Grosdidier v. Chairman

• Decision Date: 16 May 2011
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 08–1553 (CKK).
• Citation: 774 F.Supp.2d 76
• Parties: Camille GROSDIDIER, Plaintiff,v.CHAIRMAN, BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

774 F.Supp.2d 76

Camille GROSDIDIER, Plaintiff,
v.
CHAIRMAN, BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 08–1553 (CKK).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

March 28, 2011.Opinion Denying Reconsideration May 16, 2011.

[774 F.Supp.2d 84]

Leslie David Alderman, III, Alderman, Devorsetz & Hora PLLC, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.Judith A. Kidwell, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION COLLEEN KOLLAR–KOTELLY, District Judge.

Plaintiff Camille Grosdidier (“Grosdidier”) brings this action against the Broadcasting Board of Governors (“BBG” or the “agency”) pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”),

[774 F.Supp.2d 85]

42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq., and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. §§ 621 et seq. Grosdidier alleges that her employer, the Voice of America (“VOA”), an entity within the BBG, discriminated against her based on her race, age, sex, and national origin and retaliated against her for complaining about this discrimination. Presently pending before the Court are Defendant's [21] Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings or Alternatively, [15] Motion for Summary Judgment and Plaintiff's [23] Motion for Adverse Presumption. For the reasons explained below, the Court shall GRANT–IN–PART Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment with respect to all of Plaintiff's claims except her claim that Defendant retaliated against her by reducing her editing responsibilities after October 5, 2007, with respect to which the Court shall DENY–IN–PART Defendant's motion. The Court shall also DENY Plaintiff's Motion for Adverse Presumption.

I. BACKGROUND

Camille Grosdidier has worked as an International Broadcaster with the French to Africa Service of the Voice of America since 1987. Def.'s Stmt.¹ ¶ 2. Grosdidier is a white female of French national origin who is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Id. ¶ 1. She is employed at the GS–12 level. Id. ¶ 2. The BBG encompasses all U.S. civilian international broadcasting, including the VOA, Radio Free Europe, and other networks. Id. ¶ 14. BBG broadcasters distribute programming in sixty languages to an estimated weekly audience of 175 million people via radio, television, the internet, and other new media. Id. The VOA's French to Africa Service primarily competes with French, British, and local African radio and media services. Id. ¶ 15. These competitors began using television, internet, and other new communication technologies before the VOA, and the French to Africa Service has since recognized the importance of multimedia forms of communication. Id.

Throughout most of the time relevant to this litigation, the Chief of the French to Africa Service was Idrissa Seydou Dia (“Dia”). See Pl.'s Ex. 6 (Dia Dep.) at 5. Dia had been acting in that capacity since sometime in 2003. Id. Between 1992 and 2002, Grosdidier filed a series of equal employment opportunity (“EEO”) complaints about discrimination and harassment in the workplace. See Def.'s Ex. Y (Aff. of Camille Grosdidier) at 1–2. In September 2002, Grosdidier filed a complaint about her nonselection for a GS–13 International Broadcaster position in the French to Africa Service, alleging discrimination based on her sex, color, and reprisal for engaging in EEO activity. Id. at 2. That complaint was dismissed by an administrative judge. See Pl.'s Ex. 2 (Grosdidier Dep.) at 37. Grosdidier also complained about an incident in 2000 when her supervisor, then-Chief Claude Porsella, removed

[774 F.Supp.2d 86]

her from editing duties. See id. at 32–33. She was eventually reinstated to editing duties. Id. at 33–34. Grosdidier contends that her EEO activity was generally known within the French to Africa Service. See Def.'s Ex. Y (Aff. of Camille Grosdidier) at 2.

A. Grosdidier's Complaints About Her Work Environment

Around 2004 and 2005, Grosdidier complained to her supervisors about what she perceived to be a sexually charged atmosphere in the French to Africa Service. Dia had a particularly friendly relationship with one female producer in the office, who called Dia “Sexy Papa” and whom Dia called “Sexy Mama.” See Pl.'s Ex. 24 (Dep. of Ferdinand Ferella) at 109. Ferdinand Ferella, who worked as a managing editor for the French to Africa Service, described this as “something of a joke.” Id. Dia testified that it did not have any sexual connotation, but instead resulted from Dia's mistranslation of the Jimi Hendrix song “Foxy Lady.” See Pl.'s Ex. 6 (Dia Dep.) at 40–41. Grosdidier objected to the banter between Dia and this employee. Grosdidier also complained about another female employee who called Ferella “maître,” or “master,” which she thought was inappropriate. Pl.'s Ex. 24 (Dep. of Ferdinand Ferella) at 110–11; Pl.'s Ex. 2 (Grosdidier Dep.) at 190. This conduct stopped after Grosdidier complained. Pl.'s Ex. 24 (Dep. of Ferdinand Ferella) at 115.

