Dickerson v. N.J. Inst. of Tech., 19-8344-KM-MAH
| Decision Date | 14 November 2019 |
| Docket Number | No. 19-8344-KM-MAH,19-8344-KM-MAH |
| Parties | GLORIA DICKERSON Plaintiff, v. NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, ANNIE CRAWFORD, STACI MONGELLI, AND LAUREN RUBITZ, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
Pro se plaintiff Gloria Dickerson filed a complaint asserting that her employer, New Jersey Institute of Technology ("NJIT"), and her co-workers Annie Crawford, Staci Mongelli, and Lauren Rubitz discriminated against her. Ms. Dickerson asserts that defendants failed to promote her, subjected her to unequal terms and conditions of employment, subjected her to a hostile work environment, and harassed and retaliated against her. These acts, she alleged, were impermissibly based on her race, her age, and her exercise of rights under the Family Medical Leave Act. Defendants now move to dismiss the complaint under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for failure to plead facts sufficiently setting forth the basis for Ms. Dickerson's claims.
In general, the Title VII, ADEA, and ADA claims, which may only be brought against an employer, are dismissed as against the three individuals. As to the employer, NJIT, the complaint states facts in relation to a possible ADA violation, relating to Ms. Dickerson's exercise of rights under the FMLA. It contains no facts, however, suggesting that her alleged workplace frustrations arose from racial or age discrimination. For the reasons provided below, then, defendants' motion to dismiss is granted in part and denied in part.
The Complaint (full version at DE 5-2, pp. 5-23)2 consists of pages 1-7 of a form court complaint for employment discrimination. Following page 7 is a handwritten attachment (DE 5-2 p. 12); a copy of Ms. Dickerson's NJ Division on Civil Rights Charge of Discrimination (DE 5-2 pp. 13-14); U.S. Department of Labor Interview Statement (DE 5-2 pp. 15-16) and finding of FMLA violation (DE 5-2 pp. 17-18); and an EEOC dismissal and notice of rights (DE 5-2 pp. 20). The form court complaint for employment discrimination then resumes at page 8. (DE 5-2 pp. 21-22). Given plaintiff's pro se status, I will treat these documents collectively as her complaint, and cite them together as "Compl." Because of the inconsistent pagination, I will cite the Complaint using the page numbers from the ECF docket entry.
Ms. Dickerson works as a customer service representative in the human resources department at NJIT. She is an African-American female, she is approximately 72 years old, and she suffers from a permanent chronic respiratory condition. (Compl. at 10). Occasionally, this respiratory condition requires her to request temporary leave under the Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"). (Id. at 15).
Ms. Dickerson was hired in 2014. (Id. at 10). Defendant Annie Crawford, an assistant Vice President at NJIT, is Ms. Dickerson's supervisor. (Id. at 11).Defendant Staci Mongelli is the assistant director of employment and human resources operations. Defendant Lauren Rubitz is the assistant director of organizational development and human resource operations. (Id. at 8). Ms. Crawford, Ms. Mongelli, and Ms. Rubitz, who are members of the employment division of NJIT. Ms. Dickerson alleges that they were supposed to include her as a member of the same division. (Id. at 12). Ms. Dickerson generally alleges that defendants did not want to work with her. (Id.) As a result, defendants are alleged to have "retaliated, discriminated, denied opportunity, created a hostile environment to suppress the positive relationships [she] was developing with Faculty and Staff and created a "toxic environment." (Id.; see also id. at 13).
On or about November 23, 2018, Ms. Dickerson filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). On the form complaint, she checked boxes indicting that she was asserting discrimination based on race, age, and disability. (Id. at 13). In the body of the EEOC complaint, she asserts that for approximately 4 years, from August 31, 2014 through September 20, 2018, she was (Id.). The EEOC complaint asserts more specifically that (Id.). On November 29, 2019, the EEOC dismissed Ms. Dickerson's complaint and mailed her a notice of rights letter that instructed that she had 90 days to appeal the EEOC's dismissal by filing a lawsuit in federal court. (Id. at 20). Ms. Dickerson received this notice on December 10, 2019. (Id. at 11).
