Starkey v. Amber Enterprises, Inc., No. 19-3688 (8th Cir. 2021)
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Plaintiff filed suit in state court against Amber Pharmacy and others, alleging claims of discrimination, retaliation, demotion and a hostile work environment. After removal to federal court, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of defendants on all but a portion of plaintiff's Nebraska Fair Employment Practice Act (NFEPA) claim.
In regard to plaintiff's claim of age discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), the Eighth Circuit assumed that plaintiff established a prima facie case, but that defendants articulated a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for eliminating plaintiff's position and demoting her: the need to restructure the financial department to put a stronger emphasis on accounting and more effectively implement the new operating system. The court concluded that plaintiff's evidence was insufficient and did not satisfy her burden of showing age was a motivating factor in defendants' decision to restructure. The court also concluded that defendants are entitled to summary judgment on plaintiff's federal claims under Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
Given the similarities between the federal and state ADEA claim, the court concluded that it was appropriate for the district court to exercise supplemental jurisdiction and grant summary judgment on the Nebraska ADEA claim. Because plaintiff's claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress was neither novel nor complex, the exercise of supplemental jurisdiction would not offend principles of comity and fairness. The court concluded that the district court erred in splitting plaintiff's claim that her employer retaliated against her for reporting Medicaid and HIPPA issues and for filing charges with the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission. The court vacated the district court's order on the NFEPA claim with instructions to remand the claim in its entirety to state court so that Nebraska courts may resolve the novel questions of state law.
Court Description: [Erickson, Author, with Benton and Grasz, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Employment discrimination. Assuming plaintiff established a prima facie case of age discrimination, defendant articulated a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for eliminating her position and demoting her - the need to restructure the financial department she headed to emphasize accounting and effectively implement a new operating system - and plaintiff failed to show the stated ground was a pretext for age discrimination; the court did not err in granting defendant summary judgment on plaintiff's COBRA and ERISA claims; the court properly exercised original jurisdiction over plaintiff's Nebraska age discrimination claim and did not err, for the reasons previously stated, in granting the employer summary judgment on the claim; exercise of supplemental jurisdiction on plaintiff's state law intentional infliction of emotional distress claim was appropriate; the district court erred in splitting plaintiff's claim that her employer retaliated against her for reporting Medicaid and HIPPA issues and for filing charges with the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission; once the court decided that part of the claim needed to be remanded to state court, judicial economy and convenience no longer weighed in favor of the federal court reaching the issue and the whole claim should have been remanded, given Nebraska's strong interest in interpreting its statute and guaranteeing a "surer-footed reading" of it; the district court's order regarding the Nebraska Fair Employment Practices Act claim is vacated and the claim is remanded in its entirety to state court.
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