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Date: 08-20-2024
Case Style:
Bryant Holms v. Missouri Department of Corrections
Case Number:
Judge: J. Dale Youngs
Court: Circuit Court, Jackson County, Missouri
Plaintiff's Attorney:
Defendant's Attorney: Abbie Rothermich
Description:
Kansas City, Missouri civil rights employment discrimination lawyer reprsented the Plaintiff who sued on a hostile work environment theory under the Missouri Human Rights Act.
Bryant Holmes began his employment with the DOC in 1993 as a correctional officer. He was promoted to chief of custody at a probation and parole center in 2008 and became deputy warden in 2015, when the center converted to a prison known as the Kansas City Reentry Center ("KCRC"). As a deputy warden, Holmes began reporting directly to the warden of the KCRC, L.A. ("Warden"). Warden also supervised other executive staff members, including another Deputy Warden, the Chief of Custody, and an Administrative Assistant, all of whom were female.
Shortly after the reporting relationship began, Warden instructed Holmes that he was "required to say good morning" to her, regardless of when he arrived and what he was doing. Warden told Holmes that the greeting was necessary because "I didn't sleep with you last night. I need a good morning." On days when Holmes did not say "good morning" to Warden, she became upset with him and the staff. Warden also disallowed female staff from meeting or interacting with Holmes in her absence, directed the Administrative Assistant and Chief of Custody to no longer report to Holmes, and interfered with tasks he assigned to them. The staff began urging Holmes to say "good morning" to Warden when he arrived at the office so they could "have a nice day."
Holmes complained to Warden's DOC supervisor in Jefferson City and requested an investigation into Warden's conduct and the work environment. Following these complaints, Holmes, Warden, and Deputy Warden participated in a mediation with the human resources manager in October 2015. Holmes was provided steps to improve communication with Warden, such as carbon-copying Warden on emails, but Warden
received no instruction regarding her behavior. After the mediation, Warden continued her practice of requiring Holmes to say "good morning" and excluding him from meetings with the Deputy Warden and Chief of Custody.
In September 2016, Holmes received a negative performance log note from Warden. Holmes asked Warden to remove the negative note because it was unjustified, but she did not. In December 2016, Warden placed Holmes on a performance improvement plan. In 2017, Holmes was transferred to an assistant warden position in DOC's St. Joseph facility. He was assigned to a cubicle instead of an office and reported to the deputy warden. The DOC refused to provide Holmes a state vehicle or include commute time to St. Joseph in his workday.
In January 2018, Holmes filed a petition against the DOC alleging discrimination claims based on race, sex, hostile work environment, and retaliation pursuant to the Missouri Human Rights Act.[1] At the jury trial, Holmes and other staff members testified about Warden's offensive and differential treatment of Holmes based on his male gender and how it made the office an uncomfortable place to work.
Outcome: The jury returned a verdict for DOC on the claims for race discrimination, sex discrimination, and three retaliation claims. The jury found in favor of Holmes on the hostile work environment claim and awarded $600,000 in compensatory damages. The circuit court subsequently awarded Holmes $601,785 in attorney's fees and $29,632.85 in costs and expenses.
Affirmed.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: