Equal Emp't Opportunity Comm'n v. United Health Programs of Am., Inc.

• Decision Date: 28 December 2018
• Docket Number: 14-CV-3673 (KAM)(JO)
• Parties: EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff, v. UNITED HEALTH PROGRAMS OF AMERICA, INC. and Cost Containment Group, Inc., Defendants. Elizabeth Ontaneda, Francine Pennisi, and Faith Pabon, Plaintiffs-Intervenors, v. United Health Programs of America, Inc. and Cost Containment Group, Inc., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

350 F.Supp.3d 199

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff,

v.UNITED HEALTH PROGRAMS OF AMERICA, INC. and Cost Containment Group, Inc., Defendants.

Elizabeth Ontaneda, Francine Pennisi, and Faith Pabon, Plaintiffs-Intervenors,

v.United Health Programs of America, Inc. and Cost Containment Group, Inc., Defendants.

14-CV-3673 (KAM)(JO)

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

Signed December 28, 2018

Andrea Chinyere Ezie, Charles F. Coleman, Jr., Kirsten J. Peters, Pro Hac Vice; Jeffrey Burstein, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Nora E. Curtin, NY District Office, Robert D. Rose, Equal Employment Opportunities Commission New York District Office, Anthony G. Mango, Mango & Iacoviello, LLP, New York, NY, for Plaintiff/Plaintiffs-Intervenors.

Amy Joy Traub, Ona T. Wang, Amanda L. Van Hoose Garofalo, Saima Zuberi Sheikh, Baker & Hostetler LLP, New York, NY, Dennis P. Duffy, Pro Hac Vice; Baker & Hostetler LLP, Houston, TX, Patrick M. Muldowney, Baker & Hostetler LLP, Orlando, FL, for

Memorandum and Order

MATSUMOTO, United States District Judge:

Plaintiff United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") commenced this action against defendants United Health Programs of America, Inc., and Cost Containment Group, Inc. (collectively, "defendants"), pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII") on behalf of a group of defendants' former employees – Danielle Diaz, Jennifer Honohan, Regina Maldari, Cynthia Pegullo, Elizabeth Safara, Sandra Benedict, and Karen Josey (the "claimants"). Three claimants – plaintiff-intervenors Elizabeth Ontaneda, Francine Pennisi, and Faith Pabon ("plaintiff-intervenors," and, collectively with EEOC, "plaintiffs") – intervened in this action seeking relief pursuant to Title VII and the New York State Human Rights Law ("NYSHRL"). The case went to trial and was submitted to a jury, which returned a verdict partially in plaintiffs' favor and partially in defendants' favor and awarded plaintiffs a total of $5,102,060 in compensatory and punitive damages. Pending before the court are plaintiffs' motion for injunctive relief, equitable relief, back pay, and entry of judgment, as well as plaintiffs' motion for attorneys' fees and costs. For the reasons and in the manner discussed below, plaintiffs' motions are granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

The court presumes familiarity with the factual and legal background of this matter, as recited in its summary judgment Memorandum and Order, EEOC v. United Health Programs of Am., Inc. , 213 F.Supp.3d 377 (E.D.N.Y. 2016) (" Onionhead I "), and motions in limine Memorandum and Order (ECF No. 131, Memorandum and Order re Motions in Limine ), and provides background only as necessary to resolve the instant motions.

In their pleadings, plaintiffs claimed that they were subjected to, inter alia , religious discrimination, reverse religious discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment in defendants' workplace in violation of Title VII and NYSHRL. Supervisors in defendants' workplace purportedly imposed certain practices and beliefs, often referred to as "Onionhead" and "Harnessing Happiness," on plaintiffs.¹ On September 30, 2016, the court, inter alia , denied defendants' motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs' reverse religious discrimination claims and hostile work environment claims premised on reverse religious discrimination, and concluded that Onionhead/Harnessing Happiness qualifies as a religion for the purposes of Title VII. Onionhead I, Inc. , 213 F.Supp.3d at 398-402.

On April 2, 2018, the parties began a three-week jury trial on plaintiffs' claims that defendants subjected nine claimants to a hostile work environment based on employer-imposed religious practices, subjected eight claimants to disparate treatment (including wrongful termination) based on claimants' rejection of defendants' religious practices, and subjected one claimant to disparate treatment (including wrongful termination) and retaliation based on that claimant's personal religious beliefs. For the purposes of trial and based on the court's memorandum and order on summary judgment, the parties stipulated that certain of defendants' alleged practices were religious, including, among other things: texts, beliefs, concepts, and practices concerning Onionhead, including meetings and workshops; statements by Chief Executive Officer ("CEO") Hodes and his aunt, Denali Jordan ("Denali"), that employees are "chosen"; praying in the workplace; and emails referencing God, spirituality, and demons. (ECF No. 184, Jt. Stip. Regarding Practices Deemed Religious; Trial Tr. at 15-16.)

