Opinion ID: 77214
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether the Incident of Harassment Resulted in a Tangible Employment Action?

Text: 11 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin . . . . 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). To establish sexual harassment under Title VII, an employee must prove (1) that she belongs to a protected group; (2) that she has been subjected to unwelcome sexual harassment; (3) that the harassment was based on her sex; (4) that the harassment was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the terms and conditions of employment and create a discriminatorily abusive working environment; and (5) that a basis for holding the employer liable exists. Hulsey v. Pride Rests., LLC, 367 F.3d 1238, 1244 (11th Cir.2004). In its motion for summary judgment, Cracker Barrel conceded the first three parts of this test and argued that Cotton failed to satisfy her burden of proving the last two requirements. 12 To prove sexual harassment in violation of Title VII, a plaintiff may rely on one of two theories. See Burlington Indus., Inc. v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742, 753-54, 118 S.Ct. 2257, 2265, 141 L.Ed.2d 633 (1998). Under the first theory, the plaintiff must prove that the harassment culminated in a tangible employment action against her. Id. Under the second or hostile work environment theory, the plaintiff must prove that she suffered severe or pervasive conduct. Id. at 754, 118 S.Ct. at 2265. Because Cotton concedes that Walker's harassment did not rise to the level of severe or pervasive conduct, we must determine whether Cotton presented evidence that Cracker Barrel took a tangible employment action against her. See id. at 753-54, 118 S.Ct. at 2265. 13 A tangible employment action constitutes a significant change in employment status, such as hiring, firing, failing to promote, reassignment with significantly different responsibilities, or a decision causing a significant change in benefits. Id. at 761, 118 S.Ct. at 2268. A tangible employment action in most cases inflicts direct economic harm. Id. at 762, 118 S.Ct. at 2269. An employment decision that alters the employee's compensation qualifies as a tangible employment action. Gupta v. Fla. Bd. of Regents, 212 F.3d 571, 587 (11th Cir.2000). A reduction in an employee's hours, which reduces the employee's take-home pay, qualifies as a tangible employment action. See Burlington Indus., 524 U.S. at 761, 118 S.Ct. at 2268-69; Gupta, 212 F.3d at 587. 14 There also must be a causal link between the tangible employment action and the sexual harassment. See Frederick v. Sprint/United Mgmt. Co., 246 F.3d 1305, 1312 (11th Cir.2001); see also Burlington Indus., 524 U.S. at 753-54, 118 S.Ct. at 2265. Cotton had to prove more than the mere reduction of her hours; Cotton had to prove that the reduction was causally related to the incident of harassment. 15 Cotton failed to establish a causal connection between the reduction in her hours and the incident of harassment. See Clark County School Dist. v. Breeden, 532 U.S. 268, 272, 121 S.Ct. 1508, 1510-11, 149 L.Ed.2d 509 (2001). It is uncontested that Walker informed Cotton, when she was hired and weeks before the incident of harassment, that her hours of work would be reduced after the Christmas holidays. When an employer contemplates a given action before the harassment takes place, temporal proximity between the action and the incident of harassment alone will not suffice to show causation. See id. Further, Cotton admits that Popee, not Walker, was responsible for creating the schedule. The time sheets for the store evidence that the other part-time employee experienced a similar reduction in hours. Cotton also bore partial responsibility for the decline in her hours because, in the weeks following Christmas, she took vacation time on three occasions and sick leave for two shifts. Cotton's hours initially increased following the incident of harassment. 16 Although temporal proximity between the harassment and a tangible employment action can give rise to a genuine issue of fact as to causation, this conclusion is not warranted in Cotton's case. Compare Farley v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 197 F.3d 1322, 1337 (11th Cir.1999), with Clark County, 532 U.S. at 272, 121 S.Ct. at 1510-11, and Mack v. Ala. Dep't of Human Res., 201 F.Supp.2d 1196, 1206 (M.D.Ala.2002). In Farley, when this Court reversed a summary judgment entered against an employee who had complained of retaliation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, we concluded that the employee's termination seven weeks after his complaint of discrimination was sufficient to prove temporal proximity to support a prima facie case of retaliation. Id. at 1336-37. Farley had been told before his complaint that his performance was above-average, so he had no reason to expect his later termination. Id. at 1327. 17 Cotton's evidence fails to satisfy her burden to show causation. Cotton admitted she had been hired with the expectation that her hours of work would decrease at the end of the Christmas season, and the timing of the reduction was in line with her expectation. See Clark County, 532 U.S. at 272, 121 S.Ct. at 1510-11; see also Mack, 201 F.Supp.2d at 1206 (distinguishing Farley because Defendants had already made abundantly clear their intention to . . . recommend [the plaintiff's] termination). Here, unlike in Farley, an inference of causation is negated by Cotton's own testimony of her expected reduction in working hours, even though the reduction in hours was temporally proximate. 18 The incidents alleged by Cotton's mother likewise fail to evidence a causal connection between the incident of harassment and the decrease in Cotton's hours. Walker's actions are not sexual harassment of Cotton because they were not directed to her but rather to her mother. See Hulsey, 367 F.3d at 1245 ([Quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs] if the employee's refusal to submit to a supervisor's sexual demands results in a tangible employment action. (emphasis added)); see also Cairo v. OH Material Corp., 710 F.Supp. 1069, 1072 (M.D.La.1989). Although Walker's actions may evidence his propensity or ability to change an employee's working hours in exchange for someone's dating him, they fail to provide proof of a causal link between Cotton's reduced hours and the incident of harassment. 19 Cotton argues that Walker hired a full-time cashier on December 9, 2002, to cause a greater reduction in Cotton's hours in the post-holiday season, but this argument fails for at least three reasons. First, the record shows that Cotton's work hours actually increased during the weeks after the full-time cashier was hired. Second, as mentioned before, the parties contemplated the reduction in Cotton's hours before the incident of harassment occurred, and the other part-time employee at the store experienced a comparable reduction in her work hours after the Christmas holidays. Third, Cotton offered no evidence that the decision to hire a full-time cashier was related to the incident of harassment. The district court did not err in granting summary judgment against Cotton's claim of sexual harassment.