Full opinion text
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT WILLIAM C. LEE, District Judge. This matter is before the court for a decision on the merits following a bench trial. This case deals with alleged violations of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5, and 42 U.S.C. § 1981, as well as state causes of action, arising out of plaintiff’s employment with, and eventual termination by, the defendant company. Trial lasted thirteen days, with the court hearing testimony on March 18-21, April 17-19, May 6-8 and 20-21, 1985, and final arguments on August 19, 1985. The trial transcript is 2,423 pages long, and the court heard testimony from twenty-seven witnesses and received over 175 exhibits in evidence. The parties filed 384 pages of trial and supplemental trial briefs. The court has carefully reviewed this entire record. Having examined and considered this extensive record, having determined the credibility of the witnesses after viewing their demeanor and considering their interests, and being duly advised, the court hereby enters the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law pursuant to Rule 52(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Findings of Fact The plaintiff, Susan K. Moffett, formerly known as Susan K. Partin (“Partin”), is an adult, white female who currently resides in Houston, Texas. The defendant, Gene B. Glick Company, Inc. (“Glick”), is an Indiana corporation with its principal place of business in Indiana. Glick’s corporate headquarters are located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Glick manages apartment complexes in fourteen states, including Indiana. It manages approximately 20,000 apartment units, and is heavily involved in federal subsidy and housing assistance programs. In the Fort Wayne, Indiana area, Glick manages six complexes, including Cambridge Square Phases I and II. Glick had a specific managerial hierarchy for managing the apartment complexes. At each complex, a Rental Manager was primarily responsible for the operations of the complex. According to the Rental Manager’s job description, “all community rental and maintenance personnel are under the supervision of the Rental Manager.” However, that same job description made it clear that the maintenance staff was not exclusively controlled or supervised by the Rental Manager: With regard to maintenance, the Regional Maintenance Supervisor [RMS] serves in a staff capacity and assists the Rental Manager by performing the hiring, training and supervisory function. It is the Rental Manager’s responsibility to ensure that the project is maintained to GGMC standards, but not to become involved in the day to day scheduling of maintenance activities ... If there is a problem and the project is not up to standards, the Rental Manager is to request that the Maintenance Superintendent take specific corrective action ____ If appropriate action is not taken by the Maintenance Superintendent, then she is to request the assistance of the RMS — and then the Regional Property Manager, as a last resort. Ex. F (emphasis added). The supervisory capacity of the Rental Manager over the maintenance staff was thus largely nominal. She supervised them to the extent that they were on the complex’s grounds, but she did not hire, fire, train, or get involved in daily maintenance staff performance. When she had a problem with maintenance staff performance, she could not go directly to the staff; instead, she had to go to the Maintenance Superintendent, the Regional Superintendent or the Regional Property Manager. Thus, while Glick recognized the Rental Manager as the highest ranking employee at a complex, the maintenance staff was more independent of than subordinate to the Rental Manager. At each complex, a Rental Assistant helped the Rental Manager run the complex, although many Rental Assistants split their time at two complexes. In the managerial hierarchy, the Rental Assistant was below the Rental Manager. Over the Rental Managers was the Regional Property Manager, who acted as immediate supervisor of several Rental Managers in a given region. At all times relevant to this case, the Regional Property Manager for Glick’s Cambridge Square complexes was Becky Altmanshofer (“Altmanshofer”). Her immediate supervisor was Jack Kline, a Glick Division Manager. On July 1, 1981, Partin was hired as a Rental Assistant at the Cambridge Square complex in Fort Wayne, Indiana. As part of the hiring process, she was given a battery of tests, and received an overall rating of “excellent” from Altmanshofer. At that time, the Rental Manager at Cambridge Square was Deb Smith. In Fall, 1981, Joseph Mickilini (“Mickilini”) began working at Cambridge Square as an Assistant Maintenance Superintendent. Partin and Mickilini became good friends, in part because Mickilini was dating Deb Collier, a groundsperson at Cambridge Square who had become Partin’s closest friend. Partin, Mickilini and other members of the Cambridge Square staff socialized together frequently. In the spring of 1982, Glick decided to split the Cambridge Square complex into two “phases,” in effect making two complexes out of one. On June 2, 1982, Glick promoted Partin to the position of Rental Manager for Phase II, effective June 26, 1982. In November, 1982, Partin became the Rental Manager at Phase I, and stayed in that position until her termination in August, 1983. In February, 1982, Harry Hall (“Hall”), a Maintenance Superintendent at Fairington, another Glick Complex in Fort Wayne, was transferred to Cambridge Square because of a sexual harassment charge filed against Glick. When Cambridge Square split into two phases, Hall became the Maintenance Superintendent for Phase I, and remained in that position when Partin became the Rental Manager at Phase I. Prior to that managerial change, Hall and Partin had become acquainted because Par-tin was Rental Assistant at Phase I until June, 1982, and remained in the Phase I office even after becoming Rental Manager at Phase II because Glick had kept the Phase I and II rental offices together. While Partin was still Rental Manager at Phase II, she met John Moffett (“Moffett”), a black male who, in April, 1982, became a resident at Phase II. During the summer of 1982, Moffett frequently visited the rental office at Cambridge Square, became casual friends with Partin and acquainted with other Cambridge Square employees, including Hall and Mickilini. During Summer, 1982, Hall and Mickilini began calling Moffett “Black Bart” in conversations with other Glick employees. The practice increased in frequency, and by Fall, 1982, Hall and Mickilini even called Moffett “Black Bart” to his face. Partin requested that use of the term be stopped because she believed that it hurt Moffett to hear it, but neither Hall nor Mickilini stopped. In October, 1982, Partin began dating Moffett casually, and in November, 1982, the relationship became more serious. Mickilini, who learned of the relationship through Deb Collier and through Moffett’s presence at Partin’s house when Mickilini would visit, was displeased with the relationship. In October, 1982, after observing Partin and Moffett leaving the rental office at the end of the day, Mickilini motioned Partin over to the maintenance garage and asked whether Moffett was trying to get Partin to go out with him. Upon learning that Moffett was, Mickilini became upset and said, “Hey, if you go out with that goddamn nigger, I’m