Harris v. Rumsfeld

• Decision Date: 29 March 2006
• Docket Number: No. Civ.A. 204CV545.,Civ.A. 204CV545.
• Citation: 428 F.Supp.2d 460
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia
• Parties: Gloria G. HARRIS, Plaintiff, v. Donald H. RUMSFELD, Secretary, Department of Defense, Defendant.

428 F.Supp.2d 460

Gloria G. HARRIS, Plaintiff, v. Donald H. RUMSFELD, Secretary, Department of Defense, Defendant.

No. Civ.A. 204CV545.

United States District Court, E.D. Virginia, Norfolk Division.

March 29, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Gloria G. Harris, Pro se.

Anita Kay Henry, United States Attorney's Office, Norfolk, VA, for Defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER

KELLEY, District Judge.

Plaintiff Gloria G. Harris claims that she was victimized by unlawful racial discrimination when her employer, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), deliberately "sabotaged" her opportunity for a promotion by forcing her to wait approximately fifteen (15) minutes before beginning the selection interview. She subsequently filed this pro se action, alleging that DFAS racially discriminated against her in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq. Harris seeks $6,300,000.00 in damages.

The matter is now before the Court on defendant Rumsfeld's Motion for Summary Judgment. (Docket No. 9.) For the reasons stated below, the Court GRANTS the motion.

I. Factual and Procedural History¹

Harris, an African-American woman, has been employed by DFAS in its Norfolk, Virginia office since 1989. DFAS is an agency of the United States Department of Defense. Throughout her employment with DFAS, Harris held various positions and served "collateral duty" as an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) counselor. She is currently employed as a Lead Accounting Technician in the Vendor Pay Services Branch of DFAS. She has held that position since May 2001.

In May 2002, Harris applied for a promotion to one of two Supervisory Accounting. Technician (SAT) positions that became available at DFAS. Out of eight applicants for the SAT position, six, including Harris, were rated as "qualified" and referred to an interview panel for further consideration as "competitive applicants." Candidates for the SAT positions were to be chosen based solely on applicant performance during the interview session.

The applicants with the two highest overall interview scores would be referred for approval to Richard 0. Helms, Director of Navy Vendor Pay Support. Helms is a Caucasian male. Because Helms was not the local site manager at the DFAS' Norfolk office, he was unaware of Harris' race or the employment position that she held. (Helms Affidavit at p. 1.)

The interview panel was composed of three members. Larry M. Johnson, an African-American male, was a Supervisory Accountant and Vendor Pay Branch Manager. As chairperson of the interview panel, Johnson determined the questions that would be asked of each applicant and developed a system to score the applicants' responses. Another panel member, Barbara Stewart, an African-American female, was employed in a SAT position.

The third panel member, Deborah L. Ayres, is a Caucasian female. During the two years preceding Harris' interview, Ayres served as Harris' immediate supervisor. Ayres "always" gave Harris "either outstanding or highly successful evaluations" because, according to Ayres, Harris "was and is a good technician." (Ayres Affidavit at p. 1.)

It was Ayres' promotion from the SAT position to a Financial Specialist position that created one of the openings for which Harris applied. A few weeks prior to the interview, Harris congratulated Ayres on her promotion. When Harris informed Ayres that she might apply for the SAT position, Ayres responded, "If I were you, I wouldn't want my job."

Although Harris arrived for her interview at the appointed time, the interview did not begin precisely on schedule. Panel member Stewart was not present in the conference room where the interview was to be conducted. Harris sat alone in the conference room with Ayres for approximately fifteen (15) minutes while Johnson went to locate Stewart. During the delay, Harris and Ayres did not speak to each other. While some other candidates had to wait for nearly thirty (30) minutes after the scheduled start time for their interviews to begin, Harris apparently was the only applicant who waited in the interview room with a panel member.

The fifteen (15) minute delay, coupled with waiting alone in a room with her former supervisor and current panel member, unnerved Harris and negatively impacted her performance during the interview. According to Harris, it was difficult for her to be alone in the interview room with Ayres. Harris explained:

It wasn't with [Ayres] personally. It was the situation. You know, you go into an interview, you go there—I was nervous before I even got there. And then when that happened, I was really hysterical almost because the people weren't there. It's like, why didn't they call me. Somebody should have called me and told me to come down later. That's how I felt about that.

