Francis v. Perez

• Decision Date: 07 October 2013
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 12–0964(ESH)
• Citation: 970 F.Supp.2d 48
• Parties: Jean Francis, Plaintiff, v. Thomas E. Perez, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

970 F.Supp.2d 48

Jean Francis, Plaintiff,

v.Thomas E. Perez,¹ Defendant.

Civil Action No. 12–0964(ESH)

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

October 7, 2013

Stephanie Rapp, Morris Eli Fischer, Law Office of Morris E. Fischer, LLC, Silver Spring, MD, for Plaintiff.

Rhonda Lisa Campbell, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ELLEN SEGAL HUVELLE, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Jean Francis, a Seventh Day Adventist, has sued Thomas Perez, Secretary of the Department of Labor (“DOL”), under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. She alleges that she was discriminated against by her superiors on the basis of religion, refused a reasonable accommodation for her religious practices, and retaliated against for complaining about her supervisors' alleged discrimination. Before the Court is defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment. For the reasons stated below, this motion will be granted.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiff is a Seventh Day Adventist who observes the Sabbath from sunset on Fridays to sunset on Saturdays. (Aff. of Jean Francis, Dec. 3, 2009 [Def.'s Ex. 9] at 2, 4.) From June 10, 2007 to June 21, 2009, plaintiff was the Chief of the Branch of Budget Formulation and Implementation of the Office of Management, Administration and Planning in the Employment Standards Administration (“ESA”) of the DOL. (Statement of Material Facts as to Which There is No Genuine Dispute (“SOF”), May 9, 2013 [Dkt. No. 16–2] ¶ 1.) The Vacancy Announcement for the Budget Branch Chief position listed as a “Key Requirement” that the position “[r]equires long work hours to meet the demands of the office.” ( Id. ¶ 22.) During plaintiff's interview for the position, Charlene Dunn, Director of the Division of Financial Management and Acting Budget Branch Chief, gave an example of the “long hours” advertised in the vacancy announcement by relating a recent experience when the budget team worked from Friday evening straight through to Saturday afternoon. (SOF ¶ 5; Dep. of Charlene Dunn (“Dunn Dep.”), March 4, 2011 [Pl.'s Ex. 2; Def.'s Ex. 8] at 23–24.) Anne Baird–Bridges, Director of the Office of Management, Administration and Planning, also participated in plaintiff's interview. (SOF ¶ 3; Aff. of Anne Baird–Bridges (“Baird–Bridges Aff.”), Jan. 15, 2010 [Pl.'s Ex. 4; Def.'s Ex. 3] at 4.) Both Mss. Dunn and Baird–Bridges claim Christianity as their religious affiliation. (SOF ¶¶ 4, 7.) Although plaintiff was not Ms. Baird–Bridges's “first choice” (Baird–Bridges Aff. at 4), plaintiff was selected for the position.

After plaintiff was selected, Ms. Dunn sent her a box of documents pertaining to the budgets, policies, and software unique to DOL for plaintiff's review prior to starting work. (SOF ¶ 26.) Plaintiff did not review all of the materials prior to beginning her position with DOL ( id. ¶ 27), because she was still working for the Department of Homeland Security at the time. (Dep. of Jean Francis (“2011 Francis Dep.”), March 15, 2011 [Pl.'s Ex. 3; Def.'s Ex. 2] at 61–62.)

On plaintiff's first day of work, ESA was in the process of preparing the OMB budget submission. (SOF ¶ 29.) Ms. Dunn instructed plaintiff to focus her attention on inputting the budget into the Departmental E–Budgeting System (“DEBS”). ( Id. at ¶¶ 30–31.) On Friday, June 22, 2007, plaintiff and her staff continued inputting the budget into the DEBS. ( Id. at ¶ 32.) Plaintiff arrived at work around 6:30 a.m. and left at 8:30 p.m., although several of her staff, along with Ms. Dunn, remained working. (Dep. of Jean Francis (“2013 Francis Dep.”), March 5, 2013 [Pl.'s Ex. 8; Def. Ex. 20] at 41–42; SOF ¶¶ 32–33.)

On Monday June 25, 2007, Mss. Dunn and Baird–Bridges met with plaintiff to discuss why she left before her staff the previous Friday evening. (SOF ¶ 34.) In response, plaintiff informed her supervisors for the first time that, as a Seventh Day Adventist, she was unavailable to work from Fridays at sunset to Saturdays at sunset because that was her Sabbath. ( Id. at ¶¶ 34–35; Dunn Dep. at 46.) Ms. Baird–Bridges asked “so if I ask you to come in on your Sabbath, you're not coming in?” (2013 Francis Dep. at 45.) Plaintiff responded that she could come in Saturdays after sunset or all day Sundays. ( Id.) To that response, Ms. Dunn stated that “Fridays are busy times and you have to work on Fridays” ( id.), and Ms. Baird–Bridges stated “if I had known that during the interview, I would have made other arrangements.” (Dunn Dep. at 46; see also 2013 Francis Dep. at 45.) Ms. Baird–Bridges further informed plaintiff that her inability to work on Friday evenings and Saturdays was going to interfere with her ability to “fulfill the responsibilities of her supervisory position.” (SOF ¶ 38; Dunn Dep. at 54). After that meeting, neither plaintiff's religion nor her inability to work during her Sabbath was discussed again. (SOF ¶ 40; see 2011 Francis Dep. at 73; see also infra n.5.) ²