going to kick your ass ... You should have learned from the last one,” referring to a previous relationship Partin had with a black man. In November, 1982, a second incident occurred. Mickilini had been storing his motorcycle in the maintenance garage, but was asked to remove it. He therefore asked Partin if he could store the motorcycle in her garage. Partin agreed, provided that Mickilini cleaned out the garage and promised to have the motorcycle removed from the garage by the first snowfall, when Partin would need to start keeping her car in it so that it would start in the morning. Mickilini agreed, and stored the bike there for a period of time. Partin eventually asked Mickilini to remove the bike. Mickilini asked about who would be using the garage. Upon finding out that Moffett had asked Partin if he could keep his Trans-Am in the garage, Mickilini said that “there is no way Pm going to come get the bike and move it out for any goddamn nigger’s Trans-Am.” Racially and sexually oriented comments at the Phase I rental office became commonplace in November-December, 1982. Mickilini and Hall referred to Partin as a “nigger lover,” “stupid cunt,” “whore,” and “dirty bitch” on a regular, daily basis. They warned her that one day she was going to wake up and be black, and that no good white man would ever want her after he knew that she had slept with a black man. Despite Partin’s entreaties, the comments did not stop. In fact, Hall and Mickilini began to threaten Partin that they would tell Altmanshofer about Partin’s dating a black man, which they said would get Partin fired. Partin decided to bring the situation to Altmanshofer’s attention. At a dinner in early December, 1982, with Moffett, Altmanshofer and herself present, Partin informed Altmanshofer of the situation developing at work and of Hall’s and Mickilini’s use of terms such as “nigger” and “nigger lover.” Feeling that she should and could stop the harassment on her own, Partin did not at that time ask Altmanshofer for assistance; rather, she asked for advice on what should be done. Altmanshofer advised Partin that she would speak to Hall and Mickilini and that she would get it stopped. Up to this point in time, Partin had received generally favorable ratings for her work. On May 17, 1982, Partin was given a Rental Manager/Rental Assistant Evaluation, and received a rating of 85 on a 100-point scale, which is in the middle of the “good” range. Her strengths listed in the evaluation were that she “works hard most of the time” and that she’s “very personable and outgoing.” Her weaknesses included “encouraging] unprofessionality by letting maintenance staff sit in rental office” and that “paperwork [was] not getting done quickly.” These weaknesses did not stand in the way of Partin’s promotion to Rental Manager of Phase I in June, 1982. Altmanshofer and Gene B. Glick, president of Glick, both wrote Partin letters praising her dedication and enthusiasm. On October 27, 1982, Partin received a score of 89 on a subsequent evaluation by Altmanshofer, who gave her the highest possible number of points for “professionalism,” but again criticized Partin’s paperwork. On November 3, 1982, Partin was placed on probation for thirty days for her paperwork problems. The problems cleared up, and the probation was ultimately lifted without further incidents. By mid-December, 1982, the situation at the Phase I office had not changed despite the early December dinner discussion between Partin and Altmanshofer. Hall and Mickilini continued to use the racially and sexually derogatory language they had used before despite Partin’s request that they stop. A day or two before the Glick Christmas party on December 14, 1982, Hall and Mickilini threatened to damage Moffett’s car, which Partin had begun driving to the office. They specifically threatened to remove the spoiler from the back of the car. Upon leaving the Christmas party, Partin found that the spoiler had been removed from the car. She went back inside and told Altmanshofer of the threat and the missing spoiler. Altmanshofer responded by telling Partin not to drive the car to work so that Hall and Mickilini could not damage it, and that if Partin was going to pursue dating Moffett, she would have to get used to comments and things like that. Just prior to Christmas, 1982, Moffett came into the Phase I rental office to pick up Partin at the end of the day. Hall and Mickilini came into the office, and began making racial comments to each other in the presence of Moffett, including “it would be a damn good day to hoist a nigger up a flagpole,” that “niggers ought to be shot like the other one was,” referring to Vernon Jordan, the black civil rights leader who had been shot in Fort Wayne, and “they ought to figure out some way so they’d quit breeding like that.” One of the two suggested that they go down to the local K-Mart and harass Jesse Jackson and other blacks who were picketing there on behalf of Operation Breadbasket. Partin made no comment at the time, but the next day attempted to sit down with Hall, Mickilini and Moffett during lunch to try and reach a peaceful solution. The impromptu meeting ended in shouting and in Hall and Mickilini telling Partin and Moffett that they would do whatever they felt like doing. Also just before Christmas, 1982, Partin informed Hall and Mickilini that she and Moffett were going to Atlanta, Georgia for Christmas. Mickilini told Partin that she and Moffett were “fools” to go because they might get “shot in the head” for being an interracial couple. By this time, the harassment and abuse began to take its toll on Partin. She had long suffered from an unidentified palsy condition which was being controlled by medication. The condition meant that Par-tin was susceptible to palsy attacks if subjected to too much stress. By Christmas, 1982, the palsy had begun to act up. Par-tin felt like “a nervous wreck,” suffering from loss of appetite and sleeping problems. She did not wish to return to work after her Atlanta vacation, but testified that she did return because of her two teenage children who lived with her. In early January, 1983, the situation at work improved slightly because Partin and Moffett had temporarily broken up. However, at the end of the second week of the month, Mickilini came into the rental office and asked Partin if she and Moffett were getting back together again. Partin told him that she and Moffett were “working on it,” and Mickilini replied, “Jesus Christ, you never learn. What does that fucking nigger have that you can’t get away from him?” He warned Partin: “I’m telling you right now if you don’t get rid of that nigger, none of the staff is even going to speak to you.” In late January, 1983, a meeting was held with Hall, Mickilini, Moffett and Par-tin present. However, as with the meeting held prior to Christmas, 1982, no end to the harassment resulted. On February 1, 1983, Altmanshofer came to Phase I and met with Partin. She learned of the racial comments being made by Hall and Mickilini, and that the situation was getting worse. Instead of proposing any concrete method for dealing with the harassment, Altmanshofer asked Partin what she thought should be done. Partin suggested a meeting between all of the parties involved. The meeting was held that same day in the community room of the Phase I rental office. Partin, Moffett, Hall, Mickilini and Altmanshofer attended. Partin discussed the racial comments, including