Dimaano v. Va. Ctr. for Behavioral Rehab.
| Docket Number | Civil Action 3:23-cv-312 |
| Decision Date | 13 August 2024 |
| Parties | PATERNO A. DIMAANO, Plaintiff, v. VIRGINIA CENTER FOR BEHAVIORAL REHABILITATION, and ROYACE M. BAUGH, JR., in his official capacity, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia |
This matter comes before the Court on Defendants the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation (“VCBR”) and Royace M. Baugh, Jr.'s (collectively, the “Defendants”) Motion to Dismiss Amended Complaint (the “Motion to Dismiss” or “Motion”).[1] (ECF No. 27.) Plaintiff Paterno A. Dimaano responded in opposition to the Motion, (ECF No. 29), and Defendants replied, (ECF No. 30).
The matter is ripe for disposition. The Court dispenses with oral argument because the materials before it adequately present the facts and legal contentions, and argument would not aid in the decisional process.
For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant in part and deny in part the Motion. (ECF No. 27.) The Court will dismiss Counts One, Three, Four, Five, and Six in their entirety.
The Court will dismiss Count Two to the extent Mr. Dimaano seeks reinstatement to his former position.
Mr Dimaano brings this action against Defendant Royace M. Baugh, Jr., the Director of Residential Services for the Virginia Center for Behavioral Rehabilitation, for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq., and against Defendant VCBR for violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). (ECF No. 26, at 9-11.)
On September 10,2020, Mr. Dimaano began working as a Safety, Security and Treatment Technician (“SSTT”) at VCBR. (ECF No. 26 ¶ 10.) Eleven months later, on August 5,2021, Mr. Baugh terminated Mr. Dimaano from this position.[3] (ECF No. 26 ¶¶ 10,27.)
Mr. Dimaano is of Asian heritage and Filipino national origin. (ECF No. 26 ¶ 1.) He also is “a diabetic and must self-administer insulin injections five times per day.” (ECF No. 26 ¶ 11.) Although VCBR management cites to “unsatisfactory performance and failure to follow policy” as the basis for the termination of his employment, Mr. Dimaano contends that his termination resulted from discrimination based on disability, race, and national origin. (ECF No. 26¶¶27,37,39,41,43,45,47.)
1. Mr. Dimaano's Accommodation to Self-Administer Insulin at Approximately 11:00 P.M. Each Shift
Prior to his September 10, 2020 start date, Mr. Dimaano disclosed to VCBR's management that due to his diabetes, he “must self-administer insulin injections five times per day.” (ECF No. 26 ¶¶ 10-11.) Mr. Dimaano's worked at VCBR from 2:00 p.m. until 12:30 a.m. (ECF No. 26 ¶ 12.) Mr. Dimaano explains that “[a]s an accommodation for his disability”, he took short breaks at “approximately 11:00 p.m.” each night to self-administer insulin injections. (ECF No. 26¶12.)
2. Mr. Dimaano's Communications with VCBR Regarding Untimely Mid-Shift and End-of-Shift Relief
Throughout Mr. Dimaano's tenure at VCBR, the facility “was chronically short-staffed”, “frequently” leaving Mr. Dimaano “without relief' to enable him to self-administer insulin injections, which caused his “diabetes [to] worsen[]” and his blood sugar to fluctuate heavily, causing body shakes. (ECF No. 26 ¶¶ 12,14.) Mr. Dimaano “complained frequently of the lack of mid-shift relief to his superiors.” (ECF No. 26 ¶ 12.)
In his attached exhibits, Mr. Dimaano identifies several instances in which he complained to VCBR management on behalf of himself and fellow evening shift staff regarding a lack of end-of-shift relief. (ECF Nos. 29-1, 29-2,29-3.) In the exhibits, Mr. Dimaano also identifies two instances in March and April 2021 when untimely mid-shift relief delayed his ability to administer an insulin shot by approximately two hours each time, about which he complained to VCBR management. (ECF No. 29-1, at 1; ECF No. 29-2, at 1-2; ECF No. 26 ¶ 12).
In Exhibit 1 to the Amended Complaint, Mr. Dimaano attaches an email from himself to VCBR management dated March 28,2021. (ECF No. 29-1.) In the email, Mr. Dimaano raises complaints regarding (1) a lack of timely end-of-shift relief for evening shift Safety, Security and Treatment Technicians including himself; and (2) the lack of timely mid-shift relief on March 27, 2021, which delayed his nightly 11:00 p.m. insulin shot by approximately two hours. (ECF No. 29-1, at 1; ECF No. 26 ¶ 12.)
