Free Proposed Pretrial Order - District Court of Colorado - Colorado

Case 1:01-cv-02324-JLK-MEH

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO Judge John L. Kane Civil Action No. 01-cv-2324-JLK-MEH CHARLES T. GREEN, PHILLIP R. WENTLAND and MARILYN BREITHAUPT, Plaintiffs, vs. SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO., a New York corporation, Defendant.

JOINT STIPULATED FACTS

1.

Plaintiffs are Colorado residents, and were "employees" within the

meaning of Section 11(f) of the ADEA, 29 U.S.C. § 630(f), at all relevant times. 2. At all relevant times hereto, Plaintiffs were age forty (40) years or older,

and as such, were members of the age group protected by the ADEA, pursuant to Section 12 of the ADEA, 29 U.S.C. §631(a). 3. At all relevant times, Sears has been a New York corporation doing

business in Colorado and had in excess of 20 employees in this State. 4. At all relevant times, Sears has been an "employer" within the meaning of

Section 11(b) of the ADEA, 29 U.S.C. § 630(b), and has been engaged in an industry affecting commerce within the meaning of Sections 11(b), (g), and (h) of the ADEA, 29 U.S.C. §§ 630(b), (g), and (h).

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5. Colorado. 6.

Jurisdiction is proper in the United States District Court for the District of

In April 2000, Sears eliminated all of the shop technician positions in its

Thornton Service Center. 7. ½ ) years. 8. At the time of his termination on April 28, 2000, Plaintiff Green was fiftyPlaintiff Green had been employed by Sears for thirty-seven and a half (37

nine (59) years old and earning $18.80 per hour. 9. Plaintiff Green spent twenty two (22) years as an outside technician and

then moved into the shop in 1984. 10. Plaintiff Green interviewed with Nancy Satchell and Bob Garcia for

positions at the new unit in Aurora. 11. At the time of his termination, Plaintiff Wentland was a Level III

Technician earning $18.26 per hour. 12. Plaintiff Breithaupt worked at Sears for twenty-six (26) years when she was

terminated at the age of forty-eight (48). She was a Level III Electronics Technician earning $18.83 per hour. 13. Plaintiff Breithaupt applied for the position of Electronics Technician at the

Aurora Service Center. 14. Plaintiff Breithaupt was not offered the position of Electronics Technician

at the Aurora Service Center.

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15. 16.

Brooks received and reviewed the E&M Factory Communication Guide. Per Nash, seniority was an issue in the redesign. Nash stated that Sears

values length of service both in terms of loyalty to the company and expertise developed. 17. The four members of the redesign team only conducted interviews of

candidates. They did not look at prior performance evaluations or observe the applicants working. 18. Chuck Nash managed the redesign team at the time of the Denver

reorganization. 19. Ron Medford was the National Carry-in Operations Manager for Sears at

the time of the Denver redesign. 20. Ray Figueroa worked for Sears as a Technical Manager in Thornton from

1997 through the redesign. In 1997 and early 1998, Figueroa managed all the Lawn and Garden Shops in Thornton, Aurora, Littleton and Westland (all in the Denver metro area). In addition, Figueroa managed the Lawn and Garden Field Technicians. 21. Sometime toward the summer of 1998, Figueroa was also assigned to be

the technical manager for the Mechanical Repair Shop, and he continued to be the Technical Manager for the Lawn and Garden Shop. He managed the Mechanical and Lawn and Garden crews from 1998 until about August of `99, when Sears hired another technical manager, Craig Peterson. Peterson then supervised the Mechanical Repair Shop crew, and Figueroa went back to just supervising the Lawn and Garden Shop. 22. Stephanie Brooks began as an Installer with Sears in January 1986. She

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then received promotions through Service Technician, Parts Supervisor, Support Supervisor, Technical Supervisor, Technical Manager, and Routing Manager positions for the next fourteen years until she was promoted to Unit Manager in February 2000. Brooks is currently the Unit Manager of the Aurora Repair Center, and she supervises the technical team and the support team. 23. Craig Peterson began working for Sears in August 1999 as Technical