the “flagpole” incident, the references to the picketers at K-Mart, as well as the sexual comments and names directed at Partin personally. She requested that Hall and Mickilini treat her like a human being and respect her as a manager, even though they did not have to respect her as a person. She warned Altmanshofer that the harassment was affecting her job and that it would eventually spill over to the residents because it was so bad. Altmanshofer promised that Hall and Mickilini would be reprimanded, or “written up,” but no such reprimand or disciplinary action ensued. Instead, the next day she issued an interoffice memorandum to Partin, Hall and Mickilini on the subject of “professionalism.” The memorandum set forth three rules for staff relations at Phase I: (1) all personal business will be kept as personal — all personal discussions or relationships were to be discussed on one’s own time, not in the business office; (2) “No staff member will indulge in gossip or derogatory remarks of any sort to either a staff member or a visitor to the rental office”; and (3) all staff members will treat each other with respect and courtesy at all times. The memo then admonished: I would like to stress that I feel the entire situation has been handled by all parties involved with unprofessional-ism. I trust the meeting held on Tuesday will continue the increase in professionalism that has appeared during the past month and feel certain that working together you can all remain a good working team. All of you keep in mind that professionalism breeds professionalism. If you treat others around you as a professional and maintain your job on a strictly professional basis you will be treated professionally. The only other actions taken by Altmanshofer in response to the February 1, 1983 meeting was to ban Moffett from the rental office, believing that if Moffett was not present to see what Hall and Mickilini did, then he would not get upset about their actions. In addition, Altmanshofer informed her supervisor, Jack Kline, of the problems at Phase I in a memo she wrote to him shortly after the February 1, 1983 meeting. On February 2, 1983, the day after the meeting, Partin found an intercom hidden behind a plastic plant on the counter in the kitchen of the rental office. The intercom was locked in the “on” position, and a wire attached to it led out into the maintenance garage. The kitchen had been a place where Partin and Moffett would talk when Moffett came into the rental office. Partin confronted Hall about the intercom, and he told her that he had brought it from home. He informed her that “we were just messing around with it,” referring to himself and Mario Talementez, a groundsperson at Phase I. He admitted that the other receiver was located on his desk in the maintenance garage. Partin ordered it removed, and Hall removed it. On February 23, 1983, Mickilini came into the Phase I rental office and demanded that his girlfriend, who was living at Phase I, be put on rent supplement. Partin explained that Mickilini’s girlfriend was on a waiting list for rent supplement, and had to wait until someone moved out and a spot opened up on the rental supplement list. Mickilini yelled at Partin, calling her a “fucking bitch,” charging that she was doing this only because it was Mickilini’s girlfriend, and saying that he wasn’t going to leave until Partin put his girlfriend on the list. Partin became upset, refused to do it, and told Mickilini that he was banned from the rental office and should leave. Mickilini refused, but left after Betty Penrose, Partin’s Rental Assistant, threatened to call the Indianapolis office. Partin went to Hall, who as Mickilini's superior was responsible for disciplining him, and told Hall of Mickilini’s conduct. She raised her voice and got very emotional. Hall called Altmanshofer, who met with Partin, Hall and Mickilini on February 23, 1983. The end product of the February 23, 1983 meeting was two memos. The first was written to Partin on the subject of “professionality.” The first two paragraphs castigated Partin: While understanding that you were upset when Joe instigated an incident in the rental office on 2/22, you violated professional ethics by getting emotional in discussing the situation with Harry. Sue, there is no way in the world that you will get persons around you to act professionally if you don’t. You set an image to your staff and by allowing yourself to get involved and/or upset instead of acting in a professional manner, you are indicating to your staff that they may also perform in an unprofessional manner. I will no longer in memo form try to suggest how to be professional. I will advise upon request, but you have taught me that no one can teach you to be professional if you don’t have the desire. We have discussed this before in dealing with your residents as well as staff and I want to again note that I expect you to act in a professional, quiet and efficient manner during your tenure as a Glick employee. Any conversations or consultations to other staff members should be in writing and when discussed, the memo should be strictly adhered to. The second memo indicated that Altmanshofer told Mickilini at the meeting that “if any further incident whatsoever occurred again, he would be fired.” Altmanshofer’s directive that all communications should be in writing did not work. When Partin gave memos to Hall or Mickilini, they disregarded them, telling Partin to “shove them up her ass” or go do the work herself. When Partin complained that the memo system was not working, Altmanshofer said she was tired of hearing complaints and that if Partin did not shut up and quit bringing them up, then everyone including Partin would be fired. As the situation in the rental office deteriorated, Partin’s situation at home did as well. Moffett struck Partin and had several arguments specifically because of the situation at Phase I. Moffett first struck Partin in Atlanta, Georgia on the Christmas, 1982 trip. The arguments continued throughout early 1983, as Moffett was upset at Partin’s failure to fire Hall and Mickilini despite her lack of authority to do so. The worst incident of domestic violence occurred on March 26, 1983, when Moffett beat Partin, bruising her face and arms, and bursting her right eardrum. Partin had criminal charges filed against Moffett, but later dropped them. Partin used vulgar language at the Phase I office occasionally. When she was angry at Moffett, she would call him names such as “asshole”, “son of a bitch”, or “bastard”, but never used racially derogatory terms in public or at the rental office. Partin also engaged in conversations with Glick employees about her personal relationship with Moffett, but Hall and Mickilini’s harassment was not a result of, or a reaction to, these conversations. The court finds that Hall and Mickilini did not keep their general animosity towards blacks nor their racially-based animosity towards Partin within the confines of the rental office. Rita Hamrick, a resident at Phase I, testified about an incident at her apartment involving Hall. While Hall was making repairs on Hamrick’s plumbing, she told him that Partin had asked her to go out for a drink sometime. Hall told Hamrick that she had better taste than that, discouraging Hamrick’s going out with Partin because Partin liked “niggers.” He told Hamrick that Partin was seeing a “black buck nigger named John,” and that although