Opinion ID: 172538
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Events Leading Up To Ms. DeFreitas's Termination

Text: Horizon, a company with about 190 employees, manages residential properties in Nevada and Utah. Its responsibilities range from readying and renting out apartments to hiring and training the employees who staff these properties. Some properties qualify for low-income-housing tax credits if sufficient residents are eligible; eligibility claims must be documented and are subject to government audit. Mr. Terry was responsible for overseeing hiring, firing, and employee-compensation decisions, although individual vice presidents could also hire and fire. In June 2004, Ms. DeFreitas was hired to work at Horizon by Tammy Godfrey, a vice-president. She began as a manager of the Ridgeview Apartments in North Ogden, Utah. Her talents were recognized early on. As Mr. Terry observed in his deposition, she was an outstanding leasing agent and ha[d] always been an excellent leasing agent with very good skills related to people. Aplt.App., Vol. A at 309. She was soon transferred to Layton Pointe, a more challenging property that had undergone over one million dollars' worth of rehabilitation. There she did very well, according to Mr. Terry. Id. You are a dynamite employee, he wrote her in a November 2004 email. [W]e are so glad to have you as part of our team and even more pleased to have you at Layton [Pointe]. Thanks for all you do and all the extra thought, time and energy. Id., Vol. B at 747. About that timeless than half a year after she had begun with Horizon Mr. Terry gave her a raise. Ms. DeFreitas took time off for maternity leave to have a baby in May 2005. She returned to Horizon as a so-called floating manager entrusted with assisting in the management of several properties. Again, Mr. Terry testified that she [d]id very well. Id. at 309. In the summer of 2005, another company offered Ms. DeFreitas a $36,000 salary$8,000 more than Horizon was paying herto be a manager. She tendered her resignation to Horizon, but Mr. Terry responded by offering her a raise to $38,000 and a promotion to regional vice president. She opted to stay at Horizon, receiving her raise on September 1, 2005. By this time, Ms. DeFreitas's management duties included three properties Park Place Apartments, Edison Place Apartments, and Westgate, all located in or near downtown Salt Lake City. She regarded these properties as the company's most difficult. Mr. Terry described Park Place as particularly challenging, a beast with lots of tentacles. Id., Vol. B at 731. Park Place's owner, Jonathon Morse (also the owner of Edison Place), was very demanding, and Ms. DeFreitas was Horizon's third manager there. The occupancy rate was below Morse's expectations, and not enough units were rented to low-income residents for it to qualify for tax credits. Ms. DeFreitas worked over 50 hours a week, including nights and weekends. Despite these challenges, her success persisted. On November 21, 2005, Mr. Terry emailed her that even though Edison Place showed a loss in October, I have got to tell you it is the best number that we have ever had on that property.... You are doing super ... Dynamite job.... Id. at 732. You are doing an excellent job! one executive-committee member emailed her on November 23, 2005. Id. at 730. Morse's son, a member of the homeowners' association board at Park Place, emailed on December 1, 2005: Nydia, it[']s 10pm at night and you['re] still working it, good job! Thanks for all you do! Id. at 745. Also in November, Ms. DeFreitas informed Mr. Terry that she needed a hysterectomy and would have to take six weeks of leave. They did not discuss whether the leave would be paid or unpaid. Later he suggested that she seek donations of paid sick-leave time from other Horizon managers; but he then retracted that suggestion, informing her that other employees were upset by it. As a result, she was told that she would have to take unpaid leave after exhausting her paid sick-leave time. Mr. Terry never informed Ms. DeFreitas of her FMLA leave rights, nor did he ask her to provide any medical certification of her condition. Indeed, although Horizon's Manual of Operations contained a section on sick leave, it did not contain a section on FMLA leave because, according to Mr. Terry, I didn't know what it was until the situation came up with [Ms. DeFreitas]. Id., Vol. A at 144. Ms. DeFreitas's surgery was on February 15, 2006. Her doctor instructed her to take six weeks of bed rest and not return to work. She conversed daily with Mr. Terry, updating him on her condition and informing him that she nonetheless intended to return early, possibly as soon as March 13. During one such conversation, Mr. Terry expressed concern about the six-week time frame, mentioning that his sister had been able to return to work a few days after her hysterectomy. While she was on leave Mr. Terry occasionally sent her work to do regarding Park Place. Some of what Ms. DeFreitas learned about Park Place during her leave was troubling. Nine days after her surgery Mr. Terry told her that everything at Park Place had become `crazy,' and