Specifically, Mr. Dimaano writes that “between 20:30 until... around 00:22” on March 27, 2021, “SSTT[]s working the evening shift were left in their units with no reliever.” (ECF No. 29-1, at 1.) Facing no relief, “shift staff... quietly hunkered down and did what we are supposed to do.” (ECF No. 29-1, at 1.) Because he “did not want to abandon [his] post”, he was unable to timely “take his required insulin shot.” (ECF No. 29-1, at 1.) Specifically, because Mr. Dimaano “did not get any relief from the night shift until 0:22”, the lack of mid-shift relief delayed his “approximately 11:00 p.m.” nightly insulin shot by slightly over two hours. (ECF No. 29-1, at 1; ECF No. 26 ¶ 12.)
In his March 28, 2021 email, appearing to speak on behalf of SSTTs working the evening shift, Mr. Dimaano addresses a lack of end-of-shift relief: “We were disappointed and frustrated, while at the same time betrayed by the people we were supposed to trust”, and “the things I write about are feelings of despair and helplessness that we all feel.” (ECF No. 29-1, at 1.) Mr. Dimaano identifies a time when he needed end-of-shift relief at “03:00 to allow [him] to get some sleep and drive” to a medical appointment, but no relief came before Mr. Dimaano left VCBR at some point “past 4:00 [a.m.]” (ECF No. 29-1, at 1-2.) He adds that it “has happened a couple more times where, instead of being honest and truthful, [VCBR management] will resort to deception and lies to keep us here.” (ECF No. 29-1, at 2.) He states that “[t]he evening shift feels like we are being ‘targeted' because we don't want to stay anymore”, and “[w]e hope that this can be handled professionally.” (ECF No. 29-1, at 2.) Mr. Dimaano concludes the March 28,2021 email by writing: (ECF No. 29-1, at 2.)
Approximately one month later, on April 28,2021, Mr. Dimaano again emailed VCBR management. (ECF No. 29-2, at 2.) In the email, Mr. Dimaano complains about (1) his concern that his lack of shift relief is a “retaliatory effort” and he is being “singled out” because he used facility computers post-shift to work on a training program for SSTTs and because he refuses every request to work overtime; and (2) his concern that management takes “advantage of [his] desire to help the facility”; and, (3) a lack of timely mid-shift relief on the evening of April 25, 2021, delaying his ability to administer his insulin shot by almost two hours. (ECF No. 29-2, at 1-2.)
In this April 28,2021 email to “VCBR Director Jason Wilson and Facilities Manager Andrew Keup” with the subject line “Relief issue on April 25, 2021”, Mr. Dimaano “inform[s]” Mr. Wilson and Mr. Keup that he was denied mid-shift relief on April 25,2021, delaying his ability to self-administer an insulin shot by nearly two hours. (ECF No. 29-2, at 1-2; ECF No. 26 ¶¶ 12,15.) Mr. Dimaano states that when management told him that he “may need to stay” after the end of his shift on April 25,2021, Mr. Dimaano responded that he was unable to do so because he “just had a death in the family” and his family was “conducting online Masses and Novena prayers for the departed twice daily for 9 days.” (ECF No. 29-2, at 2.) Also when he asked for relief to self-administer his insulin shot, someone told him “that a reliever was coming”, (ECF No. 29-2, at 2), but that he “had to call for a relief and a break almost every 10 minutes”, and received a break at approximately “00:45,” after which he went to the breakroom “to take [his] insulin and grab a snack as [his] blood sugar had already dropped.” (ECF No. 292, at 2) This was nearly two hours after Mr. Dimaano's regularly scheduled “approximately 11:00 p.m.” dose. (ECF No. 26 ¶ 12.)[4]
The next day, on April 29,2021, Mr. Dimaano's supervisor forwarded Mr. Dimaano's email to Larry Crocker, who was VCBR's Director of Resident Services at the time, and Mr. Baugh. (ECF No. 29-2, at 2.) That same day, Mr. Baugh responded thanking Mr. Dimaano “for bringing [his] concerns to our attention.” (ECF No. 29-2, at 1.) Mr. Baugh wrote in relevant part:
I want to ensure that your concerns regarding any operational issues such as relief for your insulin shots, post assignments and operational decisions that you feel are retaliatory in nature are being addressed .... I have spoken to the night shift Facility Manager about your medical accommodations and they will try their level best to get you relief in a timely maimer as well as evening shift .... I want you to know that your experiences in other organizations and expertise in areas of management is welcomed.
(ECF No. 29-2, at 1.) In response, Mr. Dimaano thanked Mr. Baugh and asked for his time to discuss a project that Mr. Dimaano was working on. (ECF No. 29-2, at 1.)
On July 12,2021, approximately ten weeks after the April 29 exchange Mr. Dimaano emailed Mr. Keup and other Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services (“DBHDS”) employees with the subject line ...
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