 38 Posing the question as whether these two positions constituted demotions for plaintiff is a lawyer's red herring. To rule that for an employer to refuse to give its employee a demotion states a viable discriminatory cause of action would stand the ADEA and common sense on their heads. Such is particularly true in this case, where Malarkey contends that upon her return from her personal leave of absence, her employer tricked [her] into a demotion. So plaintiff, on the one hand, alleges a demotion is discriminatory and, on the other hand, alleges a failure to demote is discriminatory. Were that the law, an employer asked to take a given action with respect to an employee would be condemned if it did and condemned if it did not. Hence, we adopt no such rule. 39 Instead, we think it more constructive to examine all the circumstances of each case, not to focus exclusively on words like promote or demote without regard to their significance in the context of the case. Here plaintiff had been for ten years a splendid secretary, meriting her raises in pay and grade. Upon expiration of her six-month personal leave of absence--and the over three-month further extension of that leave, which Texaco need not have given her--Malarkey agreed to take an available employment office opening. Malarkey's good secretarial skills, as it turned out, were not transferable into the administrative skills required of her in the employment office. Her ratings went down to the marginal level. The employer-employee relationship deteriorated. She felt her talents were being misused and filed the EEOC charge accusing her employer of sex and age discrimination. Texaco, for its part, plainly was stung by what it strongly believed were baseless accusations from an employee it had gone far to accommodate. Although it is not now possible to sort out who was right and who was wrong in every detail, it is clear that plaintiff wanted to return to the executive secretary track where she had been so successful earlier. That never happened. The jury believed the reason for it was Texaco's retaliation against her. Thus, what constitutes a promotion or a demotion may only be decided by looking at an employee's skills and goals in the context of an employer's needs and openings, all of which is a question properly reserved for the jury, not to be ruled on as a matter of law by the court. 40 The jury was entitled to decide whether taking one of these grade 10 positions would have helped plaintiff's career objectives. Either would have permitted her to return to her secretarial status and given her the type of work she liked and was good at. These spots would also have exposed Malarkey to future high-level executives who, if they had been favorably impressed with her work, might have chosen her to become their executive secretary, much as Malarkey's former boss chose Agnes Brady. The Coronel position, in particular, provided great visibility for those purposes as it was located on the much-coveted executive floor. 41 As an additional reason not to focus exclusively on grade 10 as a demotion, it is not clear from the record whether Malarkey's grade actually would have been lowered had she accepted either post. Some evidence was introduced at trial to show that a position level for a particular job was not fixed, but changed depending upon the grade level of the person who filled it. For example, Malarkey testified that the position offered to Norma Cavanaugh was classified as a grade 10 to reflect Cavanaugh's grade. Earlier, when Malarkey was working for McCay, the same secretarial slot had been classified as a grade 11. Thus, even if we were to accept Texaco's argument that when employees are given lower grades they are demoted, we believe the jury was entitled to decide whether Texaco's refusal to extend the Coronel and Cavanaugh secretarial positions to plaintiff was retaliatory discrimination. B. Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict 42 The district court rejected Texaco's argument that it was entitled to a judgment notwithstanding the verdict. We review this issue de novo, see Proteus Books Ltd. v. Cherry Lane Music Co., 873 F.2d 502, 508 (2d Cir.1989), and examine the proof in a light most favorable to the plaintiff, drawing all reasonable inferences in her favor, and reverse only if we then determine, drawing such inference, that no reasonable fact-finder could have reached a verdict for her. See Martin, 762 F.2d at 217. 43 To prove retaliation, Malarkey needed to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that she was engaged in a protected activity of which her employer was aware, she was denied promotion, and there was a causal connection between the protected activity and the adverse employment decision. See Manoharan v. Columbia Univ. College of Physicians & Surgeons, 842 F.2d 590, 593 (2d Cir.1988) (Title VII case). Once plaintiff meets this burden, the employer must produce evidence of a non-retaliatory reason for its employment decision. See Dominic v. Consolidated Edison Co. of N.Y., Inc., 822 F.2d 1249, 1254 (2d Cir.1987). 