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Ledesma v. Consumers Energy7/5/2005
UNPUBLISHED
Before: Cooper, P.J., and Jansen and Hoekstra, JJ.
Plaintiff Larry M. Ledesma appeals as of right from an order granting defendants Consumers Energy (Consumers) and Nuclear Management Co.'s (NMC) motions for summary disposition pursuant to MCR 2.116(C)(10). The trial court determined that plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie case of racial discrimination under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (CRA) under either a disparate treatment or hostile work environment theory. We affirm the trial court's dismissal of plaintiff's disparate treatment claims. However, we reverse the trial court's dismissal of plaintiff's hostile work environment claims, as we find that plaintiff presented sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of material fact and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
I. Facts and Procedural History
Plaintiff, who is Hispanic, began working for Consumers in 1985 as a temporary unskilled worker at its Palisades Nuclear Power Plant. Plaintiff worked for eighty-nine days in the mechanical maintenance department as a tool keeper during this period of temporary employment. In 1986, plaintiff was hired permanently as a janitor. In 1990, he transferred into the radiation waste department and was later promoted to a senior radiation waste material handler (Radwaste Handler A). Radwaste handlers undergo more direct, frequent, and continual exposure to radiation than most other positions at the plant. The handlers rotate positions to equalize radiation exposure among the employees and must continually monitor their dosage. Due to the dangers of radiation exposure, plaintiff, along with several other radwaste handlers, applied on several occasions for posted positions in the mechanical maintenance department. These positions were not only safer, but also provided higher pay and better advancement opportunities. According to the collective bargaining agreement, Consumers was required to hire qualified applicants by seniority.
In 2001, plaintiff filed a grievance when he applied for and was denied a position of "Mechanical Repair Worker A." Plaintiff was also denied a position of temporary tool keeper in 2001, which would have given him the necessary mechanical experience for future advancement. Throughout his employment, plaintiff has been reprimanded for poor attendance and, before 1995, his performance evaluations were less than exemplary. Plaintiff took a mechanical aptitude test required for transfer into the mechanical maintenance department in 1986, and received a failing score. However, plaintiff alleged that defendants purposely promoted white employees into these desired positions and kept minorities in the radwaste department due to the higher level of danger and lower pay.
Plaintiff also alleged that defendants allowed for the existence of a racially hostile work environment. Plaintiff testified in his deposition that other employees at the plant made derogatory comments to him regarding his ethnicity. He did not find it necessary to report these incidents as they occurred in front of his supervisor. Plaintiff also heard employees use racially derogatory names to refer to African-Americans in front of managers who would either laugh or walk away. Plaintiff once saw an employee wear a Confederate flag hat at an employee meeting in front of several supervisors. Plaintiff was present when a supervisor, Richard Henry, used a racially derogatory word to refer to African-Americans in front of several employees in the break room. Plaintiff reported this incident to his union steward and Mr. Henry was subsequently fired. Since Mr. Henry's termination, several employees and supervisors at the
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