Cooper v. Oak Rubber Co.

Cooper v. Oak Rubber Co.

Opinion

 [***2]   [*1376]  CHARLES W. JOINER, Senior District Judge.

Plaintiff Gwendolyn Cooper appeals from the judgment entered in favor of her former employer, Oak Rubber Co. ("Oak"), in this Title VII religious discrimination case. Cooper is a Seventh Day Adventist who refused to work on Saturdays to observe the Sabbath, and then resigned, allegedly to avoid disciplinary suspension and discharge. On appeal, Cooper challenges the district court's conclusions that she did not establish a prima facie case of discrimination, that Oak reasonably accommodated her religious beliefs, and that Oak could not have relieved Cooper of all Saturday work responsibility without undue hardship. We affirm on the last stated ground.

 [**2]  Oak was a manufacturer of industrial vinyl gloves. Oak operated six production machines around the clock with three shifts of workers, and each machine was required to be staffed with six glove strippers and one packer. The machines operated continuously through the employees' breaks and lunch periods. Oak scheduled extra workers to substitute for the employees on break, and also to cover for employees who were absent or on vacation. If Oak did not have enough workers for each machine, it was forced to shut down the affected machine, suffering a loss of production.

To alleviate a serious absenteeism problem, Oak instituted a policy pursuant to which employees accumulated points for unexcused absences. The list of "excused" absences included a number of reasons why an employee might occasionally miss work  [*1377]  (e.g., funeral leave, military leave and personal emergencies), but did not include observance of the Sabbath. Pursuant to the policy, an employee who reported in advance of the shift that she would be absent accumulated one point for that absence.  [***3]  The accumulation of six points within a one-year period resulted in a verbal warning; eight points resulted in a written warning;  [**3]  ten points resulted in a three-day suspension; and twelve points resulted in discharge.

Oak's employees were covered by a collective bargaining agreement which had a management rights clause vesting in Oak management of the plant and the right to hire, discipline and discharge, except to the extent that those rights were expressly modified or restricted by the agreement. The absenteeism policy was adopted pursuant to this clause. The collective bargaining agreement further provided that a regularly scheduled workweek began on Monday, and that work performed on the "sixth day" in a regularly scheduled work week was paid at time and one half.

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