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Young v. American Airlines12/13/2005
Plaintiff-Appellant Lamonte R. Young, Sr. ("Young" or "Appellant") appeals from the decision of the trial court granting Defendant-Respondent American Airlines's ("American") motion for summary judgment. Young, an African-American, brought an action against his employer, American, alleging wrongful termination, pursuant to the Missouri Human Rights Act, Section 213.050 RSMo. (2000), premised upon alleged racial discrimination. The incident for which Young was fired involved an altercation with two white employees over the use of a telephone in the company break room. Young admitted violating company policy by making offensive and threatening comments, and he was subsequently fired pursuant to company policy. In a written statement made before he was fired, however, Young also alleged that two white employees made comments to him that were racially offensive. The two white employees admitted participating in the altercation and to making rude comments, but they did not admit to making the racially offensive comments, which would be a violation of company policy. The white employees were punished for their conduct, but they were not fired. We cannot say with confidence on this record that American is due judgment as a matter of law, and thus, we reverse and remand.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
We consider the record from an appeal of summary judgment in the light most favorable to the party against whom judgment was entered. ITT Commercial Fin. Corp. v. Mid-America Marine Supply Corp., 854 S.W.2d 371, 376 (Mo. 1993) (hereinafter "ITT"). Facts established by affidavit, or other proof in support of a party's motion, are taken as true unless contradicted by the non-moving party's response to the summary judgment motion. Id. We accord the non-moving party the benefit of all reasonable inferences from the record below. Id. The propriety of summary judgment is purely an issue of law, and thus, our review is de novo. Id.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURARL BACKGROUND
Our review of the record, viewed in the light most favorable to Young, reveals that Young was employed by American from 2 October 1995 until he was fired on 18 October 2002. Young was fired as a direct consequence of an altercation with two fellow employees on 9 October 2002. During his seven years of employment with American as a fleet service clerk, Young had a satisfactory work record and generally performed his duties without incident. Prior to the incident in question, Young had never been subjected to a hostile work environment, including never experiencing any inappropriate behavior, jokes, or comments because of his race.
In 2002, American instituted a new Rules of Conduct for its employees. One of the key components of American's new set of rules was to prohibit offensive or discriminatory speech or conduct on company grounds. The rules also provide strict punishment for employees who violate the rules. As pertinent to this case, Rule of Conduct 32 states:
Behavior that violates the company's Work Environment Policy, even if intended as a joke, is absolutely prohibited and will be grounds for severe corrective action, up to and including termination of employment. This includes, but is not limited to, threatening, intimidating, interfering with, or abusive, demeaning, or violent behavior toward another employee, contractor, or vendor, while either on or off duty. Behavior that is also hate related will result in immediate termination of employment, regardless of length of service or prior employment record.
American defined "hate-related behavior" as:
ny action or statement that suggests hatred for or hostility against a person because of his or her race, sex
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