Employment & Labor Law
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RODNEY FITZ v. PUGMIRE LINCOLN-MERCURY, INC.
16 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. C1228a (11th Circuit October 24, 2003)
Plaintiff, an African-American male filed suit pursuant to Title VII of Civil Rights Act against his former employer alleging that his resignation constituted constructive discharge because it was compelled by employer's intolerable, racially discriminatory conduct. Viewing the facts in light most favorable to plaintiff, summary judgment should have been entered in favor of defendants on claim that defendant engaged in racial discrimination in violation of Title VII where reasonable jury could not have found that working conditions endured by plaintiff were so intolerable as to compel reasonable person to resign. The alleged conduct consisted of giving plaintiff a reprimand for not attending a golf outing, which was subsequently withdrawn; cartoons which were attached to plaintiff's office computer and contained a character that had been darkened by pen or pencil, but were not condoned by employer; offering to transfer plaintiff to another managerial role; statements of supervisors that employer planned to fire plaintiff due to his race (which plaintiff concedes were not supposed to be revealed to him); and baseless claim of unequal pay. The court found these actions did not amount to intolerable working conditions sufficient to constitute constructive discharge and affirmed the summary judgment entered in favor of the employer.
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