Partin was his boss, he was not going to listen to her because she was seeing John. Marshall Littrell testified about an incident outside the rental office. While Par-tin was going out to her car, one of the maintenance staff members who was out raking the yard held up the black-handled rake and said, “I’ve got your black jack, baby,” which Littrell took to refer to the “private parts” of a black man. Partin testified that she heard the comment. Osama Abdulrahim, a groundsperson who working during the summer and early Fall of 1982, testified that Mickilini told him that “Sue only goes out with niggers.” In addition, Abdulrahim indicated that Hall and Mickilini referred to him as “camel jockey” because of his Syrian ancestry, and called Mario Talementez, a Hispanic, “pinto bean” and “taco.” He also described an incident when a black man applied for a maintenance position, but Hall told Abdulrahim that he was not “hiring any niggers.” The situation at work continued to be bad for Partin. Relations between Partin and the staff were strained, and worsened from the February 1, 1983 meeting on. Altmanshofer refused to listen to Partin’s attempts to explain what was going on. On May 12, 1983, when Altmanshofer was at Phase I, Partin took her aside and told her that she (Partin) gave up — that she could not take it any more, and that she was abused and isolated to the point that she could not even do her job. Partin offered to resign or transfer. Altmanshofer instead typed up a memo which she gave Partin, Kym Guevara, the Rental Assistant, Talementez, Hall, Mickilini, and Mark Garr, a temporary groundsperson, to sign. That memo read in pertinent part: It has been brought to my attention that some staff members are continuing to indulge in and make derogatory and discriminatory remarks during office hours and within the project. I wish to reaffirm the company policy, my policy, and the policy our region and all staff members will adhere to in regard to discrimination. You have all signed the non-discrimination and employee policy agreement which is a matter of personnel record. Be advised that non-adherence to this agreement will result in termination. From this date forth, the Rental Manager, Sue Partin, will have full authority on her project, including the authority to hire and fire individuals. Should any employee make any derogatory or discriminatory remarks, innuendos or comments regarding residents, employees or others, they will be terminated immediately. There will be no deviation from this procedure. We will not tolerate an employee who discriminates against anyone, or discrimination in any form. There will be no further warnings — you will simply be terminated. Your Rental Manager has the full responsibility and authority to implement and comply with the foregoing procedure. In effect, Altmanshofer abdicated her responsibility to hire and fire employees and gave it to Partin. However, Partin’s authority was shortlived. Within a few days after the May 12, 1983 memo, Altmanshofer told Partin that no employee should be fired without first checking with her, in effect limiting Partin’s “full authority” to hire and fire by requiring Altmanshofer’s approval. The effectiveness of the May 12, 1983 memo was apparently questionable even in Altmanshofer’s mind. In a memo to Jack Kline and James Beatty, corporate counsel for Glick, dated May 13, 1983, Altmanshofer stated: I am at loss at this point. Yesterday I gave her full authority to fire any and all personnel indulging in any type of discriminatory remarks ... and told her that the ball was in her court and that I expect her to carry through if an incident should occur. I also told the maintenance staff that if they were not prepared to work within these guidelines they had better look for a job elsewhere. Sue feels very strongly that since she is still dating John (her fiancee), the problems will continue. ■ (Emphasis supplied). Jack Kline’s response to the May 13, 1983 memo set forth the apparent attitude of Glick’s management toward the Partin situation: Becky, I’m afraid if Sue is entering into this relationship she had better be prepared to get snide remarks from just about anyone and everyone. I don’t think inter-marriages are accepted in our society today and although you and I certainly would not say anything, I am not sure we can keep our staff from saying things. I am not sure that we could fire them on the basis of their remarks. You had better check with Jim Beatty and see if he agrees with what I am saying. By this time, the situation at work physically and emotionally affected Partin. She was unable to sleep. She was physically ill, and the palsy condition acted up because of the added stress, giving her palsy attacks. She hated going to work, and felt that she was having a nervous breakdown. The stress caused by the harassment and the general situation at the rental office adversely affected Partin’s work performance. On May 20, 1983, Partin chose what she viewed as the only alternative to quitting: she filed a harassment charge with the Fort Wayne Metropolitan Human Relations Commission. The filing of the charge did not improve the situation at Phase I; if anything, it made it worse. Partin began to get the “silent treatment” from the staff — only Kym Guevara, the Rental Assistant, spoke with her. This silent treatment adversely affected Partin’s job performance. For example, two incidents involving residents occurred, but because Partin was not told about them, she failed to file “incident accident” reports within the prescribed 24-hour period. Partin found out about the incidents only after the residents involved called her to ask why nothing had been done. Hall and Mickilini confronted Partin about the charge in late May, 1983, with Mickilini yelling “what the fuck do you think you’re doing, bitch?”, and telling Par-tin that it was a bad mistake, filed only because Moffett forced her to do it. Hall told Partin that if he thought it would knock some sense into her, he would bang her head against the wall. Altmanshofer brought up the charge in early June, 1983, saying that she was hurt because she was named in the charge, and asked Partin to consider dropping the charge. When Par-tin refused, Altmanshofer said, “I guess we both have to do what we have to do.” By June, 1983, Altmanshofer had already decided that Partin had no future with Glick. It was Altmanshofer’s policy and practice to “salvage” employees whenever possible, applying selective disciplinary alternatives to correct performance deficiencies and avoid terminating the employee. One of the alternatives used by Altmanshofer in the past was transfer to a different complex, and had been used to correct problems of Hall and Kym Guevara. On May 25, 1985, the Rental Manager at Fairington, Marilyn Abel, told Altmanshofer that she would be willing to trade places with Partin. Altmanshofer rejected the idea: The rental manager at Fairington Apartments suggested to me on May 25th that she and Sue trade rental offices. Marilyn felt that if there were problems, and of Sue’s making, that they would follow her. At first, I thought it might be worth trying; however since hearing that Sue had spoken with residents in regards to her alleged discrimination, I don’t want these problems to be spread to Fairington. Sue told her rental assistant on the morning of the 25th that she felt justice would be done if Harry, Joe and myself were fired. At this time I think