44 Texaco contends that Malarkey failed to meet her threshold burden. Quite the contrary. Malarkey presented sufficient evidence for the jury rationally to conclude that her failure to secure the secretarial track grade 10 positions was caused by retaliation. The jury heard evidence revealing that when Carl Davidson was consulted about the post Cavanaugh obtained, Davidson knew of Malarkey's claims of discrimination and viewed her negatively because of her disloyalty to Texaco. The jury could easily have reasoned that Davidson expressed these views to the appointing officer. At the time of the Coronel decision, further evidence indicated that warnings pervaded the office to avoid Malarkey because of the legal actions she had instituted. For example, there was testimony that a Texaco supervisor openly questioned Malarkey's reliability due to the pending suit, and that a manager warned a co-worker that he should steer clear of Malarkey's problems. Several other managers also refused to help Malarkey due to similar concerns. Hence, although the officer who selected Coronel testified that he was ignorant of Ms. Malarkey's situation, the contrary testimony before the jury could have led it to disbelieve him. 45 Based on these facts, the jury readily could have found that absent discriminatory animus, Malarkey would have secured one of these two positions on her merits. Her qualifications were comparable and in some ways exceeded those of the women who were selected. She had 14 years of secretarial experience at Texaco, much of that time spent at grades 11 and 12. Although both positions were filled by college graduates, which Malarkey was not, both of the candidates selected had been with Texaco for a shorter period of time than Malarkey. Both women at the time occupied grades lower than plaintiff. 46 Texaco pursues this argument by noting that Malarkey did not apply for the vacant grade 10 positions. Yet, the rule is that a plaintiff's failure to apply for a position is not a bar to relief when an employer's discriminatory practices deter application or make application a futile endeavor. See International Bhd. of Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324, 364-67, 97 S.Ct. 1843, 1869-71, 52 L.Ed.2d 396 (1977). That was the situation here. By its own admission, Texaco had no formal job-posting or application system prior to 1988; rather, Carl Davidson played the key role, recommending candidates to managers with openings. Malarkey testified she was told he was the queen maker. Further testimony revealed that Davidson called Malarkey a problem employee and actively promoted employees like Cavanaugh in Malarkey's stead. The jury could have determined based on this proof that Davidson sealed Malarkey off from consideration for openings, making her virtually an untouchable within the corporation, ensuring that applications by Malarkey for the Cavanaugh or Coronel spots would have been futile. 47 Admittedly, this is a vexing case with a multitude of conflicting factual claims. But our review is limited to legal issues, and in that area it suffices for us to determine that based on this record the jury's findings for Malarkey were not irrational and the district court did not err in denying Texaco's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. IV Equitable and Injunctive Relief 48 We turn finally to discuss the district court's award of equitable and injunctive relief, subject to reversal only for an abuse of discretion or for a clear error of law. See Sierra Club v. Hennessy, 695 F.2d 643, 647 (2d Cir.1982). A. Promotion to Grade 14 49 The purpose of the ADEA's anti-retaliation provision is to protect persons who initiate a suit to vindicate a right that Congress has recognized as a wrong. See EEOC v. Cosmair, Inc., 821 F.2d 1085, 1088 (5th Cir.1987). The ADEA directs courts to grant such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to effectuate the purposes of the Act. 29 U.S.C. § 626(b) (1988). This broad grant of authority is to be used by district courts to fashion remedies designed to ensure the victims of ... discrimination are made whole. Whittlesey v. Union Carbide Corp., 742 F.2d 724, 727-28 (2d Cir.1984) (addressing age discrimination). To make a plaintiff whole a district court may order that an employee be promoted. See, e.g., 29 U.S.C. § 626(b); Blim v. Western Elec. Co., 731 F.2d 1473, 1478 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 874, 105 S.Ct. 233, 83 L.Ed.2d 161 (1984). 50 In determining the equitable relief necessary to make Malarkey whole, the district court looked at the damage award. It surmised the jury awarded plaintiff $65,000 by comparing her salary to that of Norma Cavanaugh. It apparently reasoned that to make Malarkey whole required that she be equated with Cavanaugh, whose grade 10 position the jury found she would have acquired in 1981 but for Texaco's retaliatory practices. Thus, the district court ordered plaintiff promoted to the grade to which Cavanaugh rose. This remedy is not an abuse of discretion. 