that one of her staff members had been terminated. Id. at 246. (During her leave, four staffers (all members of the same family) were fired, and a fifth quit before she could be fired.) Four days later, on February 28, Morse informed her that he and Mr. Terry had decided that Park Place was too difficult for [her] to handle, id., and removed her from Park Place; but he added that she would continue to manage other Horizon properties. About that time she received a call from two maintenance employees who were among those that were later fired; they told her that Park Place had been audited and was not doing well, and that they had heard rumors in the administrative office that she would be fired. She asked Mr. Terry what the problems were, but he said that he did not want to bother her with that while she was recuperating. In early March she asked Mr. Terry whether she would be fired from Horizon altogether. He said no, but went on to ask her questions such as why do you work?; do you really need the money?; and if you stayed at home, would that be okay? Id. at 112 (internal quotation marks omitted). On March 9 she called Mr. Terry to report on her latest checkup with her doctor, and told him that she would not be able to return to work before April 4. He responded by saying, Oh, you don't worry about it. You just get yourself better. You know, take care of you and the family and, you know, ... I'll talk to you later. Id. at 71-72 (internal quotation marks omitted). She was fired the next day. Mr. Terry sent her an email informing her of the decision. It read: From: James Terry Sent: Friday, March 10, 2006 11:44 AM To: Nydia de Freitas Subject: Ecclesiastes 3 Nydia, I have agonized over this decision for weeks. It has been difficult because the Nydia I know or thought I knew is not the same Nydia that so many others feel they know on site. What I truly hope is that the Nydia I know, will remain my friend, a strong wife and mother to her family and someone that will continue to grow and reach the personal and family goals that you set for yourself. We have uncovered so many different issues at both Edison and Park Place, that are expensive mistakes to the owner and our management company, that we need to not just make a change from working at Park Place, but from working at Horizon. You are very talented and I know, when back in the pink of health, will bounce back and secure another job without even a glitch. I know this is a personal setback and a financial strain for a few weeks and am sorry, but... you still have a pay check coming next Friday that I will move up to your desired date of receipt if you desire. I do not think that I need to list reasons, my desire is not to add salt to this wound, but would like the opportunity to visit with you one on one in the future and allow me to make some suggestions that could make your next job more comfortable, more enjoyable and allow you to continue to grow in this field. It is so important to have your staff, your fellow regional's [sic] and managers and your employers back you to the hilt and I hope the ideas that I might share would offer help in that direction. . . . . Id., Vol. B at 585. Ms. DeFreitas had not read the email when Mr. Terry called her three days later, on March 13, to wish her a happy birthday. He said: I'm sorry how things have turned out. I hope everything is going to be okay with us. I hope, you know, that we're going to be okay. Id., Vol. A at 70 (internal quotation marks omitted). Sensing something was wrong, she checked her email after the conversation. Later she called Mr. Terry to ask why she had been fired. His response was: You know, when you get better, you come in, we'll sit down and we'll talk about it. You know, you're recovering. When you get better, you can come in and we'll talk about it. Id. at 72. They later met in person. But he said no more about the reasons for her termination. Ms. DeFreitas then sought work at another company, which contacted Mr. Terry. The prospective employer recorded Mr. Terry's responses to certain questions on April 3 as follows: What were the applicant's job title and duties? Regionalbest leaser . . . . Reason for leaving? illness Attendance/punctuality? loyalhard worker Strong points? Best leaser he has known Areas for improvement? take better care of herself How does this person get along with other people? (coworkers, superiors, etc.) great Would you rehire? [x] Yes [ ] No . . . . Id. at 176. Ms. DeFreitas's termination apparently did not comply with Horizon's Manual of Operations, which permits firing without warning (and thus without an opportunity to improve performance) only for egregious behavior. The Manual states: Termination of an employee is a drastic measure requiring careful consideration. Termination should be a last step, not a first step, when finding an employee who is doing something wrong. Under minor situations caused by laziness, or not being on time, or doing a job inappropriately, there should be a written warning or a probationary period applied before something as drastic as termination. The exception to that would be an employee caught drinking, taking