On July 24, 2007, plaintiff met with Mss. Dunn and Baird–Bridges to discuss Ms. Dunn's departure from the DOL and to convey Ms. Baird–Bridges's expectations of the plaintiff vis-à -vis the budget. (SOF ¶ 50.) During the meeting, Ms. Baird–Bridges asked plaintiff why she had not, as requested, met with Ms. Dunn on a daily basis to discuss the budget or otherwise proactively assumed the duties of her new position. (Aff. of Charlene Dunn (“Dunn Aff.”), Feb. 2, 2010 [Pl.'s Ex. 9] at 3.) Plaintiff responded by alleging that Ms. Dunn had not assisted her or offered to help. ( Id.) In response, Ms. Dunn said that plaintiff was the “most arrogant person she had ever met.” (2013 Francis Dep. at 56; Dunn Aff. at 3.) After the meeting, Ms. Baird–Bridges sent plaintiff an e-mail summarizing her concerns with plaintiff's performance and questioning how plaintiff would “get the budget done.” (SOF ¶ 51; E-mail from Anne Baird–Bridges to Jean Francis, July 27, 2007 [Def.'s Ex. 15] at 1.) The e-mail noted that plaintiff had not immersed herself in the budget process, had failed to meet with Ms. Dunn when asked to, had failed to comply with instructions to gain program orientation, and had relied on her staff to make policy decisions that they were unqualified to make. (SOF ¶ 52.) Charlene Dunn retired from the DOL on August 17, 2007. ( Id. ¶ 8.)

Shortly after the July 24, 2007 meeting, plaintiff verbally complained to Dixon Mark Wilson, then-Deputy Assistant Secretary of ESA, that she was “subject to unwelcome, offensive, and unprofessional behavior by Anne Baird–Bridges.” (Aff. of Dixon Mark Wilson (“Wilson Aff.”), Jan. 11, 2010 [Pl.'s Ex. 11] at 5.) Mr. Dixon discussed with Ms. Baird–Bridges her “management style and behavior” during her annual and mid-year performance reviews. ( Id.) Mr. Wilson left the ESA in January 2009. ( Id.)

On November 1, 2007, Deputy Chief and Acting Budget Branch Chief Bruce Bohanon prepared plaintiff's performance appraisal for fiscal year (“FY”) 2007, which Ms. Baird–Bridges reviewed and signed. (SOF ¶ 53; FY 2007 Performance Appraisal, Nov. 1, 2007 [Def.'s Ex. 13].) The appraisal gave plaintiff an overall “effective” rating, with a “meets” expectations rating in six categories, and an “exceeds” expectations rating in two categories. (FY 2007 Performance Appraisal at 1–2.) ³ The written portion of the appraisal praised many aspects of plaintiff's work, including that she had “taken the initiative to take introductory supervisory courses to fully prepare herself for the challenges of supervision” and exhibited “excellent oral and written communication skills.” ( Id. at 11.) However, the appraisal also provided several recommendations for plaintiff's improvement, including that plaintiff “need[ed] to focus on handling a multitude of tasks quickly,” “needed to focus on increasing her consistent responsiveness to” her supervisors, and that “she should seek advice ... and take advantage of institutional knowledge and specific directives as she responds to questions, issues and concerns.” ( Id. at 11–12.) Plaintiff refused to sign the performance appraisal ( id. at 1) and wrote a two-page comment describing why she concluded that her “rating [was] not an accurate assessment of her performance.” ( Id at 13–14.)

On November 13, 2007, Janice Blake–Green replaced Mr. Bohanon as the Director of the Division of Financial Management. (SOF ¶¶ 9, 59.) One of Ms. Blake–Green's roles as director was to approve almost all of the documents pertaining to the ESA where funds were involved. ( Id. ¶ 60.) Upon starting her position, Ms. Blake–Green met with Ms. Baird–Bridges to discuss the staff, including plaintiff. (Dep. of Janice Blake–Green (“Blake–Green Dep.”), March 4, 2011 [Pl.'s Ex. 14; Def.'s Ex. 14] at 16.) Ms. Baird–Bridges indicated to Ms. Blake–Green that she “had some concerns about [plaintiff] and the performance of the budget duties, but she was hopeful that with [Ms. Blake–Green's] management styles, things would be turned around.” ( Id.) Ms. Baird–Bridges further informed Ms. Blake–Green that plaintiff had “problems [ ] with meeting deadlines” and that “[s]he did not believe [plaintiff] was capable of fulfilling her responsibilities as the budget chief.” ( Id. at 18–19.)

On January 8, 2008, Ms. Baird–Bridges copied Ms. Blake–Green on an e-mail sent to plaintiff seeking confirmation that an employment report had been completed. (SOF ¶ 63.) ⁴ Ms. Blake–Green investigated and found that the employment report, which was plaintiff's responsibility, had not been completed. ( Id. ¶ 64.) The next evening, Ms. Blake–Green requested the report from plaintiff that night. (2013 Francis Dep. at 70–71.) Plaintiff told Ms. Blake–Green that the report was delayed because one of the programs was late in submitting a budget. ( Id. at 72.) Plaintiff then recommended to Ms. Blake–Green that she “[c]ome in some time and see what we're doing so you can get the hang of what it takes to get this thing done.” ( Id...