a transfer could cause more problems than it would solve. By May 30, 1983, Altmanshofer had decided that Partin was “unsalvageable,” and had decided against a transfer precisely because of Partin’s allegations of discrimination. Instead, Altmanshofer began to develop evidence to use as grounds for firing Partin. In June, 1983, Partin continued to be isolated by the staff. On June 23, 1983, Mickilini was transferred to another complex upon request by Partin’s attorney, in part to keep him away from Partin. On June 30, 1983, Partin went on vacation to California with Moffett, and on July 4, 1983, they were married. When Partin left, Kym Guevara replaced Partin as Rental Manager, and Mary Dafforn substituted as Rental Assistant. Partin had left specific instructions with Guevara concerning work to be done during Partin’s absence, but these instructions were not followed and much of the work was not completed. Dafforn testified that she cleaned off Par-tin’s desk. In the process, she or Guevara removed items from the desk drawers, which were later anonymously returned to Partin. In particular, Partin returned to find the envelope containing copies of the charge she filed on her desk with the notation, “Becky, do you need this also. Mary” and “No. Becky” written on the outside of the envelope. On July 22, 1983, the Fort Wayne Metropolitan Human Relations Commission issued a finding of probable cause on Par-tin’s harassment charge, and on August 2, 1983, issued a proposed Conciliation Agreement. Both of these actions were sent to Glick in the mail. On August 15, 1983, Partin was terminated. Altmanshofer delivered a termination letter to Partin dated August 9, 1983, which outlined the deficiencies in Par-tin’s performance that resulted in her termination. The letter listed six basic areas of deficiency: failure to submit three office bills to accounting; late submission of seven recertifications and errors in recertification procedures; accounting errors and errors found in files; failure to answer eleven complaint or inquiry letters; failure to refile certain forms in resident files; and untimely submission of eight reports. While all parts of the termination were discussed at trial, the only deficiencies which received significant emphasis during trial were the late recertifications, the accounting errors, the untimely submission of reports, and failure to refile documents in resident files. Recertification is an important part of Glide’s paperwork system because it is required for federal housing subsidy programs. On every twelve month anniversary of a tenant’s residency, Glick must re-certify to the government the tenant’s status, including current salary. The information gathered from the process is used to compute what the tenant’s rent will be for the coming year. The process begins by sending a letter to the tenant about ninety days before the recertification is due. The information received from the tenant is then verified. Errors in the’ recertification process can result in over- or under-charging the tenant, thus requiring Glick to refund money. The Rental Manager is responsible for making sure that recertifications are done properly and promptly. In May, 1983, Partin was falling behind on her “recerts”, submitting two recerts late. In June, Altmanshofer verbally told Partin and Guevara that Guevara was to only do the recertification work for Phase I, and this order was reaffirmed in a memo of late July, 1983. It was Guevara, not Partin, who was late on the recertifications, although by virtue of the managerial hierarchy, Partin was nominally responsible for them. In addition, the recertifications could not have been a competent reason for firing Partin. According to the termination letter, Partin had seven late recerts and two other tenants had complained about not being recertified. Altmanshofer ultimately testified that Partin had eleven late recertifications. Comparison with other Rental Managers in the Glick operation reveals that Partin did not have the worst recertification record, even though she was the only one fired. For example, the Rental Manager at Carriage House West, Phase I in Indianapolis had nine late recertifications in 1983, and eleven in 1984. At Carriage House West, Phase III, also in Indianapolis, the Rental Manager had eight in 1983 and ten in 1984. The failure to fire other Rental Managers with far worse performance records suggests a motive other than dissatisfaction with Partin’s recertifications was behind the firing. The second area of deficiency was Par-tin’s accounting errors. According to the termination letter, Partin had a total of twenty errors. In addition the letter referred to several audits of Partin’s files where errors were found. According to an exhibit prepared by Altmanshofer for testimony, during the period from June 22, 1983 to August 9, 1983, Partin received nine memos from accounting detailing seventeen errors. Again, this was not the worst performance record amongst Altmanshofer’s Rental Managers. According to that same exhibit, Marilyn Abel, the Manager at Fairington in Fort Wayne, received seven memos detailing twenty accounting errors from February 7, 1983 to October 3, 1983. The pretextual nature of this reason for Partin’s termination became especially apparent when Altmanshofer testified that Marilyn Abel is the Rental Manager who took over at Phase I when Partin was fired. In addition Kym Guevara, who had been responsible for the late recertifications, was also promoted after Partin’s termination despite the fact that she had a history of paperwork problems. The third major deficiency discussed at trial was Partin’s untimely submission of company reports. Each Rental Manager is required to submit certain company reports on time. These reports include weekly or bi-weekly Rental Turnover, Traffic and Rental Manager Inspection Reports, as well as monthly inspection and vacant unit reports. The termination letter listed eight tardy reports; examination of the report control logs for the period December, 1982 —July, 1983 reveals that Partin submitted seven late Rental Turnover reports, seven late Traffic reports, and one Rental Manager- inspection report. During this same time period, Marilyn Abel, the Fairington Manager who would replace Partin at Phase I,- had nine late Rental Turnover reports and ten late Traffic reports. The Rental Manager at Cambridge Square in Muncie submitted seven Rental Turnover and seven Traffic reports late. The Manager at Carriage House in Muncie submitted ten Rental Turnover and four Traffic reports late. All three of these Managers were under Altmanshofer’s supervision, but only Partin was fired. The remaining deficiencies listed in the termination letter do not by themselves offer significant grounds for firing Par-tin. The evidence in this case has indicated that Partin was not a perfect or model Glick employee, yet the evidence also indicates that her job performance did not begin to show serious deterioration until late Spring and early Summer, 1983, when the harassment and the domestic violence caused by the harassment peaked. An examination of the incidents cited in the termination letter indicates that, with the exception of some of the audit errors and one unanswered tenant complaint letter, every incident occurred after April 1, 1983, and most of them occurred in June and July, 1983. Karen Wagner, a Program Director at the Working Women’s Institute and an expert on