Opinion ID: 3001533
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: Johnson, who is black, was hired by Siemens in 1994. At the time of his firing, Johnson worked as a logistics coordinator (or traffic coordinator) in Siemens’s domestic traffic department. His duties primarily included tracking the shipment throughout the United States and Canada of raw materials that control the temperature within a building. In addition to the domestic department, Siemens also maintains an international traffic department, which handles shipments to parts of the world other than the United States and Canada. Although Johnson worked for the domestic department, he made clear over the course of roughly five years that he wanted to be trained in international shipping. Siemens never responded to his requests. According to the company, no formal policy exists regarding when an employee will receive extra job training. But Johnson’s co‐worker Joanna Zaucha (a white woman) was trained in international traffic shipping. Johnson felt that he was being discriminated against and threatened to notify the EEOC. Siemens asserted that it gave Zaucha the training because, at the time, her shift ended roughly five hours later than Johnson’s, and thus her schedule was better‐suited to it. Additionally, Siemens noted, Zaucha was the only employee who worked the late‐night shift, so she needed the training in order to complete after‐hours international trading and shipment assignments. Siemens employs a “Respectful Workplace” policy, which requires employees to “be respectful towards all others . . . at all times while on Company premises.” Notwithstanding the policy, Johnson was involved in several altercations while he worked at Siemens. The first, a fistfight with one of his co‐workers, took place in October 1999; both he and the co‐worker were suspended for five days. Then in October 2002 Johnson received a disciplinary warning for “verbally abusing” another employee in the cafeteria. Johnson also had a contentious relationship with his one‐time supervisor, Clinton Salonis. Salonis and Johnson had had a series of arguments at work and in October 2003, Salonis (who is also black) was demoted from his supervisory position. Both he and Johnson were warned at that time that “any further disruptions of this nature will result in formal disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.” Despite this warning, the friction between Johnson and Salonis continued, and in October 2004 both men were placed on a three‐day suspension for being “argumentative and disrespectful.” Zaucha was never involved in any altercations at Siemens and was never disciplined by the company. On a typical day, Johnson was required to work from 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. But No. 07‐2014 Page 3 Siemens’s domestic traffic department closed at 6:00 p.m. and the company mandated that at least one employee remain at work until that time. Also, according to Siemens, its customers’ demands at times exceeded the amount of work that its employees could complete during regular business hours. Accordingly, if no one volunteered, Siemens would require one of its employees to work overtime. Johnson informed his supervisors that he could not work the extra hour and fifteen minutes because he had to pick up his daughter from daycare before it closed at 6:00 p.m. Siemens already was aware of Johnson’s obligation, and to accommodate him, the company previously had asked another worker to fill in for him. But because of staffing shortages in both the domestic and international departments, that employee was needed elsewhere and could no longer work overtime in Johnson’s stead. At one point, Siemens also hired a temporary employee to lessen the mandatory overtime requirements. Whenever it did require extra work from Johnson, Siemens endeavored to warn him at least a day in advance, so that he could make alternate arrangements for his child. But Alexander Kentfield, director of logistics, also reminded him that failure to work overtime would be seen as a failure to complete a job assignment and could lead to his being fired. According to Kentfield, Johnson told him “I have a life outside of Siemens, and I’m leaving.” Zaucha also had a child who needed to be picked up from daycare. Siemens chose to accommodate this need by giving her a temporary reprieve from mandatory overtime. Johnson complained to the company that Zaucha received this form of “preferential treatment” because she is a white woman. He also believed that Siemens was falsifying documents to help Zaucha qualify for a subsidized daycare program. Siemens, on the other hand, asserted that both Salonis and Johnson voluntarily agreed to adjust their schedules and work overtime until Zaucha, who was going through a divorce at the time, could find other childcare options. Also, by that point, the company’s staffing concerns were less serious than they earlier had been. Zaucha was permitted to work reduced hours for roughly two months, but when Johnson and Salonis stopped volunteering for overtime, Siemens made Zaucha return to her normal schedule. According to Siemens, from January to November 2004, Zaucha worked 114 hours’ overtime while Johnson worked 65 hours. Additionally, during the months that Zaucha’s schedule was shortened, Salonis worked 52.75 hours’ overtime while Johnson worked only 13.5 hours. The incident that ultimately led to Johnson’s firing occurred in November 2004. According to Johnson, Zaucha had approached him with a question and in the middle of their discussion, his telephone rang. Johnson took the phone call, which, he asserts, angered Zaucha. When he tried to resume the conversation, Zaucha refused to acknowledge him. In order to get her attention, Johnson asserts, he tapped her arm with a piece of paper. Zaucha’s version of the incident differed. According to Zaucha, when she asked the No. 07‐2014 Page 4 question of Johnson, he retorted that she should learn how to do her job properly. Then, she stated, Johnson rolled up a piece of paper and tapped her on the shoulder and in the face. Zaucha was upset by Johnson’s actions and reported him to human resources. In his deposition, the senior human resources coordinator recounted that Zaucha came to his office in tears, asserting that she had had an altercation with Johnson. After an investigation, Siemens credited Zaucha’s version and terminated Johnson’s employment. Siemens’s reason for firing Johnson was that he repeatedly had violated its workplace policy of being respectful toward all others while on company premises. Johnson initiated this lawsuit in June 2005, alleging that he had been discriminated against because of his race and sex, and that Siemens retaliated against him for opposing unlawful discrimination. After discovery closed, Siemens moved for summary judgment. The district court reasoned that Siemens’s decision not to provide Johnson with international training did not constitute an adverse employment action because it was not central to his job as a domestic traffic coordinator. Additionally, the court concluded that Siemens reasonably accommodated Johnson’s schedule to avoid interfering with his childcare obligations. Finally, the court determined that Johnson’s suspensions and firing were not related to his complaints of discrimination. The district court therefore granted Siemens’s motion.