Harris v. Wackenhut Services, Inc., Civil Action No. 04-2132 (RBW).
| Decision Date | 09 December 2008 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 04-2132 (RBW). |
| Citation | 590 F.Supp.2d 54 |
| Parties | Edward E. HARRIS Plaintiff, v. WACKENHUT SERVICES, INC., Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
Charles W. Day, Jr., Joseph D. Gebhardt, Valencia R. Rainey, Gebhardt & Associates, LLP, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.
Henry Morris, Jr., Kristine J. Dunne, Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC, Washington, DC, for Defendant.
The plaintiff, Edward Harris, brings this action against the defendant, Wackenhut Services, Inc. ("Wackenhut"), pursuant to the District of Columbia Human Rights Act ("Human Rights Act"), D.C.Code §§ 2-1401.01(a)(1), 2-1402.11(a)(1), and 2-1402.61(a) & (b) (2001), asserting claims of having been subjected to (1) a hostile work environment because of his race; (2) disparate treatment based on his race; (3) retaliation; and (4) constructive discharge.1 Complaint ("Compl.") at 14-16. Specifically, the plaintiff alleges that the defendant subjected him "to a hostile work environment and constructively discharged him by discriminatorily demoting him and depriving him of his supervisory responsibilities over approximately 1,000 employees and retaliating against him for opposing senior management's discriminatory treatment of the defendant's African American employees." Compl. at 2. Currently before this Court are the defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment ("Def.'s Mot.") and the plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment ("Pl.'s Mot.").2 Upon consideration of the parties' submissions and the entire record, the defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment must be denied in part and granted in part and the plaintiff's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment must be denied.
The following facts are undisputed except where otherwise noted.3 "[H]eadquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Wackenhut is a world leader in providing high-end armed and unarmed security personnel, paramilitary protective forces, law enforcement officers, fire and rescue services, aviation operations and support, base operations and facility management, entry level training, and cleared personnel to government and selected commercial customers." Def.'s Mem., Exhibit ("Ex.") 1 (Declaration of David W. Foley) ("Foley Decl.") ¶ 2. Its National Capital Region operations provides management oversight for several security contracts in the greater Washington, D.C. area, which includes the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland. Id., Ex. 2 (Deposition of David Foley) ("Foley Dep.") at 88; Compl. ¶ 12. Wackenhut acquired most of the security contracts in the greater Washington, D.C. area when it purchased the assets of another security contractor, Areawide Security ("Areawide"). Id., Ex. 3 (Deposition of Edward Harris) ("Harris Dep.") at 22, 24-25, 27-28, Ex. 4 (Deposition of James Long) ("Long Dep.") at 46. For a period of time after the purchase, Wackenhut managed the contracts acquired from Areawide under the name Wackenhut Areawide. Id. Later, Wackenhut Areawide was renamed Wackenhut Services Inc. Id., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 22-23, Ex. 4 (Long Dep.) at 46-47.
The plaintiff worked for Wackenhut from September 1998 until December 2003. Def.'s Mem., Ex. 2 (Foley Dep.) at 220, Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 261-262. Wackenhut hired the plaintiff in September 1998, at the a salary of $60,000 per year to manage its interim contract to provide security services at the Ronald Reagan Building located in the District of Columbia.4 Id., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 15-18 & Attachment ("Attach.") 3 (Wackenhut New Hire Form), Ex. 4 (Long Dep.) at 44-45. Three months later, in December 1998, Wackenhut reassigned the plaintiff to a permanent position as Director of Security Operations for Wackenhut Areawide Operations. Id., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 19-20, Ex. 3 at Attach. 4 (Memorandum from Weldon Howard to the plaintiff, dated December 16, 1998). A year later, in November 1999, Wackenhut promoted the plaintiff to the position of Corporate Vice President and General Manager of its National Capitol Region, Id., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 30-31, 42-43 & Attach. 6 (Letter from James L. Long to Plaintiff, dated November 1, 1999) ("Offer Letter") & Attach. 8 (Memorandum from James L. Long to All District/Area/Branch Offices—Subsidiaries, Facilities, Headquarters Department Heads, dated November 2, 1999), and his annual salary was increased to $80,000, id., Ex. 3 at Attach. 6 (Offer Letter).
