Opinion ID: 779803
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Forklift Operation Issue

Text: 32 Burlington Northern says White did not suffer an adverse employment action when Brown took her off forklift duty because this reassignment was a non-actionable lateral job transfer. 33 We have stated that [r]eassignments without salary or work hour changes do not ordinarily constitute adverse employment decisions in employment discrimination claims. Kocsis, 97 F.3d at 885. Further, we have held that where a job transfer has the same duties, pay, and grade level but requires an additional 20-minute commute, the plaintiff did not satisfy the adverse employment action element. Darnell v. Campbell County Fiscal Court, 731 F.Supp. 1309, 1313 (E.D.Ky. 1990), aff'd, 924 F.2d 1057 (6th Cir.1991). Finally, we have held that a sales representative did not suffer an adverse employment action when her employer reassigned her to territory 80 to 100 miles from her home where she had previously worked the same territory between 30% and 40% of the time. Policastro v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., 297 F.3d 535, 539 (6th Cir.2002). 34 Other courts have also held that a lateral job transfer is usually not an adverse employment action. See, e.g., Bradford v. Norfolk S. Corp., 54 F.3d 1412, 1420 (8th Cir.1995) (job transfer with poor working conditions was not an adverse employment action); Flaherty v. Gas Research Inst., 31 F.3d 451, 457 (7th Cir.1994) (job transfer without loss in salary benefits or responsibilities was not adverse action though the plaintiff had to report to a former subordinate); Murphy v. Yellow Freight Sys., Inc., 832 F.Supp. 1543, 1550-51 (N.D.Ga. 1993) (no adverse employment action found where plaintiff did not receive as high of a pay raise as she thought she deserved, she received night and weekend shifts where that was a normal alternating assignment for all employees, employer told her that her clothing violated the company's dress code, and plaintiff complained that her supervisor documented their conversations in writing and put his notes in her personnel file); Steiner v. Showboat Operating Co., 25 F.3d 1459, 1465 (9th Cir.1994), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 1082, 115 S.Ct. 733, 130 L.Ed.2d 636 (1995) (transferring female employee to another shift was not an adverse employment action); Harlston v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 37 F.3d 379, 382 (8th Cir.1994) (reassigning plaintiff to more stressful job was not an adverse action). 35 Finally other courts have noted that a plaintiff's subjective perception that one position is more desirable than another is not controlling. Kelleher v. Flawn, 761 F.2d 1079, 1086 (5th Cir.1985). 36 Here, Burlington Northern argues that White's reassignment to track labor duties did not materially disadvantage White. First, White maintained her position as a track laborer throughout her employment with the railroad. Even when assigned responsibility for operating the forklift, White also worked on track maintenance tasks. Further, White never suffered a termination, a demotion evidenced by a wage or salary decrease, a less distinguished job title, a material loss of benefits, or significantly diminished material responsibilities. 37 White does not dispute that most lateral transfers are not adverse employment actions. Instead, she says the district court properly found that White suffered an adverse employment action because of the unique circumstances language in Hollins. 4 188 F.3d at 662 (quoting the Crady factor that a materially adverse change in employment might be indicated by other indices that might be unique to a particular situation). Specifically, the district court held that White presented sufficient evidence to show that Brown's reassignment of her to the physically demanding track work from the light forklift duty was an adverse action. White also contends that finding Brown's action to transfer Ms. White does not qualify as an adverse employment action would have a chilling effect on reporting discrimination. 38 We disagree. The fact that forklift duty is less physically demanding than track maintenance work does not make White's reassignment a cognizable adverse employment action. The railroad hired White as a track maintenance worker. One of her explicit job responsibilities was to maintain the railroad tracks. We fail to see how White suffered an adverse employment action by being directed to do a job duty for which Burlington Northern hired her. Moreover, contrary to the dissent's assertion, a job transfer that involves heavy lifting and more physically demanding tasks is not a demotion. In fact, in a disability discrimination case, we held that a nurse's reassignment from a nurse supervisor position to a unit nurse position was not a materially adverse change in employment although the new duties involved more physically demanding tasks. We made this holding because the nurse did not lose any pay, benefits, or prestige. Kocsis, 97 F.3d at 886-87. We find Kocsis applicable here because cases involving disability and age discrimination are instructive in Title VII cases. Kocsis, 97 F.3d at 885. 39 Therefore, we find that White's reassignment away from forklift responsibilities is not an adverse employment action. 40