sexual harassment on the job, testified that women subject to sexual harassment will have increases in work performance problems, including increases in on the job errors, as a direct result of harassment on the job. She also testified that this conclusion, based upon her personal counselling experience and on studies conducted by experts in the field of harassment, is applicable by analogy to discrimination based upon race. In response to a hypothetical question based on the undisputed facts in this case, Wagner opined that a female in Partin’s position would have her capacity to perform satisfactorily on the job adversely affected by the harassment and the response of management that Partin suffered through. Defendant’s own expert witness, Dr. Eugene Levitt, agreed on cross-examination that a person suffering job harassment would ultimately show some decline in job performance. The court finds that Partin’s performance deficiencies are a direct result of Hall’s and Mickilini’s harassment, and of Glick’s failure to stop that harassment. While the reasons proferred in the termination letter themselves indicate that Glick had no legitimate reason to fire Partin, other facts indicate that the rationale and manner of termination was based upon the fact that Partin had filed a discrimination charge against Glick. In effect at the time of Partin’s termination was a Glick policy entitled “Documenting Unsatisfactory Performance.” This policy states: 1. It is important that the RPM [Regional Property Manager] advise project personnel of any dissatisfaction with their performance. The primary purpose is to effect improvement. Secondarily, he must go “on record” of his dissatisfaction and has requested the specific improvément. This is a necessary step prior to termination of employment. 2. There should be a maximum of three notices: a. Initial Notice (written immediately after the supervisor observes unsatisfactory performance): indicate specific reasons. b. Follow-up Notice (written maximum of 30 days after initial notice): Indicate whether or not his performance is still considered unsatisfactory. If so, notice that if it remains so, he will receive notice of termination. c. Notice of Termination (written maximum of 30 days after follow-up notice): Reiterate the reasons performance was considered unsatisfactory, refer to notices, and state termination date. Partin received no Follow-up Notice, nor any kind or warning that she would be fired unless her performance improved, despite the fact that this policy of documenting deficiencies states that “going on the record” is a “necessary step prior to termination of employment.” Altmanshofer testified that almost all the other employees she has fired received a final warning, in the form of probation or a final notice memo, before they were terminated, except for two cases which involved theft or possible theft. The reason why Partin received no final warning was that Glick’s lawyers had advised Altmanshofer to restrict her communications with Partin, and Altmanshofer agreed that Partin was treated differently than she would have been treated had there been no charge pending. Secondly, there is significant evidence to suggest that Glick, through Altmanshofer, set out on a course to “build up a case” against Partin once the discrimination charge was filed. As noted earlier, Altmanshofer had decided by May 30, 1983 that Partin was “unsalvageable,” so that further mistakes or transgressions would not result in probation or other disciplinary alternatives, but only in dismissal. Carol Rice, a clerk in Glick’s accounting office, testified that Altmanshofer asked her in May to send memos regarding accounting errors to the Rental Managers with copies to Altmanshofer, though Rice had usually discussed 95% of corrections over the phone with the Rental Managers. Thus, every error of Partin would come to Altmanshofer’s attention. Rice also testified that Altmanshofer was usually “defensive” about errors made by her Rental Managers, but did not defend Partin after the discrimination charge was filed. Perhaps the most revealing evidence of this motive is the exhibit prepared by Altmanshofer for use at trial. The exhibit is a summary of performance deficiencies for employees in Altmanshofer’s region. It lists memos in the personnel files which contain matters which are critical of the employee’s performance, as well as memos from accounting detailing accounting errors. For each of the Rental Managers, Altmanshofer sets out each memo, assigning a number to each. At trial, she counted up the entries for Partin and compared them to those for other Rental Managers, concluding that Partin, who had nineteen items listed, was the worst Rental Manager in her region. The exhibit, however, is rigged. For example, one entry for Partin details a conversation Altmanshofer had with Partin on February 22, 1983 regarding paperwork. The next item listed is the February 23, 1983 memo on “professionalism”, which included a paragraph on Partin’s paperwork. In short, the previous entry concerning the conversation was superfluous, but does have the effect of making the total number of items larger. No other Rental Manager has any conversations with Altmanshofer listed amongst her items. Likewise, a later entry refers to a phone call from accounting concerning final settlement letters. No other Rental Manager has any phone calls from accounting listed amongst their items, despite the fact that Carol Rice testified that 95% of her corrections are done via the phone. Other items which were only listed in Partin’s list of items included the letter of her promotion to Rental Manager on April 22, 1982, and two of her evaluations (May 20, 1982 and October 27, 1982). No other Rental Manager had such items listed for them. Finally, Altmanshofer admitted on cross-examination that the list was not complete as to some of the other Managers. She testified that she forgot to add in a memo from accounting concerning Kym Guevara, thereby altering the totals for an entry concerning accounting errors. In fact, she admitted that the summary was prepared only on the basis of exhibits available to her, and the unavailability of evaluations and other data in the personnel files of other Rental Managers affected the comparison between Partin and the other Rental Managers. These omissions and selective inclusions not only indict the reliability of the exhibit — they evidence a deliberate attempt to make Partin look like the worst Rental Manager in Altmanshofer’s region when in fact (at least from the perspective of paperwork errors and untimeliness) she was not. Thirdly, the termination letter was written less than three weeks after Glick received the probable cause determination from the Metropolitan Human Relations Commission, and less than a week after receiving the proposed Conciliation Agreement. Every alleged deficiency occurred more than four weeks prior to the letter, yet the termination letter was written soon after the probable cause determination. Finally, Partin was the only one of the principals of this case to receive any discipline for any actions taken up to or after the termination date. Despite the clear language of the May 12, 1983 memo stating that any further use of derogatory terms or language would result in termination, neither Hall nor Mickilini were terminated for such incidents. In the case of Hall, Mickilini himself submitted a memo on August 15, 1983, accusing