#PAYLESS SHOE SOURCE EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK CODE#
The Code of Conduct provided, inter alia: In an effort to maintain a productive work environment, the following acts of misconduct are considered serious violations of Company policy and may result in immediate termination without prior disciplinary warning. Plaintiff was provided a copy of the store manager handbook, which again included Payless' workplace violence prevention and non-discrimination and harassment policies - referencing the AlertLine service - and set forth the company's "Code of Conduct." ( Id. Payless' workweek guidelines provided that store managers were expected to "work a five day work week and average 45 hours per week," and that "t may be necessary for to work beyond the 45 hour per week guidelines in cases of holidays or peak periods." ( Id. Plaintiff's "essential functions" in that capacity included hiring and training employees, conducting performance evaluations, and "develop a weekly work schedule for Store Associates based on sales forecasts and other business demands." (ECF No. In or around February 2007 - just a few months after she was hired - she was promoted to the position of store manager at the Bowie location. Throughout the course of her employment, Plaintiff consistently received strong evaluations and earned a number of performance-based awards. Plaintiff signed an acknowledgement form indicating that she had read the handbook and pamphlet and understood that she was "responsible for becoming familiar with content" of these documents. 3 She was also given a pamphlet advising of Payless' "AlertLine," a confidential hotline through which employees were encouraged to report any incident of sexual harassment or similar misconduct occurring in the workplace. At the time of her hiring, Plaintiff was provided an employee handbook, which contained the company's equal employment opportunity, sexual and unlawful harassment, and workplace violence prevention policies. ("Payless"), to work as a store associate at a Payless location in Bowie, Maryland. 2 On November 5, 2006, Plaintiff Nana-Akua Takyiwaa Shalom, an African-American woman born in Ghana, was hired by Defendant Payless Shoesource Worldwide, Inc. Unless otherwise noted, the following facts are either undisputed or uncontroverted. For the reasons that follow, Plaintiff's motion will be denied and Defendants' motion will be granted in part and denied in part. 1 The relevant issues have been briefed and the court now rules pursuant to Local Rule 105.6, no hearing being deemed necessary. 45) and a partial motion for summary judgment filed by Defendants Payless Shoesource Worldwide, Inc., Richard DeMicco, and Ronald Ebelein (ECF No. Presently pending and ready for resolution in this employment discrimination action is what the court construes as a motion for reconsideration filed by Plaintiff Nana-Akua Takyiwaa Shalom (ECF No.