Collins v. City of N.Y.

• Decision Date: 11 January 2016
• Docket Number: 15-CV-5008 (VEC)
• Citation: 156 F.Supp.3d 448,2016 A.D. Cases 6430
• Parties: Latanya M. Collins, Plaintiff, v. City of New York, New York City Department of Education, Timothy Lisante, Robert Zweig, and Joan Indart-Etienne, sued herein in their individual capacities and in their capacities as employees, agents, and/or servants of the City of New York and/or New York City Department of Education, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

156 F.Supp.3d 448

2016 A.D. Cases 6430

Latanya M. Collins, Plaintiff,

v.City of New York, New York City Department of Education, Timothy Lisante, Robert Zweig, and Joan Indart-Etienne, sued herein in their individual capacities and in their capacities as employees, agents, and/or servants of the City of New York and/or New York City Department of Education, Defendants.

15-CV-5008 (VEC)

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

Signed January 11, 2016

Antonette Marie Milcetic, Phillip Eric Taubman, Taubman, Kimelman & Soroka, LLP, New York, NY, for Plaintiff.

Michael Friel Fleming, New York City Law Department, New York, NY, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION & ORDER

VALERIE CAPRONI

, United States District Judge

Plaintiff, Latanya Collins, a teacher and former assistant principal employed by the New York City Department of Education, initiated this action against the City of New York, the New York City Department of Education (“DOE”), Timothy Lisante, Robert Zweig, and Joan Indart-Etienne. Collins alleges that she was subject to adverse employment actions (threats of negative ratings, constructive discharge, poor reference, demotion, and retaliatory job assignments) because she refused to discriminate against other teachers on the basis of their age and because she complained about discrimination against disabled and minority students. Plaintiff originally brought eleven causes of action. In response to Defendants' motion to dismiss, Plaintiff dropped all claims against the City of New York and dropped her claims brought pursuant to: the First and Fourteenth Amendments; 42 U.S.C. § 1983

; 42 U.S.C. § 1981 ; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000d et seq. ; and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, 20 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq . Pl. Opp. Mem. 6 n.1, n.2. (Dkt. 19). What remains for decision is Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiff's claims based on: (1) New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”), N.Y. Exec. L. § 290 et seq .

; (2) New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”), N.Y. City Admin. Code § 8–101 et seq .; (3) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq . ; (4) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Rehabilitation Act”), 29 U.S.C. § 794 et seq. ; (5) the Equal Educational Opportunities Act of 1974 (“EEOA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq . ; and (6) the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (“IDEA”), 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq . For the following reasons, Defendants' motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

BACKGROUND¹

Collins became a special education teacher for DOE in approximately April 2004 and became tenured in 2007. Compl. ¶¶ 22, 24. After obtaining a master's degree and taking the license exam, Collins received her assistant principal license in approximately 2009. Id. ¶ 25. In approximately 2011, Collins was promoted to become Assistant General Principal for District 79. Id. ¶ 27. Lisante was the Superintendent, and Zweig was the Deputy Superintendent of District 79. Id. ¶ 31.

Collins was assigned to be one of three assistant principals at the Restart Academy, a school that educates children residing in shelters, undergoing drug treatment, or under the jurisdiction of the City's Administration for Children Services (“ACS”). Id. ¶ 29. Indart-Etienne was the principal of the Restart Academy; she made decisions regarding program budgeting and educational materials and supervised Collins. Id. ¶¶ 30, 32.

Indart-Etienne assigned Collins to supervise the Euphrasian Residence in Manhattan. Id. ¶ 33. The Euphrasian Residence provided temporary housing for adolescent girls referred by ACS, and the majority of its students were black or Hispanic. Id. ¶¶ 35, 36. Middle and high school aged children in the Euphrasian Residence were required to participate in the Restart Academy. Id. ¶ 35. Collins' responsibilities at the Euphrasian Residence included ensuring that students were receiving instruction, supervising staff, evaluating teacher performance, and monitoring the operation of the building. Id. ¶ 34.

The students at Restart Academy included students learning English as a second language (“ESL”) and special education students. Id. ¶ 37. Collins allegedly observed and learned that those students were not getting certain services and resources that they were legally-required to receive. Id. ¶¶ 38–41. Collins also noted that there were no special education teachers, in violation of the Individual Education Plans (“IEP”) required by law for special education students. Id. ¶¶ 42–43. Finally, Collins saw that students did not receive required psychological, psychiatric, or medical services. Id. ¶ 44. Plaintiff repeatedly complained to Indart-Etienne regarding these deficiencies. Id. ¶ 45. Indart-Etienne did not remedy the deficiencies, seemed to actively continue them, and prevented Plaintiff from attempting to resolve them. Id. ¶¶ 46–49.

