Findlator v. Allina Health Clinics

Background

Allina Health Clinics terminated Leah Findlator after an altercation with coworker Leah Baruch. Findlator is described as a Black woman from the United Kingdom. She had worked as a laboratory technician for Allina since August 2012 and had not previously been disciplined.

On December 2, 2016, Findlator and Baruch argued about a blood sample. Baruch left the laboratory for a patient-care area, and Findlator followed her. During the continuing argument, Baruch removed her lab coat and threw it toward Findlator twice; the coat did not hit Findlator. Findlator pushed Baruch, and other employees separated them.

Allina investigated the incident. It concluded that Baruch had violated workplace-respect policies and issued her a final written warning and suspension. It concluded that Findlator had violated workplace-respect, patient-care, and violence-free-workplace policies and terminated her. An arbitrator later ordered Findlator reinstated under a contractual “just cause” standard, but Findlator rejected Allina’s offer of reinstatement. The court said the arbitration decision did not control the claims in this case.

Claims and Standard

Findlator asserted three claims: race and national-origin discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; race and national-origin discrimination under the Minnesota Human Rights Act; and intentional infliction of emotional distress under Minnesota law.

Allina moved for summary judgment on all claims. Summary judgment is a decision entered without a trial when the evidence shows no genuine dispute over a fact that could affect the result and the moving party is entitled to judgment under the law.

Discrimination Claims

Findlator argued that she had direct evidence of discrimination or, alternatively, enough indirect evidence under the burden-shifting framework from McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green. The court rejected both arguments.

The court concluded that Baruch’s alleged statement accusing Findlator of being in a gang was not direct evidence because Baruch was not a decisionmaker. The court also found that human-resources director Kimberly Drennen’s testimony that Allina considered race and other protected characteristics to ensure that the decision was made for proper reasons did not show discriminatory intent. Finally, the court determined that the different treatment of Findlator and Baruch required an inference because their conduct was different, so it was not direct evidence.

Under the McDonnell Douglas framework, a plaintiff may establish an initial showing of discrimination, after which the employer must provide a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for its decision. The burden then returns to the plaintiff to show that the employer’s stated reason was a pretext, meaning a cover for discrimination. Allina identified Findlator’s pushing of another employee in a patient area as its legitimate reason for termination.

The court focused on whether Findlator and Baruch were similarly situated for purposes of showing pretext. It held that they were not similarly situated because pushing a coworker was more serious than throwing a coat in the coworker’s direction. The court also found that Allina’s failure to list a violence-policy violation in Baruch’s report was, at most, a small amount of evidence and did not establish discriminatory motive.

The court therefore concluded that Findlator presented no direct evidence of discrimination and insufficient evidence to create an inference of discrimination under the burden-shifting framework. It dismissed her Title VII and Minnesota Human Rights Act discrimination claims.

Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress

Under Minnesota law, intentional infliction of emotional distress requires extreme and outrageous conduct, intentional or reckless conduct, emotional distress caused by that conduct, and severe distress. The conduct must be so atrocious that it is beyond the bounds of decency and intolerable to a civilized community.

The court held that no reasonable jury could find that terminating Findlator for pushing a coworker met that standard. It therefore granted Allina summary judgment on this claim.

Disposition

The court granted Allina Health Clinics’ motion for summary judgment. It dismissed the action with prejudice and ordered that judgment be entered.