St. John v. Postmaster General of the United States , 474 F. App'x 80 ( 2012 )

NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
_____________
No. 11-1855
_____________
PAUL M. ST. JOHN,
Appellant
v.
POSTMASTER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES
_____________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
District Court No. 2-09-cv-04196
District Judge: The Honorable Michael M. Baylson
Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a)
March 27, 2012
Before: FUENTES, SMITH, and JORDAN, Circuit Judges
(Filed: April 2, 2012)
_____________________
OPINION
_____________________
SMITH, Circuit Judge.
Paul M. St. John filed a civil action in the United States District Court for
the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleging that his employer, the United States
Postal Service (USPS), retaliated against him because of testimony he provided at
an administrative hearing on an earlier charge of national origin discrimination. St.
John is of Scottish heritage. This action, according to St. John‟s complaint,
violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-3 and
2000e-16, as amended. After the close of discovery, the USPS successfully moved
for summary judgment. This timely appeal followed.1
St. John, who was born in Scotland, has been employed by the USPS as a
City Carrier at the post office in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, since May of 2003.
On November 3, 2004, St. John filed a complaint with the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging that he had been discriminated against
based on his national origin when management, particularly his supervisor James
McGinn, did not pay him for eight hours of sick leave. In addition, St. John
alleged that he had been discriminated against when his supervisor placed him on
“leave without pay” status for a 40-hour period. On March 15, 2007, during an
EEOC hearing, St. John was asked how his employer‟s actions affected him. St.
John responded that he “could have throttled [McGinn]” and shortly thereafter
1
The District Court had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. We exercise final
order jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. Our review of an order granting
summary judgment is plenary. See Carrasca v. Pomeroy, 313 F.3d 828, 832 (3d
Cir. 2002).
2
stated that he “could kill [McGinn].”2
Due to concerns about workplace violence, the USPS has instituted a zero-
tolerance policy regarding any violence or threats of violence. The USPS‟s
counsel at the EEOC hearing viewed St. John‟s statements about his current
supervisor as a violation of the zero-tolerance policy. In accord with that policy,
she notified the human resources manager, who convened a “Threat Assessment
Team” to determine whether action should be taken against St. John because of his
potentially threatening remarks.
On March 20, 2007, several USPS managers held a “Threat Assessment
Meeting” to discuss St. John‟s EEOC hearing testimony. On March 21, 2007,
Postal Inspector Shawn Dougherty questioned St. John about his testimony in the
presence of his union representative Christopher Lanetti. During the interview,
both St. John and Lanetti informed Dougherty of complaints St. John had made the
week before against McGinn regarding falsification of employees‟ “clock rings.”3
2
The EEOC Administrative Judge decided on June 22, 2007, that St. John was not
discriminated against based on his national origin when he was denied sick time or
charged for 40 hours of leave without pay. St. John did not appeal that
determination.
3
“Clock rings” refers to each time a worker uses his time card to punch in or out of
work. St. John alleged that employees were not being paid for their actual time
worked because someone was falsifying the employee records.
3
At the conclusion of the interview, St. John gave Dougherty a written statement in
which he acknowledged that he was aware of the USPS‟s zero-tolerance policy
regarding threats of violence, and further indicated that he was upset when he
testified before the EEOC. St. John called his choice of words “regretful,” but said
that his “statements were taken completely out of context” and that he “only meant
to emphasize [his] feelings and not [his] intentions.”
Dougherty allowed St. John to return to his mail route, leading St. John and
Lanetti to believe the investigation was over. About five hours later, management
approached St. John on his route and directed him to return to the office. Upon his
return, St. John was met by the Officer-in-Charge and the Postmaster. St. John
requested the presence of his union representative. When Lanetti arrived, St. John
was informed that he was being placed on emergency placement leave (EPL). He
was directed to clean out his locker and his mail truck in the presence of his
supervisor.
Shortly thereafter, the Manager of Post Office Operations advised the
Officer-in-Charge that Dougherty had determined that St. John was not a threat and
had permitted St. John to return to service. Within fifteen minutes of being placed
on EPL and before St. John left the building, St. John was advised by management
that the EPL had been rescinded and that he could return to work.
A month later, St. John filed a charge of retaliation with the EEOC. The
4
EEOC initially dismissed the complaint, finding that St. John had not established a
prima facie case of retaliation because he had not suffered an adverse action, and
that the USPS had articulated a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for its actions.
St. John appealed to the EEOC Office of Federal Operations (OFO), which
reversed the decision. Pursuant to the OFO‟s order, the USPS conducted an
investigation and determined that St. John was entitled to compensatory damages
of $300. Unsatisfied with the nominal damages, St. John initiated a civil action
against the United States Postmaster General pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16(c),
seeking “de novo consideration” of his retaliation claim. See Morris v. Rumsfeld,
420 F.3d 287, 291 (3d Cir. 2005).
After discovery concluded, the USPS filed a motion for summary judgment.
The District Court granted the motion, concluding that St. John had failed to
demonstrate the required element of having sustained a materially adverse action.
In addition, the Court determined that St. John had failed to demonstrate that
USPS‟s legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for placing him on EPL was a pretext
for retaliation. St. John appealed, challenging the District Court‟s determination
that he failed to demonstrate a prima facie case of retaliation and that he did not
show that USPS‟s reason was a pretext for retaliation.
We will assume for purposes of this appeal that St. John adduced sufficient
5
evidence to establish a prima facie case of discrimination.4 As a result, the burden
of production shifted to USPS to provide a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason
for its actions. Woodson v. Scott Paper Co., 109 F.3d 913, 920 n.2 (3d Cir. 1997)
(citing, inter alia, Fuentes v. Perskie, 32 F.3d 759, 763 (3d Cir. 1994)). The USPS
met its burden, citing its zero-tolerance policy and St. John‟s threatening
comments. Thus, St. John had the burden of demonstrating that this reason was a
pretext for retaliation. Fuentes, 32 F.3d at 764-65. We agree with the District
Court that St. John has not adduced evidence that would permit a reasonable
factfinder to cast doubt on the USPS‟s reason. Accordingly, we will affirm the
judgment of the District Court.
4
Title VII‟s antiretaliation provision proscribes discriminating against a protected
individual because he opposed a practice forbidden by Title VII or participated in a
Title VII proceeding. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a). In Burlington Northern & Santa
Fe Railway Co. v. White, 548 U.S. 53, 59 (2006), the Supreme Court declared that
“[n]o one doubts that the term „discriminate against‟ [in the antiretaliation
provision] refers to distinctions or differences in treatment that injure protected
individuals.” In light of the zero-tolerance policy at the heart of this appeal, we are
skeptical that St. John established that he was treated differently than any other
USPS employee who uttered a potentially threatening statement. The USPS did
not raise this issue, however, in challenging whether St. John sufficiently
demonstrated a materially adverse action, and we need not address it in resolving
this appeal.
6