Opinion ID: 170506
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Events occurring within the limitations period

Text: Mr. Tademy alleges two incidents of discrimination within Title VII's filing period. Primarily, Mr. Tademy urges us to conclude that there is a triable issue as to whether being subject to three random drug tests was the product of racial animus. He argues that the statistical probability of being tested three times in one month is so low that the testers must have been singling him out because of his race or in retaliation for his allegations of racial hostility. We do not believe Mr. Tademy has presented sufficient evidence to give rise to a reasonable inference that the drug tests were racial in nature. On this point, we agree with the district court, which concluded: There is simply no evidence that the random drug tests were racial or stemmed from racial animus. The un-controverted evidence is that random drug testing is required for employees who work in the operation of trains and that those to be tested are selected by computer on the basis of job positions and shift, not on the basis of individual employee identification. It is undisputed that the drug testing impacted [Mr. Tademy] and his white coworker the same. Aplt's App. vol. IX, at 2086. Mr. Tademy also contends that the noose incident, which occurred within the 300-day statute of limitations, may serve as the basis of a hostile environment claim. The district court found that the alleged noose could not be evidence of racial discrimination because it was merely an industrial rope with a slip knot tied in it. Id. at 2076. In holding that the would-be noose was benign as a matter of law, the court found that Erickson decided he could use the rope to help his son move and placed the rope on a wall clock near one of the South Shanty doors so that he would not forget it. Erickson[,] who attached no meaning to the rope[,] forgot to take it home. Id. Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that summary judgment shall be rendered if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits . . . show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. FED.R.CIV.P. 56(C). As we have noted, a court considering a summary judgment motion must draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Kendrick, 220 F.3d at 1225. The district court's analysis of the noose incident does not comport with this principle: its version of events is essentially the story that Mr. Erickson told Union Pacific in an effort to save his job. In our view, the recordincluding Union Pacific's response to the noose incidentreveals ample reasons to enable a reasonable jury to disbelieve Mr. Erickson's story. Primarily, in his deposition, Mr. Erickson testified that he wanted the rope because [he] figured [he] could use this rope with my truck to help my sons move their personal belongings, which was coming up in about a week and two days. Aplt's App. vol. IV, at 688-89. Despite this testimony, a jury could conclude that the rope in question was ill-suited for the stated purpose. According to Mr. Erickson, the rope was four to six feet long with the noose and perhaps eight to ten feet without it. Id. at 689. The photograph of the noose suggests that six feet is a very generous estimate of the rope's length with the noose. In addition, the record reveals no reason why a slip knotespecially one that looked like a noosewould be of any utility to this project. Finally, it is not clear why, out of all the lengths of rope potentially available over the nine days between July 4 and his sons' move, Mr. Erickson would have chosen one that was likely too short and tied in a superfluous knot. A jury could also find that Mr. Erickson's proffered rationale for placing the rope above the clock was not worthy of belief. Mr. Erickson testified that he initially placed the rope on a desk, but eventually put it on the clock so that he would not forget it. Given that the stated moving project was nine days away, the record reveals no explanation as to why Mr. Erickson felt compelled to take the rope home that day. Had he left the rope on the desk or anywhere else that day, he could have simply retrieved it another day. If he was so concerned about remembering the rope, then he could have placed it in his locker, which was in the same shanty. In sum, we think a jury could find that Mr. Erickson's explanation of the noose incident was not worthy of belief. Indeed, even Union Pacific harbored doubts about the sincerity of Mr. Erickson's story, as evidenced by the fact that the company terminated his employment as a result of the incident. Thus, ironically, the district court seems to have given Mr. Erickson's version of events more credence than Union Pacific. More importantly, a jury could believe that this noose was meant to evoke a hangman's noose and that Mr. Erickson placed it where it was most likely to be seen and where it could have maximum effect: on the wall clock. Although Mr. Erickson's explanation may ultimately prevail, determinations necessary to reach the truth of the matter are not meant for a court ruling on a summary judgment motion. See Stinnett v. Safeway, Inc., 337 F.3d 1213, 1216 (10th Cir.2003) (Credibility determinations [and] the weighing of evidence . . . are jury functions, not those of a judge. . . .). Furthermore, courts have recognized that a noose may constitute part of a hostile environment claim. See Hollins, 238 F.3d at 1256-58 (noting that several hangman's nooses dangling from the ceiling above [the plaintiff's] work area coupled with racist jokes, including one about lynching, were sufficient to give rise to an inference of a hostile environment); see also Vance v. S. Bell Tel. & Tel. Co., 863 F.2d 1503, 1511 n. 4 (11th Cir.1989) (It is hard to imagine an incident of this sort taking place in 1984. The grossness of hanging an object resembling a noose at the work station of a black female is self-evident.), abrogated on other grounds by Harris, 510 U.S. at 21, 114 S.Ct. 367; Vance v. S. Bell Tel. & Tel., 983 F.2d 1573, 1583 (11th Cir.1993) (Fay, J., dissenting) (The noose in [the workplace] context is a symbol not just of racial discrimination or of disapproval, but of terror. . . . Not less than the swastika or the Klansman's hood, the noose in this context is intended to arouse fear.); Williams v. New York City Housing Auth., 154 F.Supp.2d 820, 824 (S.D.N.Y.2001) (Indeed, the noose is among the most repugnant of all racist symbols, because it is itself an instrument of violence.). Like a slave-masters whip, the image of a noose is deeply a part of this country's collective consciousness and history, any [further] explanation of how one could infer a racial motive appears quite unnecessary. Johnson v. Potter, 177 F.Supp.2d 961, 965 (D.Minn.2001); see also Virginia v. Black, 538 U.S. 343, 388, 123 S.Ct. 1536, 155 L.Ed.2d 535 (2003) (Thomas, J., dissenting) (stating that [i]n every culture, certain things [both sacred and profane] acquire meaning well beyond what outsiders can comprehend and discussing cross burning as an example). In light of the potential implausibilities in Mr. Erickson's story and the fact that a noose is often employed as a racist symbol, we think a reasonable jury could find that Mr. Erickson's hanging of a life-size noose stemmed from racial animus. We now consider which other acts are sufficiently related to constitute the same work environment.