Alvarado v. Nw. Fire Dist.

• Decision Date: 27 April 2021
• Docket Number: No. CIV 19-198-TUC-CKJ,CIV 19-198-TUC-CKJ
• Parties: Erica Alvarado, Plaintiff, v. Northwest Fire District, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Arizona

Erica Alvarado, Plaintiff, v. Northwest Fire District, Defendant.

No. CIV 19-198-TUC-CKJ

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

April 27, 2021

ORDER

Pending before the Court is the Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 57) filed by Defendant Northwest Fire District (the "District"). Plaintiff Erica Alvarado ("Alvarado") has filed a response (Doc. 65); the District has filed a reply (Doc. 67). Because the parties have thoroughly presented the facts and briefed the issues, the Court declines to set this matter for oral argument. See LRCiv 7.2(f); 27A Fed.Proc., L. Ed. § 62:361 (March 2021) ("A district court generally is not required to hold a hearing or oral argument before ruling on a motion."); 27A Fed. Proc., L. Ed. § 62:671 (March 2021) (a hearing on a summary judgment is not required by due process considerations).

I. Factual and Procedural Background

The District hired Alvarado as a Fire Inspector Recruit on May 18, 2015. Alvarado's Performance Appraisal for 2015 rated her at "Meets Expectations" in every category.

Alvarado became pregnant in 2015. On September 30, 2015, Debbie Metzger ("Metzger"), a Human Resource Specialist, sent an email to Human Resource Services Director for Northwest Fire District Patricia Aguilar ("Aguilar") regarding Alvarado's application for medical and Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") leave for the birth of her child. Aguilar responded that Chief Donald Garcia ("Garcia") would extend Alvarado's probation by the length of time Alvarado was out. This statement was made approximately six months before Alvarado went on leave, i.e., before it was known what, if any, training, Alvarado missed. Aguilar testified during her deposition that the District policy regarding an extension of probation by the time an employee is on leave "depends on how long [an employee is] out." Aguilar Dep., p.15:22-16:2 (Plaintiff's Statement of Facts ("PSOF"), Ex. 1, Doc. 66-1). An employee's probationary period is extended by the length of time an employee is on leave if the leave is longer than a week or two. Id. at 15:5 - 16:21. Ultimately it was "up to the manager or supervisor depending on the employee's performance." Id. at p. 16:6-16. Garcia testified that he was not asked until May of 2016 regarding Alvarado's leave and, at that time, he recommended Alvarado's probation be extended to make up some training. Garcia Dep., p. 29:21-30:7 (PSOF, Ex. 2, Doc. 66-2).

Alvarado began her maternity leave after giving birth on March 30, 2016, two months short of the end of her one-year probationary period. Alvarado took additional leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") once she was employed for one year, which extended her leave through June 5, 2016. Alvarado returned to work on June 6, 2016. Lisa Douglas ("Douglas") became Alvarado's supervisor upon her return from maternity leave. Upon returning from maternity leave, Alvarado was criticized by Douglas for being late when she was on time and Alvarado was subjected to increased scrutiny and criticism of her work. At one point, Douglas suggested Alvarado downsize her vehicle to be able to afford day care.

Alvarado was informed her probation was being extended in August 2016, during an evaluation meeting. On Alvarado's next Performance Appraisal, Alvarado's "Anniversary Date" was changed from May 18 to August 9, 2016. Her performance appraisal rated Alvarado as meeting standards and included both positive and negative comments. Forexample, the comments included:

Erica, you set high standards for yourself and strive to be the best at whatever you do. You are persistent and diligent in your approach towards task completion and attainment of goals. When a mistake is made, you are quick to try and correct the error. You ask appropriate questions in an effort to better understand the issue in order to prevent repeating the mistake. . . In addition to the high expectations you have for yourself, you expect others to perform at an equally high level as well. You can become frustrated and impatient when things aren't done to your standards consistently. It is recommended that you practice regular introspection, meaning always look at your self first before providing an opinion that could be construed as negative especially with situations you do not agree with.