On April 25, 2018, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of all plaintiffs on all of their hostile work environment claims under Title VII and the NYSHRL, and plaintiff-intervenor Pabon's wrongful termination claim under Title VII and the NYSHRL. The jury returned a verdict in favor of defendants on the remainder of the claims. The jury awarded plaintiffs a total of $5,102,060, consisting of compensatory and punitive damages. The jury awarded a total of $3,011,000 in compensatory damages as follows: $225,000 to Benedict; $190,000 to Diaz; $570,000 to Honohan; $180,000 to Josey; $308,000 to Maldari; $590,000 to Ontaneda; $180,000 to Pegullo; $248,000 to Pennisi; $80,000 to Safara; and $440,000 to Pabon. The jury awarded a total of $2,091,060 in punitive damages as follows: $400,000 to Diaz; $900,000 to Ontaneda; $160,000 to Pegullo; $381,000 to Pennisi; and $250,000 to Pabon.

On June 8, 2018, plaintiffs filed the instant motions. They seek: (1) injunctive relief; (2) an award of backpay and prejudgment interest for plaintiff-intervenor Pabon; and (3) judgment on plaintiffs' modified damages award. Plaintiffs also seek: (1) attorney's fees and costs for plaintiff-intervenors' attorney; and (2) EEOC's taxable costs.

DISCUSSION

I. Injunctive Relief

A. Legal Standard

Under Title VII, injunctive relief may be an appropriate remedy when the court determines that an employer "has intentionally engaged in or is intentionally engaged in such unlawful employment practice charged in the complaint[.]" 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(g)(1). Generally, "[a]n injunction is a matter of equitable discretion; it does not follow from success on the merits as a matter of course." Winter v. Natural Res. Defense Council, Inc. , 555 U.S. 7, 32, 129 S.Ct. 365, 172 L.Ed.2d 249 (2008) ; accord EEOC v. KarenKim, Inc. , 698 F.3d 92, 100 (2d Cir. 2012). "Once a violation of Title VII has been established, the district court has broad, albeit not unlimited, power to fashion the relief it believes appropriate." Bridgeport Guardians Inc. v. City of Bridgeport , 933 F.2d 1140, 1149 (2d Cir. 1991). "The bounds of the court's discretion are set by the purposes of Title VII, which are to prevent discrimination and achieve equal employment opportunity in the future[.]" Berkman v. City of New York , 705 F.2d 584, 594 (2d Cir. 1983).

In determining whether to award an injunction, the court considers "the balance of equities and consideration of the public interest." Winter , 555 U.S. at 32, 129 S.Ct. 365. The moving party must demonstrate that "there exists some cognizable danger of recurrent violation." United States v. W.T. Grant Co. , 345 U.S. 629, 633, 73 S.Ct. 894, 97 L.Ed. 1303 (1953). "Courts will grant injunctive relief against an employer when there is evidence of widespread and continuous retaliation or harassment that indicates that the threat of future bad acts is high." Lewis v. Am. Sugar Refining, Inc. , No. 14-cv-2302 (CRK), 2018 WL 4179053, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 15, 2018) (citing Malarkey v. Texaco, Inc. , 983 F.2d 1204, 1215 (2d Cir. 1993) and KarenKim , 698 F.3d at 100-02 ). A court may grant injunctive relief even where a defendant has ceased the offending conduct upon consideration of "the bona fides of the [defendant's] expressed intent to comply" with the law, "the effectiveness of the discontinuance," and "the character of the past violations." W.T. Grant , 345 U.S. at 633, 73 S.Ct. 894. However, there must be "something more than the mere possibility [of recurrent violations] which serves to keep the case alive." Id.

B. Application

Plaintiffs seek permanent injunctions ordering that defendants: (1) refrain from future religious discrimination and harassment; (2) refrain from pressuring or requiring employees to participate in Onionhead, Harnessing Happiness, and the other practices previously deemed religious by the court; and (3) terminate their professional relationship with Denali Jordan ("Denali") and bar her from defendants' premises. (ECF No. 210-1, Memorandum of Law in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Injunctive and Equitable Relief and Entry of Judgment ("Pl. Mem. Relief & Damages") at 8.)² Plaintiffs also seek a five-year injunction requiring defendants to: provide anti-discrimination and anti-harassment training to employees by an outside monitor or other entity approved by the EEOC; revise their anti-discrimination and equal employment opportunity ("EEO") policies; retain an outside monitor to ensure compliance and investigate complaints of religious discrimination and harassment; comply with reporting requirements to ensure ongoing compliance with the law; and provide their employees with notice of this action and its outcome. (Id. )

Defendants argue plaintiffs have not satisfied their burden and therefore injunctive relief is not warranted. (ECF No. 212, Defendants' Memorandum of Law in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Injunctive and Equitable Relief and Entry of Judgment ("Def. Opp. Relief & Damages") at 9-33.) Specifically, defendants argue that injunctive relief is improper because plaintiffs cannot prove that defendants "intentionally created a hostile work environment" and that plaintiff-intervenor Pabon's discrimination claim alone cannot support injunctive relief. (Id. at 9.) They also argue there is no threat of a recurring violation. (I...