drugs, theft, resident mistreatment, sexual advances to any resident or other employee, manipulating records, etc. Under those circumstances, termination is immediate. Id. at 217. Regarding probation the Manual states: Unless an employee is immediately terminated for criminal acts, gross negligence, or other activities as described previously, then we should give the employee an opportunity to understand our grievance and to correct the problem. Please have an interview with the employee on a one-to-one basis and simply and carefully describe and document your professional feelings regarding the employee's performance for whatever reason. Make your complaints brief, simple, and understandable. Ask the employee to repeat what you have said (or their interpretation of it) so that they are understanding what you say. Give the employee a seven to fifteen day probationary period. Id. at 218. The Manual section entitled Policies on Discharging After Probation emphasizes the need for documenting poor performance and for warnings to the employee: Whenever an employee is put on probation and the possibility of termination is evident, the supervisor is responsible to report the probation on the Employee Verbal Warning Form provided to their supervisor. This form should include the reasons for the probation, the date and the outline of their discussion during the personal interview, and any other information which the supervisor feels is necessary. A copy of this form goes into the employee's on-site file (again, confidential) and the original copy goes into the permanent payroll employee file at Pavilion. This documentation is critical and essential in order to properly document a fair and just treatment of the employee. These written reports regarding employee problems, sub-performance, and probation interviews, cannot be overlooked. . . . . ALL PROBATIONARY ACTIONS AND JOB PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS BY A SUPERVISOR MUST BE WRITTEN UP AND PROPERLY FILED. Id. at 218-19. Defendants have not provided any documentation showing that Ms. DeFreitas had been warned or disciplined, and Mr. Terry testified at his deposition that he did not recall having given her any written warning and that he had not placed her formally on probation. The dismissal of Ms. DeFreitas without a prior exit interview also violated the Manual, which provides: Prior to any termination of any employee, an exit interview must be held. In the exit interview, you sit down with the employee and review the reasons for discharge and  put them in writing  including any policies that have been broken and all reasons for termination of the employee. Id. at 217. We also note the evidence that Ms. DeFreitas points to as supporting her claim that her termination was motivated by religious discrimination. She is a Catholic and most employees of Horizon are LDS, including Mr. Terry and most, if not all, of the company's executive committee. She testified that the religious atmosphere at Horizon became apparent to her shortly after she was hired, when she attended a company-wide training session. Several employees, perhaps including one or more who were conducting the training, asked her questions such as Do you go to church? What church do you attend? Id. at 89 (internal quotation marks omitted). These employees also mentioned that they were LDS, and that Mr. Terry was a former bishop in the church. She disclosed that she was Catholic. That religious atmosphere, she said, continued throughout her employment. As she and Mr. Terry developed a closer relationship, they would discuss religion almost every week. He provided her with religious literature, joked about converting her, and repeatedly stated that hiring return missionaries would be a good idea, as they made good salespeople because they sold the Book of Mormon and would help improve ... the persona of the office. Id. at 96-97. In a late 2005 conversation, when Ms. DeFreitas showed signs of work-related stress, Mr. Terry suggested that she and her husband attend church to meet friends and to bring [her] spirit up. Id. at 294 (internal quotation marks omitted). She also mentioned a conversation after her September 2005 promotion: She had hired Emily Bitner as a leasing agent at Park Place, but Bitner had become pregnant and did not intend to return to work after having her baby. When Ms. DeFreitas expressed her displeasure about having to hire another leasing agent, Mr. Terry opined that Bitner was a good Mormon girl, most Mormon girls stay home after they have children, id. at 287 (internal quotation marks omitted)a comment that Ms. DeFreitas took as disparaging, considering that she did return to work after her May 2005 maternity leave. Ms. DeFreitas also observes that the four workers at Park Place who were fired during her hysterectomy leave were all Catholics. And she points out that the subject line on her own termination email was a biblical referencenamely, Ecclesiastes 3, id., Vol. B at 585, which is apparently a reference to the biblical language To everything there is a season. Finally, she notes that her replacement as interim manager at Park Place, Marina Palmer, is LDS.