Dressler v. New York City Dep't of Educ.
| Decision Date | 28 March 2012 |
| Docket Number | 10 Civ. 3769 (JPO) |
| Parties | STEVE DRESSLER, Plaintiff, v. NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Plaintiff Steve Dressler initiated this action in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, with a complaint dated March 22, 2010. (Notice of Removal (Dkt. No. 1) ¶ 1.) Named defendants Department of Education of the City of New York and the City of New York removed the action to this Court on May 7, 2010. (Notice of Removal.) On August 16, 2010, both of those defendants were terminated and replaced, in an amended complaint, by the single Defendant, New York City Department of Education ("Defendant" or "DOE"). (Amended Complaint (Dkt. No. 10) ("Compl.").)
Plaintiff's amended complaint alleges that Defendant (1) discriminated against Plaintiff based on his age in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1962 ("ADEA"), the New York Human Rights Law ("NYHRL"), and the New York City Human Rights Law ("NYCHRL"); (2) retaliated against Plaintiff "for engaging in the protected activity of complaining of harassment based on his age and illness in taking medical leave" and discriminated against him "because of his age and illness in taking a medical leave, in that he was subject to a hostile work environment" in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), the NYHRL, and the NYCHRL; and (3) retaliated against Plaintiff in violation of the Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"). (Compl. ¶¶ 48-63.)
DOE filed the instant motion for summary judgment on July 22, 2011. (Def.'s Mot. (Dkt. No. 27).) This suit was reassigned to the undersigned on October 6, 2011. (Dkt. No. 34.) For the reasons stated below, Defendant's motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part.
Unless otherwise indicated, the following facts are undisputed. Plaintiff is a teacher employed by DOE. .) He was over forty years old at all times relevant to the complaint. (See Compl. ¶ 8; Ans. ¶ 8.) After teaching at various schools, Plaintiff was assigned in September 2006 to work at A. Philip Randolph High School ("Randolph") at 443 West 135th St., New York, New York 10031. (Transcript of Plaintiff's Deposition (Dkt. No. 30-2, also available at Dkt. No. 35-1) ("Pl. Tr.") at 25:23-26:2; Ans. ¶ 2.) At Randolph, Plaintiff worked as an Absent Teacher Reserve ("ATR"), filling in for absent teachers on an as-needed basis. (Pl. Tr. at 26:3-11.) Plaintiff was first supervised at Randolph by the school's Assistant Principal of Organization, Mr. Menegatos. (Transcript of Henry Rubio Deposition (Dkt. No. 30-3, also available at Dkt. No. 35-1 at 76-77) ("Rubio Tr.") at 129:10-16.) Henry Rubio became principal of Randolph in November 2006. (Id. at 14:9-20.) During the 2006-2007 school year, although Plaintiff's teaching as an ATR was not formally observed by supervisors, his performance received a satisfactory rating. (Pl. Tr. at 27:1-14.)
During the 2007-2008 school year, Plaintiff continued working as an ATR at Randolph. (Id. at 28:14-19.) In March 2008, Plaintiff began teaching the math classes of a teacher who had abruptly resigned. (Id. at 28:20-29:7.) Plaintiff was then supervised by Rosalie David, who served as Randolph's Assistant Principal for Mathematics from the Spring of 1992 until October 2010. (Transcript of Rosalie David Deposition (Dkt. No. 30-4) ("David Tr.") at 10:12-11:16.)About one week after Plaintiff took over the math classes in March 2008, he began a leave of absence from Randolph pursuant to the FMLA with a diagnosis of general anxiety disorder; this leave lasted through June 2008. (Pl. Tr. at 29:7-24, 48:3-50:16.) Plaintiff received an approval of his leave dated August 21, 2008. (DOE FMLA Approval (Dkt. No. 35-1 at 71).) Plaintiff has stated that he took the leave because he found it "very overwhelming with the kids" and because David had said to him "in a very harsh, angry tone, I want to see teaching." (Pl. Tr. at 29:10-16.) While on leave and after returning to work, Plaintiff continued to receive his salary and benefits and suffered no diminution in any aspect of his job. (Id. at 65:2-20.)
For the 2007-2008 school year, Principal Rubio gave Plaintiff an unsatisfactory ("U") rating due to excessive absences. (Id. at 53:20-54:13.) Plaintiff learned of this U rating in August 2008. (Id. at 53:20-23.) Sometime between September and December 2008, Plaintiff provided Rubio with documentation of the approval of the leave he had taken. (Id. at 55:11-15.)1 In January 2009, Rubio reversed Plaintiff's U rating and, in February or March, provided Plaintiff a letter apologizing for the administrative error. (Id. at 55:2-21, 63:12-15.)
