Opinion ID: 815390
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Ronica Tabor’s Experiences at Hilti

Text: Ronica Tabor began work at Hilti in January 2006, selling and demonstrating tools to customers face-to-face at a Hilti center in Dallas, Texas. She transferred to the Customer Service Department in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in October 2006. She expressed interest in becoming an Account Manager, and her immediate supervisor assigned her a P1 rating. Ms. Tabor applied for an Account Manager position located in Oklahoma City. This position focused primarily on the company’s Interior Finish product line. Ms. Tabor first interviewed with Regional Manager David Perkins and was selected for a second interview. This second interview was on November 14, 2007, with Division Manager -5- Glenn Teel and Mr. Perkins. During the interview, Mr. Teel and Mr. Perkins mentioned a second position available in Arkansas, and Ms. Tabor expressed interest in that position as well. During the interview, Mr. Teel made a number of statements related to Ms. Tabor’s gender. He told her that tools “are like guns for men” and using them is “almost like second nature,” Aplt. Appx. at 2816, and that it would take more work for her, as a woman, to learn the tools well enough to demonstrate them for customers or she would be “chewed up and spit out,” Aplt. Br. at 10. Mr. Teel also suggested that as a woman, Ms. Tabor might have some “advantages” in getting men to talk to her even if they were reluctant to talk to a salesman. Aplt. Appx. at 2816. Mr. Teel expressed concern about whether Ms. Tabor should travel as much as the job required because she was a wife and mother. He stated that he would personally not want his wife to hold a job that required travel, and he advised Ms. Tabor to ask her husband about whether she should pursue this type of work. Ms. Tabor was not offered either of the two Account Manager positions. Berkeley Smith, a male, was offered the Arkansas position. A male employee, Clifford Kidwell, was eventually hired as an Account Manager in Oklahoma City. Around this same time frame, an external female applicant named Paulette Musso was hired as an Account Manager in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The district court found a dispute of material fact as to whether the Oklahoma City position for which Ms. Tabor interviewed was offered to Mr. Kidwell or to Ms. Musso. -6- Mr. Kidwell was offered an Account Manager position in Oklahoma City, and Ms. Musso was hired as an Account Manager in Tulsa. In its brief, Hilti simply asserted that Ms. Musso was hired for the Oklahoma City position and offered no explanation for the conflicting facts in the record or the district court’s finding that this fact was disputed. At oral argument, Hilti explained that after they interviewed Ms. Tabor, Mr. Teel and Mr. Perkins decided to move the Oklahoma City position to Tulsa and offered that position to Ms. Musso. Around the same time, in what it describes as an unrelated decision, Hilti created a brand new Oklahoma City Interior Finish position, which it offered to Mr. Kidwell. The posting for the Oklahoma City position stated that the job would focus on the Interior Finish product line, that a bachelor’s degree was strongly preferred, and that the position required ability to work with Spanish-speaking customers. Ms. Tabor had a bachelor’s degree and was fluent in Spanish. The parties agree she exhibited the strongest knowledge of the Interior Finish products. She had experience selling Interior Finish products over the phone and face-to-face from her experience at the Hilti center in Dallas, Texas. Mr. Smith had a bachelor’s degree, but Mr. Kidwell did not. Ms. Musso’s educational qualifications are unknown.3 3 Hilti offers no information about Ms. Musso’s professional qualifications, and repeatedly describes her only as a single mother with two small children. According to Ms. Tabor, Ms. Musso had no experience at Hilti and no prior knowledge of tools; she had previously worked as a pharmaceutical salesperson. Ms. Tabor presented evidence Continued . . . -7- After the interview, Mr. Teel and Mr. Perkins documented their evaluation of Ms. Tabor. They gave her high ratings in several areas, including personal skills and qualities, working with others, and developing herself and others. They assigned her low ratings in other areas, including time and territory management, knowledge of the business, and construction site etiquette. Mr. Teel and Mr. Perkins assigned Ms. Tabor a rating of P2, indicating she would not be ready for promotion for 12-24 months. After the interview, Ms. Tabor complained to her supervisor about Mr. Teel’s comments and made a complaint to Human Resources (“HR”). After several days, an HR representative followed up and advised her “to just brush it under the rug . . . start fresh . . . and to just not speak of it again.” Aplt. Appx. at 2817. The HR representative assured her that her complaint would not affect her future at the company. Ms. Tabor alleges, however, that she was subsequently told her P2 rating would remain in place with respect to any future Account Manager applications. She asked to do additional field training to improve the P rating but was not allowed to do so. Ms. Tabor concedes that as a formal matter her rating in the GDCP tracking system remained P1, but she contends the P2 interview rating affected her eligibility to interview for other Account Manager positions. ______________________________________ Cont. that Ms. Musso was a personal friend of Mr. Teel’s wife. Hilti records indicate Ms. Musso was the only person to apply for the Tulsa position. -8- Ms. Tabor claims these events caused depression, anxiety, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, and upset stomach; she sought medical attention and was prescribed antidepression medication. She resigned from Hilti on April 5, 2008.