Collins also allegedly observed Indart-Etienne discriminate against older teachers. Specifically, Indart-Etienne referred to tenured teachers who were older than sixty as “rubber room teachers” and repeatedly stated that “they had to go.” Id. ¶ 50. Indart-Etienne directed Collins to change her evaluations for those teachers to unsatisfactory, telling Collins “I need you to see what I see” and those teachers “must get a U.” Id. ¶ 50. Indart-Etienne repeatedly added substantive changes to Collins' teacher observation reports and urged Collins to “focus” on the senior tenured teachers by visiting their classrooms multiple times throughout the day and recording them on her iPhone without their knowledge. Id. ¶¶ 51–52. Indart-Etienne gave Collins these instructions with the warning, “Tim [Lisante] needs to know you're one of us.” Id. ¶ 52.

Collins refused to follow Indart-Etienne's instructions regarding tenured senior teachers, and Indart-Etienne allegedly began harassing Collins, openly criticizing and demeaning her in front of staff, and shouting at her. Id. ¶ 53. Indart-Etienne told Collins, “This district is not a good fit for you,” and threatened to give Collins an unsatisfactory rating on her annual performance evaluation unless she agreed to resign. Id. ¶¶ 53–54. Collins also overheard Indart-Etienne tell Collins' union representative, “I want her out.” Id. ¶ 55. Prior to Collins' complaints about resources and resistance to Indart-Etienne's instructions regarding senior teachers, in approximately January 2012, Indart-Etienne had commended Collins in writing for her “excellent” work. Id. ¶ 58. Effective June 30, 2012, Collins resigned as Assistant General Principal for District 79, and Indart-Etienne gave Collins a satisfactory rating on her annual evaluation. Id. ¶ 56. Collins asserts that she was constructively discharged. Id. ¶ 57.

Collins thought that, according to DOE rules, her resignation as Assistant General Principal would lead to her being “reverted” to her previous role as tenured master teacher within District 28. Id. ¶¶ 59, 65. Instead, Collins was assigned to the District 28 Absent Teacher Reserve (“ATR”), which meant Collins had no permanent assignment, acted as a substitute teacher, and received a salary reduction. Id. ¶ 60. ATR typically included laid off teachers or teachers from closed schools, and the poor reputations of ATRs made it more difficult to get a permanent job offer. Id. ¶¶ 60, 64. Collins worked as an ATR at the Forest Hills High School in Queens for the 2012-2013 school year. Id. ¶ 61.

Collins believes that Indart-Etienne made false, disparaging remarks about her to her former colleagues and staff in a September 2012 meeting. Id. ¶ 62. Collins also believes that Indart-Etienne gave her an unjustifiably poor reference that precluded her from receiving any job offers, despite her efforts to interview for permanent positions during the 2012-2013 school year. Id. ¶ 63.

In September 2013, Collins contacted DOE and was informed that Indart-Etienne had created a position for her in District 79, and Collins was removed from ATR. Id. ¶ 66. Although DOE did not require ATRs to accept assignments, Collins was forced to accept the District 79 position over her objection. Id. ¶ 67. The principal of the school to which Collins was assigned told Collins that a District 79 Human Resources Representative had asked him to take Collins on as a teacher, even though he was not looking to hire a teacher, “because a colleague of [hers] was out to get [Collins] due to no fault of her own.” Id. ¶ 69.

On or about October 28, 2013, Collins filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), claiming that Defendants had retaliated against her for refusing to discriminate against students with disabilities. Id. ¶ 73.²

On or about October 30, 2013, Collins made a formal oral complaint to DOE's Office of Special Investigations regarding the same, and Collins followed up with a written complaint on November 7, 2013. Id. ¶¶ 74–75.

From approximately October 25, 2013 to January 5, 2014, Collins took leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act, although her leave was never approved, and thus she was never paid for that time. Id. ¶¶ 72, 76, 78. Upon her return, she interviewed for positions and waited in Zweig's office as an ATR without assignments for several months. Id. ¶ 79. In approximately April 2014, Collins accepted a position outside District 79 in a Brooklyn school as a provisional teacher; she received a satisfactory evaluation while she was there. Id. ¶ 80.

In the fall of 2014, Zweig assigned Collins to teach at Riker's Island over her objection, even though the collective bargaining agreement prohibited forcing any teacher to work there. Id. ¶¶ 81–82. Later that fall, Zweig reassigned Collins to a school in the South Bronx, which was a lengthy commute for her. Id. ¶ 88. On or about December 9, 2014, Collins filed a supplemental charge with the EEOC, alleging retaliation for her initial EEOC complaint. Id. ¶ 89. Collins continued to work in District 79 until February 2015 and received...