Erica, you have demonstrated the ability to communicate well verbally as well as in writing. . . When in the public, you conduct yourself in a professional manner even when faced with a contentious customer or adversarial situation. You are very good about asking questions and verifying information but you are not always receptive to accepting differing viewpoints or constructive criticism as previously mentioned. You could benefit from listening others, gathering all the facts and processing information throughly [sic] before proceeding to act. You must learn to be gracious even when you're irritated. In order to do so you must acknowledge and display self awareness, self management, social awareness and relationship management. As with all skills they can be improved. . . . Please remember relationship management begins and ends with communication that is positive, inspiring and influential. Your peers first look to you for that motivating message and they deserve it.

Erica, you has [sic] a firm understanding of policies and procedures and you have the ability to follow instructions. Upon receiving a directive you disagree with, you must ensure you take the appropriate steps and follow the chain of command in your attempts to state your position or rectify the situation. An established chain of command creates efficiency and accountability. Ignoring the chain of command is unacceptable and interrupts District operations. In the future, I would encourage you to work through me, your supervisor, to assist in answering your questions and providing solutions to your concerns.

DSOF, Ex. 17 (Doc. 58-7).

On August 11, 2016, Garcia wrote a memo to Aguilar indicating that Alvarado had successfully completed all of the requirements for the position during her probationary year and requested she be placed into the position of Fire Inspector Apprentice, effective August 9, 2016.

On June 16, 2017, when Alvarado asked Douglas if there was any way for her to get off probation or promoted like her male peers, Alvarado was told she needed to ask Garcia. On June 27, 2017, Douglas met with Garcia and relayed the inquiry from Alvarado. When Douglas explained that Alvarado had learned that her male peers had gotten off probation and been promoted prior to their anniversary dates and was asking for the same considerationand opined that it would be a fair treatment, Garcia said that "fairness is subjective" and denied the request. Alvarado Dec., ¶ 7 (PSOF, Ex. 4, Doc. 66-4).

In the August 1, 2017, Performance Evaluation, Douglas rated Alvarado as "Meets Standards" in every category except Safety in which Alvarado was rated as "Exceeds Standards." Additionally, Alvarado had completed all the required trainings, classes, and certifications, except for a Fire/Arson IV class. Because Alvarado missed the class through no fault of her own, Douglas recommended the District still promote Alvarado to Fire Inspector I. On August 7, 2017, effective August 9, 2017, Alvarado was promoted to Fire Inspector 1, but her Anniversary Date remained as August 9.

The District asserts Alvarado exhibited a disrespectful attitude toward Douglas, including making negative and sarcastic comments, becoming argumentative and defensive, and yelling. Douglas conducted numerous coaching and counseling sessions, but Alvarado refused to accept responsibility for her conduct. Alvarado's insubordination and poor attitude continued and manifested in two areas: her interactions with customers and her interactions with co-workers. Numerous complaints regarding Alvarado were made by customers. However, Douglas did not prepare inspection summaries regarding inspections completed by Alvarado until Douglas was recommending Alvarado be terminated.

On August 11, 2017, Alvarado complained to Douglas and Ian Robinson ("Robinson") that the extension of her probation because of her medical leave and her pregnancy was unfair; she also complained that it was unfair that she was not permitted to take time off to take her kids to school when Garcia was late at least once a week in order to take his daughter to school and he was not penalized. Alvarado continued to complain to Human Resource personnel regarding the extension of her probation and modification of her Anniversary Date.

On August 28, 2017, Alvarado complained to Garcia and Douglas that she had been held back because of her pregnancy and medical leave while Travis Samuelson ("Samuelson") had not been penalized for taking time off for the birth of his child. Alvaradowas provided for the first time a Personnel Change Agreement that stated it was effective June 6, 2016 and that it was allegedly authored on August 29, 2017. This document stated Alvarado had not completed specifically-named training/classes and that the probationary period had been extended "to attend the [] classes if available, and provide ample time to complete on-the-job probationary training . . ." Personnel Change Agreement (DSOF, Ex. 7). However, Douglas testified during her deposition that neither the applicable Position Description or Program Agreement stated such classes were required to be promoted from a recruit. Douglas Dep., p. 51:3-20 (PSOF, Ex. 3, Doc. 66-3).

According to Alvarado, following August of 2017, her work environment became very difficult. On February 28, 2018, Alvarado told Douglas that Douglas was discriminating against her, that Douglas treated her differently than other inspectors and expected things of Alvarado she did not expect of others, and that Douglas treated her poorly and called her out in front of others. Alvarado also threatened to bring in the union because Douglas had been mistreating...