Hall of calling him a “wop.” On Glick’s copy of the memo, Altmanshofer noted that another Glick employee, Robert Fieldhouse, had reported that Hall made similar remarks. In the case of Mickilini, Valerie Holley, a Rental Assistant at Woodbridge, reported that Mickilini had told her “I will not be your nigger” when asked why he refused to do certain work assignments given to him by her. No discipline followed either of these incidents. Altmanshofer bent rules to keep Hall and Mickilini employed, but determined that Partin was unsalvageable within ten days of the filing of the discrimination charge, and ultimately fired her because of it. The expert testimony concerning Partin’s psychological well-being established that she suffered significant emotional and psychological harm as a result of the harassment and the termination. Dr. Kenneth Bundza, a certified psychologist, performed a psychological assessment of Partin in 1980, well before the harassment at Glick began. He used standardized psychological tests, including the Wexler Adult Intelligence Test, and the Minnesota Multi-Phasic Inventory. He determined that Par-tin’s overall psychological profile was normal, that there were no indicators of psychopathology, and that Partin did not have a psychotic or neurotic personality. Rick Ritter, a counsellor at the Veteran’s Administration Medical Center in Fort Wayne, who has a background in sociology and psychology, saw Partin in counselling from August 15, 1983 until early January, 1984. Ritter, who has expertise in counselling couples involved in domestic violence, found that Partin was distraught, anxious and confused on her first day of counsel-ling, which was the same day as her termination. Counselling of Partin brought out that her employment situation (specifically, the harassment at Glick) had made her feel helpless, fearful of verbal intimidation and depressed. Dr. James L. Titchener, a licensed psychiatrist, examined Partin and studied the information surrounding this case. He diagnosed that Partin suffered from stress and anxiety, which reached a chronic stage in Spring, 1983. Partin’s symptoms included intrusive imagery, intense fear of reliving the stressful events, sleep disorders, aggravation of her neurological condition (palsy), depression, and loss of interest in work. He testified that Partin is still suffering from the anxiety, and opined that Partin is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Dr. Titchener’s expert opinion was that Partin would need two years of two hours a week therapy (at a cost of $70 to $80 per hour) in order to overcome the psychological trauma caused by the harassment at Phase I. This amounts to a total of $16,640.00 in costs for necessary psychological therapy. In addition, Partin’s lost wages, after unemployment compensation is subtracted, amount to $10,895.00. Interest on that amount totaled $1,275.24 as of October 21, 1985. Conclusions of Law Defendant Glick is an employer within the meaning of and subject to the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-1, et seq. The Title VII claims of harassment and retaliation were filed in a timely manner with the appropriate agencies, and are now properly before the court. Therefore, the court now turns to the legal sufficiency of Partin’s five claims in light of the facts found above. Harassment Partin sues Glick under both Title VII and 42 U.S.C. § 1981 for the harassment Partin suffered at the hands of Hall and Mickilini. For purposes of this case, the legal analysis under both theories is identical, see Pinkard v. Pullman-Standard, 678 F.2d 1211, 1224 (5th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1105, 103 S.Ct. 729, 74 L.Ed.2d 954 (1983); Flowers v. Crouch-Walker, 552 F.2d 1277 (7th Cir.1977); Bailey v. Binyon, 583 F.Supp. 923, 925 (N.D.Ill. 1984), so that focusing on Title VII and the case law interpreting it also determines the sufficiency of the harassment claim under § 1981. Title VII provides in pertinent part: It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer— ... to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of such individual’s race____ Title 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). The language “terms, conditions, or privileges of employment” is “an expansive concept which sweeps within its protective ambit the practice of creating a working environment heavily charged with ethnic or racial discrimination.” Rogers v. E.E.O.C., 454 F.2d 234, 238 (5th Cir.1971) (Goldberg, J., concurring), cert. denied, 406 U.S. 957, 92 S.Ct. 1058, 32 L.Ed.2d 343 (1972). A harassment claim does not fit neatly into the usual Title VII method of analysis set forth in McDonnell-Douglas v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), as refined by Texas Dept. of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981), and United States Postal Service v. Aikens, 460 U.S. 711, 103 S.Ct. 1478, 75 L.Ed.2d 403 (1983). This analysis, which allows an employer to articulate a justification for its actions once the plaintiff has made out a prima facie case would be inappropriate in the harassment situation, because once a plaintiff establishes that she was harassed and that the employer was involved via respondeat superior, it is hard to see how an employer can justify harassment. As a result, courts ruling on Title VII harassment claims have developed a set of elements which, if proven, constitute a Title VII violation. Those elements are: (1) the employee belongs to a protected group; (2) the employee was subject to unwelcome harassment; (3) the harassment complained of was based on sex (or race); (4) the harassment complained of affected a term, condition, or privilege of employment; (5) respondeat superior, that is, that the employer knew or should have known of the harassment and failed to take prompt remedial action; and (6) the employee acted reasonably under the circumstances. Henson v. City of Dundee, 682 F.2d 897, 909 (11th Cir.1982) (elements 1-5); DeG-race v. Rumsfeld, 614 F.2d 796 (1st Cir. 1980) (element 6). As in any Title VII case, the ultimate burden of persuasion remains with the plaintiff. Coates v. Johnson & Johnson, 756 F.2d 524, 531 (7th Cir.1985). The court therefore considers Partin’s harassment claim in light of these six elements. 1. Protected Group Glick concedes that Partin belongs to a group which Title VII (and § 1981) were designed to protect. The harassment here is racial, and is based both on Moffett’s and Partin’s race. Certainly, the consistent use of racially derogatory terms to connote or describe Moffett is racial harassment directed at Moffett, and because of Partin’s close personal relationship with him, the harassment impacts on Partin as well. In addition, calling Partin racially-oriented names such a “nigger-lover” is harassment on the basis of Partin’s race as it relates to Moffett’s race. Title VII and § 1981 protect white plaintiffs against discrimination on the basis of their race just as surely as it protects minority plaintiffs. See McDonald v. Santa Fe Trails Trans. Co., 427 U.S. 273, 278-79, 96 S.Ct. 2574, 2578, 49 L.Ed.2d 493 (1976) (Title VII); Hicks v. ABT Associates, Inc., 572 F.2d 960, 967 (3d Cir.1978) (Title VII); Faraca v. Clements, 506 F.2d 956 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 422 U.S. 1006, 95 S.Ct. 2627, 45 L.Ed.2d 669 (1975) (§ 1981). The court therefore concludes that Partin satisfies the first element of a harassment claim. 