Brown v. Bratton
| Decision Date | 21 February 2020 |
| Docket Number | Civil No.: ELH-19-1450 |
| Parties | JUSTIN BROWN, Plaintiff, v. SHERRY BRATTON, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
In this race discrimination case, plaintiff Justin Brown, who is African American, has sued his former employer, Caroline County (the "County"),1 and four of its employees, in their individual and official capacities: Sherry Bratton, the Assistant Director of the Department of Human Resources; Charles Copper, the Director of the Department of Public Works ("DPW"); James Eastland, the Crew Chief at DPW; and Bryan North, the Roads Superintendent at DPW. ECF 1 (the "Complaint"). Plaintiff's suit is predicated on various alleged acts of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation that occurred between 2014, when Mr. Brown joined DPW, and 2019, when he was terminated. He seeks compensatory and punitive damages as well as legal fees.
The Complaint contains fifteen counts.2 The first eight counts are founded on federal law. Count I alleges "Hostile Work Environment," in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1991,42 U.S.C. § 1981 et seq. ECF 1, ¶¶ 79-89. Count II asserts a hostile work environment claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. ("Title VII"). ECF 1, ¶¶ 90-100. In Count III, plaintiff alleges "Retaliation," in violation of Title VII. Id. ¶¶ 101-13. Count IV lodges a claim for "First Amendment Retaliation," in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. ECF 1, ¶¶ 114-23. Count V alleges a Title VII claim for discrimination on the basis of race. Id. ¶¶ 124-32. Counts VI and VII, lodged under § 1983, allege violations of the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Id. ¶¶ 133-48. Count VIII asserts a "Monell" claim, pursuant to § 1983. Id. ¶¶ 149-57; see Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1978).
The remaining seven claims arise under Maryland law. Count IX alleges "Racial Discrimination and Hostile Work Environment," in violation of the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act ("MFEPA"), Md. Code , § 20-606 of the State Government Article ("S.G."). ECF 1, ¶¶ 158-66. Counts X and XI allege deprivations of due process and equal protection, in violation of Articles 24 and 26 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights. Id. ¶¶ 167-82. Count XII asserts a "Lontin[sic]-Type Pattern or Practice" claim. Id. ¶¶ 183-87; see Prince George's Cty. v. Longtin, 419 Md. 450, 19 A.3d 859 (2011). Counts XIII, XIV, and XV assert common law tort claims of "Negligent, Hiring, Training, Retention & Supervision", "Negligence", and "Gross Negligence." ECF 1, ¶¶ 188-209.
Defendants jointly moved to dismiss the Complaint, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). ECF 9. The motion is supported by a memorandum (ECF 9-1) (collectively, the "Motion") and one exhibit. ECF 9-2. Brown opposes the Motion (ECF 19, "Opposition"), supported by five exhibits. ECF 19-2 to ECF 19-6. Defendants have replied. ECF 20.
No hearing is necessary to resolve the Motion. Local Rule 105.6. For the reasons that follow, I shall grant the Motion in part and deny it in part.
The Caroline County Department of Public Works hired Mr. Brown on January 3, 2014, to serve as a Level I Motor Equipment Operator ("MEO I"). ECF 1, ¶ 13. Plaintiff was promoted to a "MEO II" on October 7, 2015. Id. ¶ 14. Throughout Mr. Brown's tenure at DPW, he was assigned to the "South Crew," where he was the only African American member. Id. ¶ 15.3
Mr. Brown alleges that his crew chief, Mr. Eastland, treated him differently than the white members of the South Crew. Id. ¶ 17. Mr. Eastland "us[ed] a negative tone towards [Mr. Brown]," and "daily subject[ed] him to unwarranted ridicule and maltreatment." Id. ¶ 18; see id. ¶ 11. Each morning, when Mr. Eastland issued daily work assignments, he allegedly first provided assignments to the white members, although Mr. Brown held a higher rank than many of the other crew members. Id. ¶¶ 20-21. On one occasion, Mr. Eastland refused to give Mr. Brown his assignment, leaving Mr. Brown to linger in the break room. Id. ¶ 23. This resulted in Mr. North, a DPW Roads Superintendent, reprimanding Mr. Brown for skipping the morning briefing. Id. ¶ 23; see id. ¶ 12. Mr. Eastland also allegedly barred Mr. Brown, but not other crew members, from using the front entrance of DPW's facility. Id. ¶ 24.
Further, Mr. Brown alleges that on September 29, 2016, he was sent alone to cut tree branches and unclog a ditch, in the rain and in an area with exposed electrical wires. Id. ¶ 38. This contravened DPW safety regulations, which requires members to perform jobs in pairs. Id. The same day, Mr. Brown allegedly overheard Mr. Eastland say that he was having a bad day and "'did not want to be around any black people.'" Id. ¶ 39.
