Covington v. Hamilton Twp. Bd. of Educ & Cent. Jersey Dist. Bd. Of
| Decision Date | 15 June 2015 |
| Docket Number | Civ. No 08-3639 (FLW) |
| Parties | TAMIKA COVINGTON, Plaintiff, v. HAMILTON TWP. BD. OF EDUC and CENTRAL JERSEY DISTRICT BOARD # 193 of I.A.A.B.O. CORP. a/k/a INT'L ASS'N OF APPROVED BASKETBALL OFFICIALS, BOARD 193, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
*NOT FOR PUBLICATION*
Presently before the Court are motions for summary judgment filed by Defendants Hamilton Township Board of Education ("HBOE") and the Central Jersey Board Number 193 of the International Association of Approved Basketball Officials ("IAABO") ("Board 193") (collectively, "Defendants"). Defendant seek summary judgment on the Second Amended Complaint filed by Plaintiff Tamika Covington ("Covington," or "Plaintiff"), which alleges discrimination and retaliation on the part of Defendants in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act ("Title VII") and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination ("NJLAD") in connection with Defendants' assignment of Plaintiff to officiate school districts' boys' varsity basketball games.
For the following reasons, Defendants motions are granted with respect to Counts One and Two, Plaintiff's Title VII claims. The Court declines to exercise jurisdiction over Counts Three and Four, Plaintiff's NJLAD Claims, and accordingly dismisses Counts Three and Four withoutprejudice. The statute of limitations for Plaintiff's claims are tolled for thirty days pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367(d) to allow Plaintiff time to re-file her NJLAD claims in state court.
The following facts are undisputed unless otherwise indicated. Tamika Covington has worked as a basketball official for several years and joined the Board in or about 1996 or 1997. Covington July 1, 2013 Dep. 131:15-23. Board 193 is the exclusive assigning board of basketball officials to area junior high school, high school varsity basketball games, and other tournaments for the school districts in Central New Jersey. Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 5; HBOE's Stmt. of Undisputed Material Facts ("HBOE's Stmt. of Facts") ¶ 13. HBOE represents one of the school districts in Central New Jersey that obtains and pays for basketball officials from Board 193. Covington officiated various games for the HBOE.
Board 193 is a corporate entity that functions as a closed shop "assignor" of basketball officials in Central New Jersey to area school districts during the operation of these districts' regular season basketball games and tournaments.1 Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 6; see also Mercer County Tournament Association Agreement with Board 193 for Basketball Assignments. Board 193 is managed by a President, who at all relevant times for 20 years has been Fred Dumont ("Dumont"). Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 7; Dumont Dep. 7:21-8:7. Board 193 is further managed by an Executive Committee. Pl.'s Stmt. Of Facts ¶ 7; Dumont Dep. 15:15-17; 17:4-16. Board 193 assigns basketball officials to officiate at the following school districts: Hamilton, Trenton, Princeton, Ewing, Hightstown, Hopewell Valley, Lawrence, West Windsor, Allentown, andRobbinsville, as well as various local private and preparatory schools (collectively, "the School Districts"). Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 8. The School Districts have organized themselves into a sports conference known as the Colonial Valley Conference ("CVC"), in which the member schools compete and play against each other.2 HBOE's Stmt. of Facts ¶ 14; Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 8.
Board 193 assigns all of the basketball officials that officiate at the CVC's games. HBOE's Stmt. of Facts ¶ 15. In order to work as a basketball official in the Central New Jersey area, Board 193 must assign a member of Board 193 to officiate a game for the individual school or conference. See HBOE's Stmt. of Facts ¶¶ 9, 13; Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 9.
The person within Board 193 who assigns the individual board members to basketball games at the School Districts is known as the Assignor. Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 10; Riley Dep. at 8:10-14. The Assignor is elected to that position by the full membership, for a three-year term. Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 10; Riley Dep. at 11:19-12:1. During the relevant time period and until 2005, the Assignor for Board 193 was Frank Partyka. See Dumont Dep. 21:22-22:3. Beginning in or about 2005 until at least January 2014, the Assignor position has been held by Robert Riley. Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 11; Riley Dep. at 8:18-12:9.
Board 193 has approximately 190 member officials. Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 12; Riley Dep. at 18:23-24. At all relevant times, Board 193 has had only a handful of female member officials. Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 13. Besides Covington, at various times, these female officials have included: Marci Youngblood (nee Willis) ("Willis"), Colleen White ("White"), Sabrina Isom ("Isom"), and Sandy Orapel ("Orapel").3 Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 13; IAABO Bd. 193 VarsityOfficials 2006-07; List of Officials ("Zatuchni Certif. Tab EE"); 2006 Official Assignments ("Zatuchni Certif. Tab L"); 2007 Official Assignments ("Zatuchni Certif. Tab M"); 2008 Official Assignment ("Zatuchni Certif. Tab N"); 2009 Official Assignments ("Zatuchni Certif. Tab O"); 2010 Official Assignments ("Zatuchni Certif. Tab P"); Spreadsheet Containing Board 193's member official assignments, 2006-2010 ("Zatuchni Tab UUU").
