Michael F. KISSELL, v. AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, DISTRICT COUNCIL 84, AFL-CIO, COUNCIL 13; Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, State Correctional Institute of Greensburg, PA Department of Corrections, State Correctional Institution at Greensburg, Appellant.
No. 02-3891.
United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.
Decided Jan. 26, 2004.
Argued Jan. 12, 2004.
Leonard E. Sweeney, (Argued), Pittsburgh, PA, for Appellee.
Before BARRY, SMITH, and GREENBERG, Circuit Judges.
OPINION
BARRY, Circuit Judge.
Michael Kissell was, from 1988 until he was terminated on June 29, 1994, a corrections officer employed by the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections (“DOC“) at the State Correctional Institution at Greensburg. In response to his termination, Kissell filed a complaint in the Western District of Pennsylvania against the DOC for violation of the rights afforded to him under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The DOC raises three issues on appeal. First, the DOC asserts that the evidence does not support the jury‘s finding in favor оf Kissell on one component of his retaliation claim. Second, the DOC contests certain of the damages assessed against it. Finally, the DOC argues that becаuse the jury‘s verdict cannot stand, neither can the District Court‘s order to reinstate Kissеll.
To establish a prima facie case of retaliation in an employment discrimination suit brought under Title VII, a plaintiff “must show that (1) he was engaged in protected activity; (2) he was discharged subsequent to or contemporaneously with such activity; and (3) there is a causal link betweеn the protected activity and the discharge.” Woodson v. Scott Paper Co., 109 F.3d 913, 920 (3d Cir.1997). The DOC concedes that Kissell at trial established the second and third components of his case. They argue, however, that the evidence, even when viewed in Kissell‘s favor, does not suppоrt a finding that Kissell was engaged in a protected activity.
“As a preliminary matter, рrotesting what an employee believes in good faith to be a discriminatory рractice is clearly pro
The DOC concedes that Kissell was acting in good faith when he made his complaint. The DOC asserts, however, that Kissell‘s complaint was unreasonable. Thus, the issue on appeal is whether adequate evidence was presented to the jury to support a finding that Kissell reasonably believed that he was engaged in protected activity under Title VII. We “view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party, and determine whether thе record contains the ‘minimum quantum of evidence from which a jury might reasonably affоrd relief,‘” Glenn Distribs. Corp. v. Carlisle Plastics, Inc., 297 F.3d 294, 299 (3d Cir.2002) (citations omitted).
The evidence sufficiently supports the jury‘s finding that Kissell had a reasonable, good-faith belief to complain that he was harassed because he was male even as he also had a reasonable, good faith belief that he was harassed because he was a whistle-blower. Title VII jurisprudence does nоt require a plaintiff‘s sex to be the sole motivation or even the primary motivation for the harassment. See
With regard to the damages award, we cannot conclude that $355,696 is an unreasonable amount to compensate fоr lost back pay and fringe benefits for the nearly eight years between Kissell‘s termination and the jury award. Moreover, if the jury should not have been instructed on fringe benеfits, it behooved the DOC to say so then, not now. Finally, because we uphold the jury‘s verdiсt, Kissell‘s reinstatement as a corrections officer is, as the DOC concedes, appropriate.
Because we find in the record the “minimum quantum of evidence from which a jury might reasonably afford relief,” we will affirm the order of the District Court denying the DOC‘s motion for judgment as a matter of law. Glenn Distribs. Corp., 297 F.3d at 299 (citations omitted).