Tennessee Appeals Court Addresses Similarly Situated Standards

Sharon Hartman worked for Tennessee Tech for about 13 years as a Stock Clerk.  Her job was to purchase supplies and equipment, which required her to be intimately familiar with Tech's purchasing policies.  Tech fired Ms. Hartman after she made unauthorized purchases which exceeded the monetary limits of her authority.  The mistake was inadvertent but had Hartman followed the purchasing policies it would not have occurred.

In Ms. Hartman's sex discrimination claim under the Tennessee Human Rights Act, she argued she was similarly situated to a male named Parks who was plumbing shop supervisor.  Unlike Hartman, Parks was not charged with being familiar with Tech's purchasing policies.  On one ocassion, Parks ordered plumbing supplies which exceeded the same monetary limits.  Unlike Hartman, however, when Parks learned the supplies were over the limit, he rejected the order and went through the appropriate procedures for the purchase.

The court of appeals rejected Hartman's argument that she and Parks were similarly situated, explaining:

The duties and responsibilities listed on Ms. Hartman’s official job description include: “Maintains warehouse stock item inventory. Solicits, evaluates and awards bids; and orders warehouse stock items,” “Initiates bid process for warehouse stock items,” “Makes contract award recommendations to Purchasing [Office] regarding warehouse inventory stock items,” “Secures additional specification recommendations to Purchasing regarding warehouse inventory stock items.”

Troy Parks’s official job description, by contrast, does not contain a single reference to the purchasing guidelines or the bidding process. According to Ms. Hartman, Mr. Parks was required to work with a Buyer from the Purchasing Office, or someone with equivalent purchasing authority in order to make purchases. The affidavit of Dr. Michael Nivens, the director of Facilities and Business Services, states that “Troy Parks does not have the same kind of purchasing authority as [Ms. Hartman.] [Ms. Hartman] was a purchaser. Mr. Parks is not, and he is not expected to have the same level of knowledge regarding the purchasing policies.” The affidavit of Dr. Claire Stinson, the Vice-President for Finance and Planning, states, “[Troy Parks] is not expected to be familiar with the purchasing guidelines. It was a job requirement that [Ms. Hartman] be familiar with the purchasing guidelines.”

Ms. Hartman does not dispute these facts. Instead she contends the court should not consider the differing levels of responsibility and authority when evaluating whether she is similarly situated to Troy Parks. In essence, she asserts that the only relevant similarity in this case is the fact that both she and Mr. Parks were subject to the same purchasing rules and that they both violated those rules. We find no merit in this argument. It was a job requirement for Ms. Hartman to know and understand the purchasing policies because she had significant discretion in carrying out purchases using public funds. Mr. Parks on the other hand, required supervision when carrying out purchases, often times supervision by Ms. Hartman. He did not fail to fulfill an essential job requirement when he violated the purchasing policy.

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Moreover, Ms. Hartman’s conduct was different from Mr. Parks’s. Troy Parks voluntarily informed his supervisors about his order before the University was required to pay the supplier. By contrast, Ms. Hartman’s supervisors approached her after the first invoice arrived on the filters, which were custom made and non-refundable. Even at that time, she did not inform her supervisors that the order was not complete, and that a second invoice would be arriving. Ms. Hartman argues that the effects of her actions vis á vis those of Mr. Parks are irrelevant, because the fact remains that they both violated the same rule. Again, we disagree. It is significant that Mr. Parks voluntarily notified his supervisors at a time when the damage could be limited.

The decision is significant because it recognized that job responsibilities as well as differences in conduct may establish that two employees are not similarly situated.