2. Unwelcome Harassment The Henson court defined the second element as follows: In order to constitute harassment, this conduct must be unwelcome in the sense that the employee did not solicit or incite it, and in the sense that the employee regarded the conduct as undesirable or offensive. 682 F.2d at 903. Two cases serve as examples of what kind of conduct can fail to satisfy this element. The first, Vaughn v. Pool Offshore Co., 683 F.2d 922 (5th Cir. 1982), involved an offshore oil rig employee who sued under Title VII alleging that the racial discrimination present in the work environment on the offshore rig caused him to resign. The Vaughn court characterized the environment as “rowdy and rough” because “[r]aw pranks, crude practical jokes and verbal abuse abounded, some of it permeated with racial overtones.” Id. at 923. Terms such as “nigger”, “coon”, and “black boy” were used to refer to the plaintiff, and the plaintiff joined in using similar terms which “were bandied back and forth without apparent hostility or racial animus.” Id. at 924. The district court found that the plaintiff engaged in the use of racial slurs and his co-workers felt friendly towards him, so that the work environment was not “dangerously charged with racial discrimination.” The plaintiff’s Title VII claim therefore failed. The second case, Gan v. Kepro Circuit Systems, Inc., 27 E.P.D. ¶ 32,379 (E.D.Mo. 1982), involved a claim of sexual harassment. The court described a crude working environment, but one in which the plaintiff actively contributed to the vulgarity. She used vulgar language, initiated sexually oriented conversations, asked male employees about their marital sex lives and whether they would engage in extra-marital affairs, and discussed her own sexual encounters. The court specifically found that any propositions or sexual remarks she received “were prompted by her own sexual aggressiveness and her own sexually-explicit conversations.” Id. at 23,648. The court ruled that the plaintiff failed to make out a harassment case because “the allegedly harassing conduct was substantially welcomed and encouraged by plaintiff. She actively contributed to the distasteful working environment by her own profane and sexually suggestive conduct.” Id. at 23,649. Glick has tried to argue that the harassment directed at Partin was “solicited” and “incited” by her. Glick’s view of the facts is that Hall and Mickilini never used derogatory language about Moffett in Partin’s presence except when Partin told them of her problems with Moffett and asked for advice. Of course, that view depends on believing Hall and Mickilini’s testimony concerning the events between them and Partin. As noted previously, the court discredits their testimony as to those events. Their vulgar comments were not solicited or incited by Partin. An issue related to this is Partin’s own use of vulgar language. Glick’s counsel asserted at final arguments that Partin used racially derogatory terms to refer to Moffett, so that the use of such terms by other Glick employees could not be unwelcome because Partin’s use of the terms solicits, incites and therefore welcomes the use of the terms by others. In addition, although this relates more to the fourth Henson element, Glick argues that Partin’s use of such terms “set the atmosphere” of the workplace so that Hall and Mickilini’s use of the terms could not alter the conditions of the workplace. The court analyzes both aspects of this issue under the second Henson element. The court has made a factual finding that Partin used vulgar language at the Phase I rental office, but did not use racially-oriented language there. Thus, Partin at best welcomes use of vulgar terms, but did not welcome racially derogatory terms. The atmosphere Partin set (if it is indeed possible for one person to “set the atmosphere” of an entire office) was perhaps crude, but was also free of racial discrimination. To introduce racially-oriented terms like “Black Bart”, “nigger’ and “nigger lover” into the environment would alter the “color free” atmosphere Partin set. The more disturbing implication in Glick’s argument is that a single utterance or a small number of utterances of racial terms can result in a forfeiture of a harassment claim because it irrevocably changes the atmosphere of the workplace. The core of Glick’s position is that a harassment plaintiff must be a saint in a den of sinners. The court rejects such a high standard of conduct. The Vaughn and Gan cases provide contrasts that suggest a more reasonable approach to judging a plaintiffs conduct. In Vaughn, the plaintiff engaged in the racially derogatory banter and the court found no apparent hostility or racial animus. In contrast, Partin did not engage in using racially oriented language, while Hall and Mickilini did so on a regular, daily basis despite entreaties to stop. Rita Hamrick’s and Osama Abdulrahim’s testimony indicated both Hall and Mickilini’s animus toward Partin because she dated black men. Clearly, racial animosity existed and was directed toward Partin. In Gan, every comment or proposition was directed to the plaintiff because she had solicited such activity. Hall and Mickilini harassed Partin despite her entreaties to stop. Her coarse language cannot be construed to solicit racial discrimination and animosity on a regular basis. The court therefore concludes that the harassment Partin received was unwelcome, thus satisfying the second Henson element. 3. Harassment Based on Race The third Henson element requires that the harassment was based on race because “[t]he essence of a disparate treatment claim under Title VII is that an employee or applicant is intentionally singled out for adverse treatment on the basis of a prohibited criterion.” Henson, 682 F.2d at 903. The plaintiff must therefore show that “but for” the fact of her race, she would not have been the object of harassment. Id. at 904, citing Bundy v. Jackson, 641 F.2d 934, 942-43 (D.C.Cir.1981) and Tomkins v. Public Service Elec. and Gas Co., 568 F.2d 1044, 1047 n. 4 (3d Cir.1977). Glick has argued that Hall and Mickilini’s dislike for Moffett (and, in turn, their abusive treatment of Partin) occurred because of a personal dislike for Moffett based on Moffett’s personality and his mistreatment of Partin, without any reference to Moffett’s race. This position rests upon the discredited testimony of Hall and Mickilini. The evidence in this case establishes both that Hall and Mickilini disliked blacks, and specifically objected to Partin’s dating blacks. Hall told Rita Hamrick that Partin likes “niggers” and was seeing a “black buck nigger named John.” Mickilini told Osama Abdulrahim that Partin “only goes out with niggers.” This testimony suggests a racial, not a personal, basis for Hall’s and Mickilini’s dislike for Moffett, as well as for Partin’s dating Moffett. The court therefore finds that Hall and Mickilini’s harassment was based on race, and the third Henson element is satisfied. 4. Harassment Affects Terms, Conditions, and Privileges of Employment Justice Goldberg’s opinion in Rogers v. EEOC made clear that an employee’s “psychological as well as economic fringes are statutorily entitled to protection from employer abuse” because “the relationship between and employee and his working environment is of such significance____” 454 F.2d at 238. Several courts have subsequently read Rogers as recognizing that a discriminatory work environment can constitute a Ti