Mr. Brown also alleges that he was frequently passed over for overtime opportunities. Id. ¶ 25. Pursuant to DPW's seniority policy, Mr. Brown was fourth in line for overtime opportunities. Id. ¶ 26. However, Mr. Brown was not contacted when overtime work arose. Id. ¶ 25. When Mr. Brown confronted Mr. Eastland about this, Mr. Eastland responded that he had in fact been contacted. Id. ¶ 27. Mr. Brown produced phone records to Mr. North demonstrating that Mr. Eastland had never called him regarding overtime work. Id. ¶ 28. But, Mr. North "took no action," leading Mr. Eastland to "continue[] to deny Mr. Brown opportunities for overtime." Id. ¶ 29; see id. ¶ 53 (); id. ¶ 63 (same for January 8, 2018). Mr. Eastland allegedly "went as far as to order a subordinate specifically not to call Mr. Brown when overtime opportunities arose." Id. ¶ 29.
Mr. Brown claims that while he was employed at DPW, he was "regularly subjected to racially offensive and demeaning language." Id. ¶ 32. According to Mr. Brown, instances of racially offensive language "were so constant" that it was "an accepted practice within DPW despite complaints made by several employees." Id. ¶¶ 36-37. On March 9, 2016, Mr. Brown informed Mr. North that "racist remarks" were being made "regularly" by Caucasian DPW employees. Id. ¶ 33. And, he told Mr. North that "[o]ne employee stated that, if his daughter ever dated 'a nigger,' he would kill him." Id. However, Mr. North allegedly responded by asking Mr. Brown "what [he] had done to provoke such language from the other employee." Id. ¶ 34. Mr. North took no corrective action. Id.
Further, Mr. Brown alleges that he was passed over for a promotion, despite being the most qualified DPW employee. Specifically, a MEO III position became available on October 7, 2016. Id. ¶ 40. The position required a Class A commercial driver's license, and Mr. Brown was the only applicant who possessed such a license. Id. ¶¶ 41-42. Nevertheless, a Caucasian employeereceived the position. ECF 1, ¶ 43. Moreover, Mr. Brown's supervisors allegedly made Mr. Brown prepare the white employee for the Class A exam, including driving the applicant to the test. Id. ¶ 44.
Mr. Brown also alleges that he was subjected to retaliation for reporting his discriminatory treatment. Id. ¶ 46. Mr. Brown claims that after he complained to his supervisors about racially hostile conduct, Mr. Eastland downgraded Mr. Brown during his annual performance review. Id. Mr. Brown received ratings of "Meets Expectations or "Exceeds Expectations" in all categories in his 2015 performance review. Id. ¶ 16; see ECF 19-3 ("2015 Performance Review").4 However, during his 2016 performance review, he received a rating of "Needs Improvement" in the fields of "'Follows Directions,' 'Communications,' 'Respect,' and 'Attitude[.]'" ECF 1, ¶ 46; see ECF 19-4 ("2016 Performance Review").
In addition, Mr. Brown alleges that he was retaliated against for speaking with Ms. Bratton, the Assistant Director of the County's Department of Human Resources, on February 24, 2017. ECF 1, ¶ 48. During the meeting, Mr. Brown complained that Mr. Eastland "regularly ignored him and refused to give [him] his daily work tasks during morning meetings with the rest of the crew." Id. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Eastland ordered Mr. Brown to remove a snowplow from a DPW vehicle by himself, which violated DPW safety regulations. Id. ¶ 49. And, on May 3 and 4, 2017, a DPW employee assigned to cut the grass along a road abutting Mr. Brown's family farm left the grass near his property uncut. Id. ¶ 50.
On or about May 23, 2017, Mr. Brown submitted a leave slip for the dates of May 26 and 30, 2017, to Richard Kinnamon in lieu of Mr. Eastland, who was absent. ECF 1, ¶ 55.5 Although Mr. Kinnamon signed the slip in Mr. Brown's presence, Mr. Eastland informed Mr. Brown on May 24, 2017, that he had not received the slip, "leaving [Mr. Brown] vulnerable to workplace discipline." Id. ¶ 56. Mr. Brown alleges that Mr. Eastland lied to him, because he later "found" the signed slip "atop" Mr. Eastland's desk. Id.
Mr. Brown completed an EEOC Intake Questionnaire on July 14, 2017. ECF 19-5 ("EEOC Questionnaire"). In the EEOC Questionnaire, Mr. Brown checked boxes on the form identifying race and retaliation as the basis for his employment discrimination claim. Id. at 2. Mr. Brown also wrote that Mr. Eastland "does not want African Americans in his crew", that he had "been passed up for overtime", and that he had "been passed up for a promotion." Id. at 3.
On July 21, 2017, Mr. Brown notified a DPW employee that there was a mattress in the road in the area where he had been assigned to work. ECF 1, ¶ 57. Despite reporting the mattress, Mr. Copper, the DPW Director, issued a disciplinary write-up to plaintiff for failure to notify anyone about the mattress. Id.
On August 14, 2017, Mr. North told Mr. Brown to use a truck that Mr. North "claimed he had inspected personally." Id. ¶ 58. After driving the vehicle, Mr. Brown noticed a pin missing that holds a lug nut on one...
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