Supervisor, managing in-home technicians, a position he held through the redesign. 24. Daniel Perry has worked for Sears for 33 years. During his first 20 years,

he was a technician. In approximately 1993, he was promoted to Tech Manager. In 1996, he was again promoted to Route Manager until he left that position to lead the Redesign Team from 1998 - 2001. In 2001, he left the Redesign Team, and is now Region Operating Manager for the Southeast Carry-in Region. 25. Plaintiffs' respective ages and years of working at Sears at the time they

ceased employment were as follows: (1) Plaintiff Green: 59 years old, 37 years of employment; (2) Plaintiff Wentland: 53 years old, 35 years of employment; (3) Plaintiff Breithaupt: 48 years old, 26 years of employment. 26. Plaintiffs were all employed by Sears as Shop Service Technicians at its

Thornton, Colorado Service Center ("Thornton Facility"). (Ex. 61.) As Shop Service Technicians, Plaintiffs diagnosed and repaired appliances in the "shop", i.e., at the Thornton Facility. Shop Technicians are one of two species of Service Technicians, the other being Field Technicians - those Service Technicians who repair appliances in

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customers' homes, as opposed to in the "shop." 27. Brooks had worked with Plaintiffs for years and had routed their daily

work to them for the two years before the redesign, as she was the routing manager at Thornton. 28. Sometime toward the summer of 1998, Figueroa was also assigned to be

the technical manager for the Mechanical Repair Shop, and he continued to be the Technical Manager for the Lawn and Garden Shop. He managed the Mechanical and Lawn and Garden crews from 1998 until about August of `99, when Sears hired another technical manager, Craig Peterson. Peterson then supervised the Mechanical Repair Shop crew, and Figueroa went back to just supervising the Lawn and Garden Shop. 29. 30. Green was not offered a position at the Aurora repair facility. After being offered Field Technician positions, Wentland and Breithaupt

both told Brooks that they had medical conditions prohibiting them from taking the positions offered to them, and both produced doctor's notes, substantiating their claim. 31. Breithaupt applied for an Electronics Technician position at the Aurora

Repair Center. 32. Figueroa was Wentland's supervisor on February 1, 1998. He gave him a

performance evaluation around February 1998. 33. Wentland applied for a Lawn & Garden Service Technician position within

the new Aurora Repair Center. 34. The employees hired for the Electronics Service Technician positions at the

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Aurora Repair Facility were Gunther Beckman (age 61), Frank Weinzapfel (age 57), and James Blankenship (age 38). 35. The employees hired for the Lawn and Garden Technician position at the

Aurora Repair Facility were Walter Shetskie (age 59), George Lang (age 35), and Richard Schley (age 41). 36. Following the interview process, the redesign team held a telephone

conference with the Unit Manager of the new Aurora facility, Stephanie Brooks, to discuss all the candidates and make recommendations. 37. Plaintiff Phillip Wentland was a repair technician in the Thornton Lawn

and Garden shop in November 1999. He applied for Lawn and Garden technician position at the new Aurora facility when his position in Thornton was eliminated. 38. $18, 990. 39. Plaintiff Marilyn Breithaupt was a repair technician in the Thornton Mr. Wentland signed a release and received a severance package of

Electronics shop in November 1999. She applied for a position as an Electronics Technician in the new Aurora facility when her position in Thornton was eliminated. She was 48 years old at the time. 40. Sears offered Ms. Breithaupt a position as a field technician, but she

advised Sears that she was unable to perform the required duties due to a knee injury. 41. The employees hired for the Electronics Technician position at the

redesigned repair facility were Gunther Beckman (age 61), Frank Weingzpfel (age 57),

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and James Blankenship (age 38). 42. Plaintiff Charles Green was a repair technician in the Thornton Mechanical

Shop in November 1999. He applied for a Mechanical Technician position in the new Aurora facility. He was 59 years old at the time. 43. Mr. Green signed a release and received a severance package of $19, 831,

and took early retirement benefits.