Opinion ID: 179510
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Montgomery's Complaints to Human Resources

Text: Montgomery had no further contact with coworkers or supervisors from the Auto Shop, and he did not pursue any of his allegations of racial harassment and discrimination until he contacted Customer Service Manager Sonji Nicholas on August 8, 2007. Nicholas directed Montgomery to contact Human Resources or American's hotline, as indicated in American's published policies against racial discrimination and harassment. Nicholas also informed Human Resources Representative Jacqueline Rios of Montgomery's communication. Rios waited two days for Montgomery to contact her. When he did not, she sought him out to inquire about his concerns. Rios and Montgomery talked for approximately three hours in their initial meeting on Friday, August 10, 2007. In this meeting, Montgomery never indicated that he had complained about racially-motivated harassment and discrimination to his supervisors, even in the written statement he prepared for Rios containing all of his allegations. Rios then met again with Montgomery on Monday, August 13, and on the following Thursday to clarify her understanding of his allegations. Rios initiated an investigation into Montgomery's allegations immediately following these meetings. She reviewed pertinent documents and interviewed numerous witnesses to the incidents Montgomery allegedincluding union representative Pacenti, crew chief Frank Dlugopolski, mechanic Wooley, supervisors Shay and Helton, and manager Schaefer. At the conclusion of her investigation, Rios was unable to substantiate Montgomery's claims. Rios determined that Montgomery had simply failed his qualification test and tool inspection and that both were administered fairly. She concluded that only two probationary mechanics were made regular Auto Shop employees without passing the qualification test: (1) Nguyen, at a time before Schaefer assumed management responsibility over the Auto Shop, and (2) Romano, whose testing was precluded by the CBA when his seniority date was adjusted pursuant to a union argument regarding his rehiring after a previous reduction in force. Rios also determined that some mechanics claimed their aversion to working with Montgomery was based on his work performance, not upon his race. Finally, Rios determined that mechanic Mike Kogal had made a comment to Montgomery that was inappropriate for the workplaceI didn't know it was you until you smiledeven though Kogal maintained that, because of his friendship with Montgomery, Montgomery understood the comment referred to an inside joke between the two. Based on Rios's finding, Schaefer counseled Kogal about the comment and his behavior toward coworkers. At the conclusion of her investigation, Rios met again with Montgomery on October 8, 2007, to inform him that she was preparing a summary of her investigation and findings. He made no further comments to Rios.