Grosdidier complained about hugging and kissing in the workplace that she perceived to be unprofessional and outside the bounds of what was acceptable in French culture. Pl.'s Ex. 2 (Dep. of Camille Grosdidier) at 185–86. On May 3, 2005, Grosdidier sent an email to Dia complaining about one particular female co-worker who gave a “big, long, fat hug” to a Senegalese man visiting the office; Grosdidier objected to what she perceived as the employee's “pressing need to press herself against every man in sight on the slightest pretext—especially strangers—and the way this has ‘sexualized’ our French Branch office.” Pl.'s Ex. 30 (5/3/2005 Email from Grosdidier to Dia) at 17.

Grosdidier also complained about an email sent around the office in April 2004 depicting a man straddling a cannon, which she perceived to be sexually suggestive. See Pl.'s Ex. 24 (Dep. of Ferdinand Ferella) at 117; Pl.'s Ex. 29 at 12 (4/13/2004 Email from Grosdidier to Eric Agnero) (“Thanks for this edifying picture of a man with a giant object between his legs.”). Dia told Grosdidier that the employee who sent the email did not see anything sexual about the photograph, which depicted a famous musician from his home country. See Pl.'s Ex. 29 at 13; Pl.'s Ex. 6 (Dia Dep.) at 36. In November 2003, the same employee had sent an email around the office containing a picture of an outdoor marketplace in which brassieres were prominently displayed. See Pl.'s Ex. 29 at 14. Grosdidier also complained about one male employee who wore short shorts to the office; Ferella agreed in his deposition testimony that his attire was unprofessional. See Pl.'s Ex. 24 (Dep. of Ferdinand Ferella) at 118–19.

Dia took informal action in response to Grosdidier's complaints, warning people during a morning office meeting not to go overboard with physical contact and to keep things professional because “someone” might complain. See Pl.'s Ex. 6 (Dep. of Idrissa Dia) at 37–38. Dia denies identifying Grosdidier as the potential complainant. See id. at 132. Dia told Ferella that he was frustrated by Grosdidier's complaints because he did not believe the conduct was sexual in nature. See Pl.'s Ex. 24 (Dep. of Ferdinand Ferella) at 115–16. Dia testified in his deposition that he

[774 F.Supp.2d 87]

was upset at Grosdidier for tarnishing his warm relationship with the employee who called him “Sexy Papa.” See Pl.'s Ex. 6 (Dep. of Idrissa Dia) at 41.

B. Grosdidier's Editing Duties & Other Work Responsibilities

Although Grosdidier's primary responsibilities as a broadcaster in the French to Africa Service involved reporting and producing news stories, she was occasionally given duties editing the work of other broadcasters. Grosdidier has produced evidence indicating that between February 2004 and at least April 2005, she was regularly assigned editing duties. See Pl.'s Ex. 26 (2/6/2004 Email from Dia to French to Africa Service) at 2 (listing Grosdidier as one of two broadcasters on the editing team under the overall supervision of a senior editor); Pl.'s Ex. 42 (assignment sheets). Editing duties were normally handled by senior editors rather than broadcasters like Grosdidier. See Pl.'s Ex. 24 (Dep. of Ferdinand Ferella) at 32–33. According to Timothee Donangmaye (“Donangmaye”), one of Grosdidier's colleagues, only a few broadcasters who had excellent language skills were assigned to edit. See Pl.'s Ex. 20 (Dep. of Timothee Donangmaye) at 33–35. Donangmaye was one of those broadcasters who performed editing duties on a rotating basis. Id. at 35–36. Grosdidier's editing skills were mentioned favorably in several performance evaluations during this period. See Pl.'s Ex. 40 (Performance Appraisal Report) at 8; Pl.'s Ex. 41 (Performance Appraisal Report) at 8. When assigned editing duties, Grosdidier would conduct the first editing review of other broadcasters' work, and the final product would be reviewed again by other supervisors. See Pl.'s Ex. 24 (Dep. of Ferdinand Ferella) at 43.

Sometime in 2005, Dia made a change in the work assignments that resulted in Grosdidier working less on editing assignments. Pl.'s Ex. 34 (Dia Dep.) at 66–67, 70. It appears this change began around June 2005. See Pl.'s Ex. 3 (Assignment sheets). However, by April 2006, Grosdidier was being reassigned to editing duties on a rotating basis. See Pl.'s Ex. 34 (Dia Dep.) at 68–72; Pl.'s Ex. 27 (Assignment sheets). Records of weekly editing assignments produced by Grosdidier appear to indicate that she was assigned editing duties at least a few days each month between April and December 2006. See Pl.'s Ex. 27.

Another aspect of Grosdidier's duties at the VOA involved editing and uploading content on the VOA's website. According to a project manager in the BBG's Office of Internet Services, VOA employees cannot edit or upload content on the website unless they have received training in the content management system used by the VOA, which is called CommonSpot. See Pl.'s Ex. 22 (Decl. of Marlene Wright) ¶ 3. Since February 2006, an individual could not get a password to...