Under Board 193's policies and practices, a member official is eligible to be assigned to officiate at varsity high school games once he or she achieves a "V" rating, which he or she obtains from the Executive Committee. Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶¶ 17, 20; Dumont Dep. at 15:15-20, 16:4-11; see also Riley Dep. 19:21-23 ( ). Three "V" ratings exist, and are ranked as follows: V3, V2, and V1. Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 18; Dumont Dep. at 14:22-24; Zatuchni Certif., Tab K. Dumont testified in his deposition that Board 193 employs an unwritten rule that it takes approximately five years from first joining Board 193 for an official to become eligible to achieve an initial V rating, thereby becoming eligible to handle varsity games. Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 19; Dumont Dep. at 14:15-21. Dumont further testified that once an official has obtained a V designation, opportunities to officiate boys' and girls' varsity games should generally be equally open to the official. Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 21; Dumont Dep. at 16:12-15 ( ).
HBOE, which represents Hamilton Township's public school district, is a part of the CVC. HBOE's Stmt. of Facts ¶ 14.
Peter Frascella ("Frascella") is HBOE's Assistant Business Administrator. HBOE's Stmt. of Facts ¶ 21. Frascella is in charge of HBOE's accounting, payroll, purchasing, food service, transportation, facilities, and operation departments. Id. On May 21, 2013, Frascella testified in a deposition that HBOE does not appoint officials to referee. Id.
The NJSIAA is an organization that certifies basketball officials with respect to a baseline quality and expertise. Pl.'s Response to HBOE's Stmt. of Facts ¶ 27. HBOE requires that all officials who officiate for the board be certified by the NJSIAA. Id. The NJSIAA requires officials to pass a National Federation Rules Examinations, attend NJSIAA training, and maintain certification and good standing. HBOE's Stmt. of Facts ¶ 28; Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 27.
The Athletic Directors of the School Districts, including HBOE, set the times and locations of the officiating that Covington does for the School Districts, and the Athletic Directors impose various reporting requirements and procedures on the basketball officials. Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶¶ 146, 148, 149. However, the officiating rules are derived from the National Federation and the NJSIAA, not from HBOE. Gielbert Dep. 15:11-16:10; 23:20-14:3; see also NJSIAA Handbook at 5.
Once a basketball game is complete, the assigned basketball official's duties are also complete. HBOE's Stmt. of Facts ¶ 29. HBOE only paid Covington per basketball game for the services she provided to HBOE.4 Id. ¶ 30. Covington does not receive vacation days fromHBOE. HBOE does not provide Plaintiff with retirement or health benefits, workers' compensation benefits, disability insurance, or pension benefits. Id. ¶ 35. HBOE did not withhold taxes from Covington's pay at any time in her history of officiating for HBOE.5 Id. ¶ 36. Further, Covington paid for her uniform and whistle and provided her own transportation to the basketball games to which she was assigned. Id. ¶ 42; Covington Apr. 13, 2011 Dep. 36:16-24; 37:9-17.
HBOE can block or request that specific officials not be assigned to HBOE.6 However, HBOE states that it "has never exercised the option to block officials."7 HBOE's Stmt. of Facts. ¶ 44; Pl.'s Response to HBOE's Stmt. of Facts ¶ 44.
Covington was at all relevant times rated as a V2 official.8 Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 23; Dumont Dep. at 14:1-4; Riley Dep. at 21:13-16; Zatuchni Certif. Tab K. However, Covington states that she "was effectively completely precluded from being assigned to officiate at boys['] high school varsity games."9 Pl.'s Stmt. of Fact ¶ 25; Covington Certif. ¶ 20; Zatunchni Certif., Tabs L, M, N, O, P, UUU. Riley testified in his deposition that he never assigned Covington to any boys' varsity games. Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 26; Riley Dep. at 17:20-18:6. However, Covington states that every male V2 official listed on Board 193's "Varsity Official 2006-2007" list has been assigned to multiple boys' varsity games from 2006 to at least January 2014. Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts ¶ 29; Zatuchni Certif. Tabs K, L, M, N, O, P; Game Assignments 2010-11 ("Zatuchni Certif. Tab Q"); Game Assignments 2011-12 ("Zatuchni Certif. Tab R"), Game Assignments 2012-13 ("Zatuchni Certif. Tab S"), UUU. Further, Covington states that "the vast majority of active Board 193 officials that...
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