Opinion ID: 6155
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Against the Union and Cooper/T. Smith

Text: 13 Although the Union was not Barrow's employer, it is covered by the ADEA as a labor organization. 16 Cooper was Barrow's employer within the meaning of the ADEA. 14 Barrow must show, as part of his prima facie case, that he was discharged. 17 When an employee resigns, as Barrow did, he may satisfy the discharge requirement by proving constructive discharge. 18 To show constructive discharge, an employee must offer evidence that the employer made the employee's working conditions so intolerable that a reasonable employee would feel compelled to resign. 19 Stated more simply, Barrow's resignation must have been reasonable under all the circumstances. Whether a reasonable employee would feel compelled to resign depends on the facts of each case, but we consider the following factors relevant, singly or in combination: (1) demotion; (2) reduction in salary; (3) reduction in job responsibilities; (4) reassignment to menial or degrading work; (5) reassignment to work under a younger supervisor; (6) badgering, harassment, or humiliation by the employer calculated to encourage the employee's resignation; or (7) offers of early retirement on terms that would make the employee worse off whether the offer was accepted or not. 20 15 Barrow has not shown the constructive discharge element of his prima facie case. He has introduced no evidence on any of the seven factors listed above. That list is not exclusive, but Barrow has introduced no evidence sufficient to raise a genuine dispute on any other basis for constructive discharge. Barrow asserts that a reasonable employee would feel compelled to resign after being unable to obtain regular work on a gang. We disagree. A longshoreman's inability to obtain a regular gang position is insufficient, without more, to constitute constructive discharge under the ADEA. 16 Indeed, the record reveals that the number of hours Barrow worked, as a percentage of all hours worked by all union longshoremen of Barrow's seniority, remained roughly constant or even increased slightly from 1984-85 to 1989-90. 21 These statistics also reveal that the total number of hours worked by longshoremen on the New Orleans waterfront dropped substantially in the late 1980s. The general economic downturn that struck the waterfront at that time constitutes a reasonable factor other than age which explains the decline in Barrow's hours. 22 For the same reason, Barrow's allegation that he was denied employment opportunities (specifically, a regular gang position) must fail. Barrow's employer and the Union have produced a reasonable factor other than age to explain Barrow's inability to get a regular gang position. 23