Around the time that Ms. Dickerson filed her EEOC complaint, she also filed a complaint with the United States Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division alleging violations of the FMLA. (Id. at 15). Ms. Dickerson wasinterviewed on December 27, 2018. (Id.). She explained in her interview that because of her chronic respiratory condition, she is occasionally granted temporary leave under the FMLA. (Id.). She was initially certified for FMLA leave in 2016, and has been recertified three times, most recently on August 14, 2018. (Id.). She alleged in her complaint to the Department of Labor that she was harassed as a result of exercising her rights under the FMLA:
I was harassed due to me using intermittent FMLA. I was invited to a co-worker retirement party which was held on a Saturday evening. During the event I danced as I have done during previous related events. On or around 9/7/2018 Annie Crawford . . . asked me to come to her office. . . . Annie said to me, 'It was brought to my attention that you attended Norma's Retirement Celebration.' She further Asked, 'How can you dance on FMLA?' She repeated the question several times. I felt humiliated by the question from her because I felt she had no right to ask me such a question. I felt her actions were insensitive, unfair, unnecessary, retaliatory, and extremely hurtful.
(Id. at 15). The Department of Labor conducted an investigation and determined that Ms. Crawford had discriminated against Ms. Dickerson when she questioned Ms. Dickerson about how she could be on FMLA leave and yet dance at a retirement party. (Id.). NJIT agreed that proper recertification procedures would be used moving forward and that if Ms. Crawford had questions about FMLA usage, she should ask for a recertification. (Id.).
On March 7, 2019, Ms. Dickerson filed a complaint with this Court alleging violations of: (1) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e, et seq.) ("Title VII"); (2) Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (29 U.S.C. §§ 621 to 634) (the "ADEA"); (3) Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. §§ 12112 to 12117) (the "ADA"); and (4) Whistleblower Protection Act. (Compl. at 9). The discriminatory conduct alleged failure to promote, unequal terms and conditions of employment, retaliation, and harassment. (Id. at 10).
On April 24, 2019, defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The motion asserts thatMs. Dickerson failed to exhaust administrative remedies before filing her complaint, and that she failed to plead the elements of each cause of action. (DE 5).3
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) does not require that a complaint contain detailed factual allegations. Nevertheless, "a plaintiff's obligation to provide the 'grounds' of his 'entitlement to relief' requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007). See also Phillips v. Cnty. of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 232 (3d Cir. 2008) (). Thus, the complaint's factual allegations must be sufficient to raise a plaintiff's right to relief above a speculative level, so that a claim is "plausible on its face." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570. See also West Run Student Hous. Assocs., LLC v. Huntington Nat. Bank, 712 F.3d 165, 169 (3d Cir. 2013). That facial-plausibility standard is met "when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556). While "[t]he plausibility standard is not akin to a 'probability requirement' . . . it asks for more than a sheer possibility." Id. Rule 12(b)(6) provides for the dismissal of a complaint if it fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The defendant, as the moving parry, bears the burden of showing that no claim has been stated. Animal Science Products, Inc. v. China Minmetals Corp., 654 F.3d 462, 469 n.9 (3d Cir. 2011).
For purposes of a motion to dismiss, the facts alleged in the complaint are accepted as true and all reasonable inferences are drawn in favor of the plaintiff. New Jersey Carpenters & the Trustees Thereof v. Tishman Const. Corp. of New Jersey, 760 F.3d 297, 302 (3d Cir. 2014). "Complaints filed pro se are construed liberally, but even a pro se complaint must state a plausible claim for relief." Badger v. City of Phila. Office of Prop. Assessment, 563 F. App'x 152, 154 (3d Cir. 2014) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).
In considering a motion to dismiss a pro se complaint, a court must bear in mind that pro se complaints are held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers. Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93, 127 S. Ct. 2197, 167 L. Ed. 2d 1081 (2007); Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519,...
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