Ford v. New York City Dept. of Health and Mental
| Citation | 545 F.Supp.2d 377 |
| Decision Date | 23 April 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. 06 Civ. 8254 (DC).,06 Civ. 8254 (DC). |
| Parties | Roxanne FORD, Plaintiff, v. NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Roxanne Ford, New York, NY, Pro Se Plaintiff.
Michael A. Cardozo, Esq., Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, by: Andrez Carberry, Esq., New York, NY, for Defendant.
In this employment case, pro se plaintiff Roxanne Ford alleges that her former employer, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene ("DHMH"), discriminated against her because of her gender, race, religion, and perceived disability, sexually harassed her, and retaliated against her for complaining of discrimination to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the "EEOC"). DHMH moves for summary judgment dismissing the amended complaint. For the reasons that follow, the motion is granted.
A. Facts
For purposes of this motion, the facts are drawn from the parties' exhibits and Ford's own deposition. The facts are construed in the light most favorable to Ford, as the party opposing summary judgment.
Roxanne Ford is an African-American, non-Hispanic woman who has a religious belief in God. (Carberry Decl. Ex. A at 3). She is not a lesbian. (Id.).
Ford began working for DHMH on March 23, 2003 as a temporary employee. .1 On November 21, 2005, Ford was hired by DHMH with the title Provisional Office Machine Aide at the urging of Vern Bethea, one of her supervisors. . Her responsibilities included routine work on office equipment, picking up and distributing the mail, preparing bulk mailings, data entry, and other office duties. (Id. Ex. C).
Starting as early as August 2005, Ford began having problems with her coworkers.2 In August 2005, several fellow temporary workers began intentionally hitting the back of her chair. (Ford Aff. Ex. A ¶ 13).3 Dana Patrick, a temporary employee, never hit Ford's chair but attempted to make Ford flinch and move up her chair to avoid being bumped. (Carberry Decl. Ex. B at 89). In August 2005, Ford asked for her desk to be reconfigured to stop people from bumping into her chair. (Ford Aff. Ex. A ¶ 4). Ford reported the bumping problem to Bethea sometime in August 2005, but her coworkers "paid him no mind" after he told them to stop. (Carberry Decl. Ex. B at 89, 90). The chair bumping continued though 2006. (Id. Ex. B at 90).
Between January and April 2006, Ford was subjected to daily insults from Patrick, Rosa Hernandez, and Huali Sun, who were all temporary employees of DHMH. (Id. Ex. B at 46-49).
Ford testified at her deposition about the nature and frequency of coworkers' comments, and how she perceived the comments as relating to her race:
. . .
. . .
Ford also testified about the extent to which her coworkers made comments she perceived to be based on her gender:
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
Q: Is there anything else that led you to believe you were discriminated against because of your gender?
. . .
. . .
. . .
. . .
(Id. Ex. B at 48-52, 54, 56-57).
In sum, Ford testified at her deposition that several times a day, every day, for the months of January, February, March, and April she was subjected to derogatory comments by temporary employees based on her race and gender. Ford, however, did not report any of these incidents to Bethea or Giselle Merizalde, another of Ford's supervisors. (Id. Ex. B at 50, 51).
Starting on November 21, 2005, Bethea and Merizalde started to "act differently" toward Ford. (Ford Aff. Ex. A ¶ 1). In January 2006, Bethea suddenly turned to Ford in the office, looked at her, called her a "stupid fish," and said "why did you let me give you the wrong job." (Id. Ex. A ¶ 2). Ford did not report the incident to anyone. (Id. Ex. A ¶ 2). In February 2006, Bethea saw Ford at a coffee shop looked at her and said, "you are the faggot." Bethea then looked startled and said, "I'm sorry." Ford did not say anything in response. (Id. Ex. A ¶ 3). At some point during Ford's tenure with DHMH, Bethea said to her "I got that fat fish fired for no reason." (Id. Ex. A at 5).4
On March 6, 2006, Ford was involved in a physical altercation with Dana Patrick. (Carberry Decl. Ex. D). Ford's account of the incident is that Patrick hit her on the foot with a heavy vacuum cleaner, and that in response Ford held up her hand to protect herself and touched Patrick's hand. (Id. Ex. B at 54-55). Ford "did not curse at Ms. Patrick [she] was shocked arid said what the fuck are you doing behind her." ).
Bethea and Merizalde conducted an investigation of the incident and interviewed witnesses, including Rosa Hernandez. (Carberry Decl. Ex. J at RF0152). Hernandez submitted a signed statement to Merizalde dated March 6, 2006, which explained that she witnessed Patrick accidentally hit Ford with the vacuum, that Patrick was oblivious to what happened, and that Ford pushed Patrick's hand and told her to watch where she was going. (Id. Ex. E). Hernandez also stated that Patrick "was startled by the situation and apologized for the accident." (Id. Ex. E).
Patrick submitted a signed statement to Bethea regarding the incident on March 6, 2006. (Id. Ex. D). In the statement, Patrick claimed she was cleaning up the shredding and vacuuming, and that while she was trying to put the bag on the vacuum it slipped out of her hand and accidentally bumped Ford's foot. (Id. Ex. D). She alleged that Ford responded by hitting her on the hand with a paper bag and cursing. (Id. Ex. D).
Later in the day on March 6, following his investigation, Bethea met with Ford and informed her that her...
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