I shouldn't have been made to sit in front of her because it's different to be sitting in front of her rather than be outside a room by myself waiting. I could deal with that better instead of sitting in front of one of the [panel members]. That was very hard.

. . . . .

I didn't know what was going on. Then when [Johnson] left to look for [Stewart], I didn't know how long I would be waiting or anything like that. But the fact that I had just the wait itself, it really took a lot out of me because I was ready to go ahead and do whatever we had to do. If it had been organized to begin with I could have just gone on and answered their questions and done what they had to do right at that time. I was the only one made to wait ... that length in front of somebody .. . . Everyone else, if their interview was delayed, they were waiting outside of the room. It wasn't the same situation as mine.

(Harris Dep. at 33-34.)

Harris further described her performance during the interview:

I kind of lost my train of thought. I was at a loss for words. Some of the questions I may. have been able to answer and didn't answer, but I—what was running through my mind was, why did this happen to me. That was what was running through my mind.

(Harris Dep. at 36.) Harris stated that Johnson's instructions to her at the beginning of the interview went "in one ear and out the other." (Harris Dep. at 39.) She claimed that her mind was "almost blank" during the interview and that she would have performed better had she been advised to wait a few minutes before proceeding to the conference room. (Harris Dep. at 37.)

The panel members agreed with Harris' self-assessment that she performed poorly during the interview. They ranked Harris fifth (5th) out of the six applicants who were interviewed. According to Johnson, Harris' overall evaluation score was "at or below average." Johnson explained that Harris appeared unprepared for the questions asked during the interview and "[nit times she looked at the ceiling or around the room." Further, Johnson noted that Harris failed to elaborate concerning her professional assets and achievements. (Johnson Affidavit at p. 1.)

Stewart recalled that Harris gave brief answers to the questions posed to her and that she received lower scores for her answers to "supervisory type questions." Stewart had the impression that if Harris had "elaborated and provided more information, she would have scored higher." (Stewart Affidavit at p. 1.) Ayres believed that Harris need to improve her knowledge in certain areas, including cash management, supervision concepts, and employee training. (Ayres Affidavit at p. 1.)

Kelly M. Wilson and Rayna J. Parsons, both Caucasian females, received the two highest overall scores from the interview session. The panel recommended them to Helms for promotion. After reviewing the panel's evaluations sheets for consistency, quality, and strength of the applicants' responses, Helms adopted the panel's recommendation.

In July 2002, DFAS sent Harris a letter informing her that she was not selected for the promotion and that Wilson and Parsons were chosen instead. The letter explained that the "Mandidates selected were chosen based on past experience and demonstrated supervisory, organizational and/or training skills."

Harris filed a formal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charge alleging that DFAS unlawfully discriminated against her when it failed to promote her to the SAT position. Following an administrative proceeding, the EEOC administrative law judge ruled in favor of DFAS. Harris now seeks relief in this Court.

II. Principles of Summary Judgment

Summary judgment is appropriate only when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law."² Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); see also Hunt v. Cromartie, 526 U.S. 541, 549, 119 S.Ct. 1545, 143 L.Ed.2d 731 (1999); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Warch v. Ohio Cas. Ins. Co., 435 F.3d 510, 513 (4th Cir.2006); Walton v. Greenbrier Ford, Inc., 370 F.3d 446, 449 (4th Cir.2004). A court "must take special care" when considering a summary judgment motion in an employment discrimination case because the employer's "motive is often the critical issue." Beall v. Abbott Labs., 130 F.3d 614, 619 (4th Cir.1997); Evans v. Techs. Applications & Serv. Co., 80 F.3d 954, 958 (4th Cir.1996); Ballinger v. N.C. Agric. Extension Serv., 815 F.2d 1001, 1005 (4th Cir.1987). Nevertheless, summary judgment remains an appropriate disposition when the plaintiff is unable to prevail on his or her discrimination claims as a matter of law. Beall, 130 F.3d at 619; Evans, 80 F.3d at 958-59.

III. Analysis

A plaintiff proceeding under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 may prove his or her case in one of two ways. See Diamond v. Colonial Life & Accident Ins. Co., 416 F.3d 310, 318 (4th...