51 Texaco insists that the award of grade 14 and salary, which represent Cavanaugh's current position, went far beyond making Malarkey whole, as mandated by the ADEA. It contends that plaintiff has been placed in a better position than she would have been absent discrimination. Texaco would have Malarkey placed in the grade to which she was entitled ten years ago when this litigation began, that is to say, grade 10. But, by any measure, Texaco's solution falls short of the ADEA command to make a discrimination victim whole. Its proposed remedy would neither adequately reward a plaintiff who persevered through a decade of bitter litigation, nor warn potential defendants that retaliatory conduct will be costly. Malarkey cannot simply be placed today in the grade that she should have occupied in 1981, and any attempt to compensate her adequately must take into account what would likely have happened in the ensuing years. Malarkey's 1964 to 1974 employment record shows that she advanced at a rapid rate, and from this record, it is reasonable to infer that barring discrimination she would not have been frozen in her 1981 position. Given Malarkey's damage award and the express jury findings, this is a logical extension of the jury's determination. The district court has the power to grant equitable relief based on this jury verdict. 52 Texaco protests bitterly the speculative nature of the calculations made by the court. It asks how the court can know that Malarkey's career would have paralleled that of Cavanaugh. It was the jury of course and not the trial court that made this determination. Moreover, Texaco must recognize that there is simply no exacting calculus that can be employed to pinpoint the correct remedy. Rather, this is a process in which uncertainties are endemic. To this end, we quite agree with Judge Mukasey's statement below that [a]ny uncertainty as to how far the remedy should reach in order to provide relief is the result of Texaco's unlawful retaliation; Texaco should not be the beneficiary of that uncertainty. Accord EEOC v. Kallir, Philips, Ross, Inc., 420 F.Supp. 919, 923 (S.D.N.Y.1976) (the wrongdoer does not become the beneficiary of his own wrongful conduct), aff'd without opinion, 559 F.2d 1203 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 920, 98 S.Ct. 395, 54 L.Ed.2d 277 (1977). B. Injunctive Relief 53 Texaco contends that the jury found retaliation against plaintiff last occurred in 1983 and none subsequently, so it was an abuse of discretion to enjoin Texaco permanently from future retaliatory conduct. Texaco characterizes such relief as drastic, superfluous, and an abuse of discretion. It relies on Kirkland v. Buffalo Bd. of Educ., 487 F.Supp. 760, 773 (W.D.N.Y.1979), to support its contention that relief was improper. 54 It hardly seems drastic to require Texaco to obey the law as set forth in the ADEA with respect to Catherine Malarkey. It is difficult to discern what heavy burden the order places on the employer: it covers a single employee in a company employing nearly two thousand in its corporate headquarters alone. The injunction does not require Texaco to change employment practices, reorganize departments, or rewrite official procedures. Moreover, we do not regard it as superfluous to subject an employer found to have discriminated to the district court's contempt powers, were it to repeat its retaliatory conduct. 55 Texaco's reliance on Kirkland is misplaced as well. In Kirkland, the district court determined that the illegal practice at issue was an isolated violation of Title VII. See 487 F.Supp. at 773. As a result, it refused to grant the plaintiff a broad injunction barring discrimination against all black employees of the defendant school board. The court found that such an injunction would go well beyond an act that would in its view not be repeated. See id. We have a markedly different situation. In this case, there was evidence of widespread, continuous antagonism within Texaco towards Malarkey, which the jury determined reached two decisionmakers. In light of these facts, Judge Mukasey determined that a danger of future retaliation exists and issued a narrow injunction protecting just one individual. We refuse to find that this contradicts Kirkland. 56 Nor do we conclude that Judge Mukasey's relief constitutes an abuse of the broad discretion that we have previously held that district court judges possess in fashioning relief under the ADEA. See Whittlesey, 742 F.2d at 727-28. In granting this injunction, Judge Mukasey admitted that if he erred, he preferred to do so on the side of caution. Texaco protests Judge Mukasey's decision before this Court as if it had clean hands; however, it cannot set aside the fact that it has been found guilty of two acts of willful discrimination in violation of the ADEA. We agree that doubts are not to be resolved in the wrongdoer's favor. We affirm the district court's injunctive order.