Angela McDonald v. NYK Logistics (Americas), Inc., et al

Filing

OPINION filed : AFFIRMED, decision not for publication pursuant to local rule 206. Danny J. Boggs, Circuit Judge; Richard Allen Griffin, Circuit Judge and Judith M. Barzilay, International Trade Judge.

Case: 11-5243

Document: 006111344716

Filed: 06/21/2012

Page: 1

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION
File Name: 12a0660n.06
No. 11-5243

FILED

Jun 21, 2012

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

ANGELA McDONALD,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
NYK LOGISTICS (AMERICAS), INC. and
NYK LOGISTICS (AMERICAS), INC.
ETA DIVISION,

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

LEONARD GREEN, Clerk

ON APPEAL FROM THE
DECISION OF THE UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN
DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE

Defendants-Appellees.

BEFORE: BOGGS and GRIFFIN, Circuit Judges; and BARZILAY, Judge.*
JUDITH M. BARZILAY, Senior Judge.
Angela McDonald appeals the district court’s decision denying her claim of retaliation under
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. Title VII prohibits
discrimination in employment on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” §
2000e-2(a)(1). It also prohibits retaliation against an employee “because he has opposed any practice
made an unlawful employment practice by this subchapter, or because he has made a charge,
testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this
subchapter.” § 2000e-3(a). The district court held that McDonald failed to satisfy the requirements

*

The Honorable Judith M. Barzilay, Senior Judge, United States Court of International
Trade, sitting by designation.

Case: 11-5243

Document: 006111344716

Filed: 06/21/2012

Page: 2

No. 11-5243
McDonald v. NYK Logistics (Americas), Inc., et al.
for Title VII protection under both the participation clause and opposition clause of 42 U.S.C. §
2000e-3(a). See McDonald v. NYK Logistics (Americas), Inc., No. 09-cv-02264, 2011 WL 197578
(W.D. Tenn. Jan. 19, 2011). We affirm.
Angela McDonald (a white woman) is a former employee of NYK Logistics (Americas), Inc.
(“NLA”), a company that provides third-party logistics services, including transportation,
warehousing and distribution, freight forwarding, and international network solutions. She worked
for the company from September 2005 until September 2007 as a member of the Documentation
Team and, after her promotion, as the Team Leader. NLA ultimately terminated McDonald for
several incidents involving alleged misconduct and mishandling of company files. The majority of
McDonald’s supervisors and co-workers at NLA were both female and white.
The dispute in this case arose when Angela McDonald did not receive, as she had expected,
a pay raise that was agreed upon as part of her promotion. McDonald complained to the Human
Resources Department and other officers at the company about the status of her raise. In one
conversation with a company officer, McDonald threatened to go to the “EEO” if she did not receive
her raise. McDonald did in fact visit the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”)
after making the threat but there is no evidence that NLA knew about McDonald’s actual visit to the
agency. The fact that NLA lacked knowledge of McDonald’s visit defeats her claim under the
participation clause.
The only mention of discrimination in this case appears in a declaration by McDonald in
which she alleges that “[d]uring the course of [NLA’s] delay and lack of accountability concerning

-2-

Case: 11-5243

Document: 006111344716

Filed: 06/21/2012

Page: 3

No. 11-5243
McDonald v. NYK Logistics (Americas), Inc., et al.
their promise to me in regards to my pay raise I felt that I was disrespected at least in part because
of my sex, and I had a genuine belief that their actions in failing to provide my raise for
approximately seven months after my assumption of additional workload was an unlawful business
practice.” McDonald, 2011 WL 197578, at *2 n.2. Other than this broad allegation of discrimination,
partially on the basis of gender, there is no evidence suggesting that McDonald had opposed conduct
covered by Title VII. Rather, the record indicates that McDonald was challenging NLA’s failure to
implement her pay raise and threatened to go to the EEOC as a means of inducing NLA to grant her
raise. This is not the type of conduct that is protected under the opposition clause.
McDonald nevertheless claims that she was the victim of unlawful retaliation forbidden by
Title VII. After filing a claim with the EEOC, which was denied, McDonald filed suit in the United
States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Defendants moved for summary
judgment. The district court granted their motion on the grounds that McDonald failed to establish
a prima facie case of retaliation under the statute.
After carefully considering the record, the briefs of the parties, and the applicable law, we
agree with the judgment of the district court. Because the reasoning and ultimate disposition of
McDonald’s claims have been clearly articulated by the district court in a thorough and
comprehensive opinion, the issuance of a detailed written opinion by this court would be unduly
duplicative.

-3-

Case: 11-5243

Document: 006111344716

Filed: 06/21/2012

Page: 4

No. 11-5243
McDonald v. NYK Logistics (Americas), Inc., et al.
Accordingly, the judgment rendered by the Honorable S. Thomas Anderson, United States
District Judge for the Western District of Tennessee, is affirmed on the basis of the reasoning
detailed in his Opinion and Order dated January 19, 2011.

-4-