[Download] "White v. Honeywell Inc." by Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals " eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: White v. Honeywell Inc.
- Author : Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
- Release Date : January 20, 1998
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 67 KB
Description
Submitted: October 24, 1997 Janice L. White brought this racial harassment and constructive discharge suit against her employer, Honeywell, Inc. Following trial, a jury rendered its verdict in favor of Honeywell on each claim. White appeals various evidentiary rulings made by the district court during the course of trial and challenges the jury instruction on constructive discharge. We reverse and remand for a new trial. I. Janice White filed this lawsuit on November 30, 1993, alleging that Honeywell violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a) (1994), and 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (1994), as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Specifically, White alleged that Honeywell subjected her to a racially hostile work environment from March 1984 through her alleged constructive discharge on June 24, 1992, when she left work on a medical leave of absence due to a mental breakdown. 1 At trial, the district court limited the scope of White's Title VII claim to acts occurring after September 13, 1990. That was the date White filed her first administrative charge with the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the EEOC), alleging racial harassment, reprisal, and unfair job assignments. She failed, however, to timely file suit after receiving a no probable cause finding and a right to sue letter. Her present lawsuit is based on two subsequent administrative charges alleging a racially hostile work environment, constructive discharge, and retaliation. The agencies found no probable cause on either charge and again issued right to sue letters. The district court determined that although White had alleged a continuing violation since 1984, her failure to timely file suit on the first administrative charge required it to limit the scope of her Title VII claim to acts occurring after September 13, 1990. The district court also limited White's § 1981 claim of racial discrimination to acts occurring after November 21, 1991, the effective date of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. The evidence presented at trial included the following. 2 Janice White, an African-American woman, began working in Honeywell's assembly department in 1978. In 1984, she transferred to a position as one of two factory clerks in the Minneapolis general offices, where she reported directly to Dave Easthagen, who reported directly to Bill Megarry, who was under Caren Olsen. White worked closely with a co-clerk, Mildred Benson, who is a Caucasian woman. From 1984 through 1992, Benson and White worked side by side in a large office area where White was the only African-American worker.