Opinion ID: 6323363
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Paschall’s Interactions with Odom

Text: Benash was not the only person causing diﬃculties for Paschall at Tube Processing. Paschall also had troubling interactions with Barb Odom, a white woman who worked as a machine operator in the end forming and bending department. On one occasion, Odom told Paschall that she and her mom used to live in Decatur, Indiana, but moved after “they bussed you guys out there.” Paschall understood that comment to mean that Odom left Decatur because the city integrated its schools. On another occasion, Odom asked Paschall if she had ever had “chocolate covered n[]ger toe.” Not knowing what that term meant, Paschall excused herself and went into the bathroom to look it up on her phone. She learned that it is a slang term for Brazil nuts, and the term was coined “because slaves didn’t have shoes, [so their] feet looked like corn because [they weren’t] allowed to have shoes.” Paschall “felt like [Odom] was trying to ﬁnd a clever way of saying ‘n[]ger’ in front of [her] and it upset [her].” Paschall reported the incident to Combs, who then reported it to Steve Lang, the supervisor of the Madison Building, and to Young. On October 2, 2018, Young sent an email about the incident to Lang; Mike Gill, the Vice President and General Manager; and Tracy Gerth, the Vice President of Human Resources. The email reads, in part: Our issue is how to address [Odom’s] repeat behav- ior given the fact that several senior employees including minorities have made it known she has said this before. … Evidently, we didn't impress on [Odom] the severity of using this word back in 2011 or she isn’t able or willing to change her behavior. No. 21-1853 5 Our decision on how to address this is critical to set a preceden[t] for future events of this nature. One of the people I talked to yesterday went so far as to say that we might lose people and set future minorities up for same terms if we don’t address it harsh enough. Each of the 3 were surprised that she was still using this term and wasn’t showing any re- morse or understanding of the sensitivity of using the N word. We are faced with either Final Warning with Suspension or termination. A transfer to another job at Shelby with the warning is possible to remove her from the environment at Madison. Please weigh in at your earliest convenience. Lang responded by noting that since 2008, Odom had “10 write-ups for performance issues, 7 evaluation reschedules for eﬃciency issues, and 2 documented conversations,” as well as “numerous complaints on how she talks to employees.” Lang concluded his email by recommending Odom be terminated. Gerth responded that she was also leaning toward termination. Young investigated Odom by speaking to several employees of Tube Processing. Eventually, Young placed Odom on a three-day suspension. Odom’s formal write-up stated that she “must never use this word in the facility again in any context,” and that she would suﬀer “[i]mmediate termination if [she] ever use[d] the N word in any context.” Paschall never heard Odom use the N-word again after Odom was sus- pended. Besides the incidents with Benash and Odom, Paschall also had more general complaints about racism aﬀecting her work environment at Tube Processing. For example, she 6 No. 21-1853 claimed that she did not receive overtime after reporting harassment, and that employees wore confederate ﬂag T-shirts and apparel with the slogan “Make America Great Again,” which she believed was racist. However, she never complained to anyone about these issues. Moreover, after complaining to Young about being uncomfortable working in the same department as Odom, Young oﬀered to take Paschall to another department to meet the supervisor and to discuss a possible transfer. After the meeting, Paschall claimed that the supervisor, a white male, refused to shake her hand and “looked at [it] like it was a disease.” Paschall felt like she was not wanted in the brazing department. The next day, Paschall quit her job at Tube Processing. She never complained to management about any incidents of harassment besides the incidents with Benash and Odom.