Wackenhut increased the plaintiff's annual salary again the following year to approximately $83,600, effective October 2000. Id., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 43. Additionally, Wackenhut awarded the plaintiff a year-end $7,500 bonus. Id. at 47. Effective November 2001, Wackenhut gave the plaintiff another salary increase, raising it to $87,362 per year. Id. at 46-47 & Attach. 10 (Personnel Action Change Form, dated November, 2001). In addition to giving him a pay raise, Wackenhut awarded the plaintiff a year-end 2001 bonus of approximately $17,000. Id., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 47, 55. Effective November 2002, Wackenhut increased the plaintiff's salary to approximately $92,603.5 Id. at 56-57 & Attach. 11 (Personnel Action Change Form, dated by Payroll October 25, 2002). Additionally, Wackenhut awarded the plaintiff a year-end 2002 bonus of more than $31,000. Id., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 57. In November 2003, Wackenhut increased Plaintiff's salary to approximately $95,844. Id., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 58-59 & Attach. 12 (Personnel Action Change Form, dated November 3, 2003). However, the plaintiff did not receive a year-end bonus for 2003 because he terminated his employment before the year expired.6 Id., Ex. 4 (Long Dep.) at 118-119.
The plaintiff contends that Wackenhut provided certain employees—Larry Luper, Jack Faulkner, Sam Brinkley, and Paul Donahue—with memberships in exclusive clubs and organizations while not affording such memberships to him. Def.'s Mem., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 63; Compl. ¶ 16. The plaintiff, however, cannot identify the clubs or organizations to which the aforementioned employees were provided memberships by Wackenhut. Id. at 68-69, 72-73. Further, the plaintiff never heard Luper, Faulkner, Brinkley, or Donahue say that Wackenhut had sponsored or paid for their memberships in any club or organization. Id. at 73. In addition, the plaintiff has not read any documents indicating that Wackenhut paid for such memberships. Id. Instead, the plaintiff bases his allegations about Wackenhut's role in these employees' purported club or organization memberships on portions of conversations he overheard Luper, Faulkner, Brinkley, or Donahue having about their evening activities, id. at 72, which the men would discontinue whenever he approached them. Id. at 69, 72-73.
Most National Capitol Region employees are security personnel who work in the field at specific contract sites. Def.'s Mem., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 183. However, the plaintiff's central work station was at the National Capitol Region's office located in a Camp Springs, Maryland.7 Id. at 13-14, 25. In addition to the plaintiff, approximately sixteen other employees worked at the Camp Springs location. Id. at 183-184. The plaintiff contends that he expressed concerns to Wackenhut regarding maintenance problems at the building, including, but not limited to, a leaking roof, which caused flooding on the seventh floor, inoperable elevators, power outages, and broken water and sewer pipes. Compl. ¶ 21. Although it is not clear from the record who was responsible for working with the landlord to remedy the alleged problems, the defendant contends that it was the plaintiff's responsibility as the National Capitol Region's Vice President and General Manager. Def.'s Mem., Ex. 6 (Faulkner Dep.) at 59-60. Nevertheless, after the plaintiff raised his concerns, the defendant considered moving the plaintiff to a new location in downtown Washington D.C. Id., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 197, 204. However, the plaintiff declined the defendant's offer to move him because he believed it "made[] no sense" for him to be separated by 30 miles from the office employees he was required to supervise. Id. at 204, 206. Rather, he believed that the entire staff should have been moved to the Washington, D.C. office. Id.
Senior Wackenhut employees who need cars to perform their work receive them from the company. Def.'s Mem., Ex. 1 (Foley Decl.) ¶ 14. The plaintiff contends that the company vehicles of white general managers and vice presidents were of significantly higher quality than the vehicles provided to him. Compl. ¶ 19.
Wackenhut's practice is to allow employees to use the cars until they are fully depreciated, whereupon they are sold at auctions. Def.'s Mem., Ex. 1 (Foley Decl.) ¶ 14. Wackenhut advised the plaintiff that he would be provided an "existing company vehicle" during his tenure as Vice President and General Manager. Id., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 186-187 & Attach. 6 (Offer Letter). When he assumed the Vice President and General Manager position in 1999, the plaintiff was assigned a 1994 Ford Taurus. Id., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 187-188. The following year, Wackenhut assigned the plaintiff a 1998 Buick Century.8 Id. at 189-190. And, in 2002 or 2003, Wackenhut assigned him a new Ford Taurus.9 Id., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 193-194. The plaintiff concedes that his assigned vehicles functioned and served his business needs. Id., Ex. 3 (Harris Dep.) at 188, 194-195, 197. He further concedes that he complained to no one about the vehicle he was assigned. Id. at 195.
There is a dispute as to the plaintiff's purchasing authority and the holiday budget that was allocated to him by Wackenhut for the National Capitol Region. Specifically, the plaintiff contends...
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