For the 2008-2009 school year, Plaintiff again worked at Randolph, covering various classes. (Id. at 54:17-23.) Plaintiff's job performance was rated satisfactory for that school year. (Dkt. No. 29-1.)
Plaintiff continued working as an ATR during the 2009-2010 school year but was specifically assigned to teach a number of math courses. (Pl. Tr. at 137:21-24; Rubio Tr. at 130:10-20.) For the first time since beginning work at Randolph, Plaintiff's teaching was observed by a supervisor, Assistant Principal David. On October 15, 2009, David conducted a "walk-through" of one of Plaintiff's classes and noted that Plaintiff "needed questioning techniques help" and had "no routines." (October 15, 2009 Observation Report (Dkt. No. 29-2).) David referred Plaintiff to a teacher mentoring program at City College. (Pl. Tr. at 111:15-21; David Tr. at 113:3-114:3.) However, Plaintiff was ineligible to remain in the program because he was an ATR. (Pl. Tr. at 113:5-14.) An observer from the City College program did visit a number of Plaintiff's class sessions. (Id. at 112:7-11.) Plaintiff asserts that the observer gave him "pointers" but "was generally satisfied with what she saw." (Id. at 112:11-12.) He further asserts that the observer advised him, "if you're having difficulties with your present supervisor, see if you can find another school, another place to work." (Id. at 112:13-16.)
Assistant Principal David observed another of Plaintiff's lessons on November 17, 2009, and found it unsatisfactory. (November 17, 2009 Observation Report (Dkt. No. 29-3).) She noted, among other things, "little evidence of established routines," "a poorly planned lesson," incorrect student work left uncorrected on the board, poor questioning techniques, and insufficient in-class review of homework. (Id.) David instructed Plaintiff to observe classes of two other teachers and to read portions of two pedagogical textbooks. (Id. at 6.) David concluded her observation with a promise to "continue to work with you to help you improve your pedagogue [sic]." (Id.) Plaintiff asserts that, in fact, David repeatedly refused to help him improve. (Pl. Tr. at 111:10-12, 135:25-36:1, 191:6-9.) He also asserts that the observation occurred on November 18, 2009. (Id. at 87:23-25.)
David further observed Plaintiff's teaching on February 25, 2010; March 25, 2010; April 19, 2010; and May 7, 2010. (Observation records, Dkt. Nos. 29-4, 29-5, 29-6, 29-7.) On each of these occasions, David noted deficiencies similar to those noted on November 17 or 18, 2009, and recommended ways for Plaintiff to improve. (Dkt. Nos. 29-4, 29-5, 29-6, 29-7.) Plaintiffcomplained to Principal Rubio that David's comments from at least one of her observations were unfair and inaccurate. (Rubio Tr. at 128:2-12.) Plaintiff also asserts that David's February 4, 2009, observation improperly came six weeks after the required pre-observation meeting. (Pl. Tr. at 148:11-25.)
Plaintiff disputes the accuracy of David's criticisms of his teaching. Specifically, he disputes that he had no routines, asserting that in fact he followed the routine of "a Do Now, an aim, . . . follow[ing] through with model problems, [and] . . . hav[ing] kids come to the board . . . ." (Id. at 92:15-19; see also id. at 142:14-18.) He disputes that he was easily distracted. (Id. at 96:6-8.) He disputes that he "did not ask questions that assess the students' work, to see if they understand the concepts taught that day"; he asserts that in fact he did "ask summary questions." (Id. at 100:11-13, 101:10.) He disputes that he and David "agreed that the next time [she would] observe, the number of students arriving late [would] be no more than six"; he asserts, "I recall that I had made a notation that I never agreed to that." (Id. at 106:11-13, 16-17.) He disputes that he did not have charge of his class. (Id. at 118:4-6.) He disputes that he "tended to keep calling on the same students in the room"; he asserts that in fact he "would call all students." (Id. at 167:17-23.) He disputes that "the vast majority of my questions is procedural." (Id. at 169:22-24.)
Plaintiff notes a number of times when he asserts that David harshly criticized his work performance and/or screamed at him about it. (Id. at 52:2-8, 114:17-115:14.)
On June 8, 2010, David and Principal Rubio together observed Plaintiff's teaching and found it unsatisfactory for reasons similar to those noted in previous observation evaluations. (June 8, 2010 Observation Report (Dkt. No. 29-8).) David and Rubio made recommendations for Plaintiff's improvement. (Id.)
Rubio gave Plaintiff a year-end performance rating of unsatisfactory. (2009-2010 Annual Professional Performance Review (Dkt. No. 29-9).) In particular, Rubio noted that Plaintiff's performance was unsatisfactory as to "[p]lanning and preparation of work," "[s]kill in adapting instruction to individual needs and capacities," "[e]ffective use of appropriate methods and techniques," and "[e]xtent of pupil...
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