Hayes v. Kerik
| Decision Date | 08 February 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. CV-99-5725(SJF)(CLP).,CV-99-5725(SJF)(CLP). |
| Citation | 414 F.Supp.2d 193 |
| Parties | Sharon HAYES, Plaintiff, v. Bernard KERIK, Commissioner, New York City Department of Corrections and New York City Department of Corrections, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
Joseph Fleming, New York, NY, for Plaintiff.
Celena R. Mayo, NYC Office of Corporation Counsel, New York, NY, for Defendants.
Sharon Hayes (plaintiff) commenced this employment discrimination action against defendants Bernard Kerik, Commissioner, New York City Department of Corrections (the Commissioner) and the New York City Department of Corrections (the DOC), alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. (Title VII), and 42 U.S.C. § 1981, as well as a state law claim for intentional infliction of emotional harm. The Commissioner and DOC (collectively, defendants) now move pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. For the reasons stated herein, defendants' motion is granted.
On February 24, 1986, plaintiff, an African-American female, was appointed as a Correction Officer (CO) at the DOC. On December 4, 1989, plaintiff was promoted to the position of Captain. On June 18, 1990, plaintiff was reassigned from the Otis Bantum Correctional Center (OBCC) on Riker's Island, to the James A. Thomas Center (JATC), another correctional facility on Riker's Island. One of plaintiffs immediate supervisors at the JATC was Assistant Deputy Warden (ADW) Alonzo Davis (Davis), a black male. According to plaintiff, while she was assigned to the JATC, she was engaged in an intimate relationship with another ADW from a different command.
Prior to October 1994, plaintiff had an outstanding attendance record and no formal disciplinary history.
According to plaintiff, on October 13, 1994, some time before 4:30 p.m., she had had a disagreement with the unidentified ADW with whom she was engaged in an intimate relationship. (Transcript of the Examination Before Trial of Plaintiff on July, 27, 2000 [Plf. Dep.], p. 50). At approximately 4:30 p.m. on that date, plaintiff entered the control room, where Davis was present as Tour Commander with five COs, and completed an overtime slip for Davis to sign. Plaintiff admittedly was upset and angry, used profanity and made several derogatory remarks while she was in the control room. (Id. at 50-51). According to Davis, one of the derogatory comments made by plaintiff was: "I'm tired of all these Punk motherfucker deps."2 The parties dispute whether the derogatory remarks were directed at Davis or anyone else in the control room.
In an interdepartmental complaint filed by Davis dated October 17, 1994, he requested that plaintiff be disciplined for, inter alia, conduct unbecoming an officer and that she be removed from her post as security captain and administratively transferred out of the JATC facility. Plaintiff admittedly was not transferred as a result of Davis's recommendation. (Plf.Dep., pp. 80-81). At Davis's request, the other COs who were present in the control room on October 13, 1994 also submitted intradepartmental reports, in which they indicated that they heard plaintiff make derogatory comments regarding ADWs on that date.
On October 21, 1994, at Davis's request, plaintiff submitted a written report, in which she admitted making the following statement: However, plaintiff indicated that the remark was made regarding a personal situation involving herself and the ADW with whom she had been intimate.
By interdepartmental memorandum to Warden Michael Pastena (Pastena) dated October 20, 1994,3 the Deputy Warden for Administration Errol D. Toulon (Toulon), recommended that plaintiff receive "Command Discipline"4 for treating a supervisor with contempt or disrespect. In the memorandum, Toulon indicated that notwithstanding plaintiff's explanation for her remarks in her report, "under the circumstances they were in appropriate [sic], especially because of the fragile working relationship that seems to exist between the [sic] she and A/D/W/ Davis."
On October 25, 1994, plaintiff was served with a Command Discipline charging her with violations of rule 3.15.140 (), rule 3.15.150 (), and rule 3.15.250 (). Toulon suggested that plaintiff lose two vacation days as a penalty. (Plf.Dep., p. 66). Plaintiff rejected both the penalty and Command Discipline and requested to proceed with a formal hearing.
On November 29, 1994, upon plaintiffs rejection of Command Discipline, Pastena commenced formal disciplinary proceedings by filing a "Memorandum of Complaint," in which he recommended that plaintiff lose ten (10) vacation days as a penalty for her conduct. On January 18, 1995, the office of the Chief of Operations approved the commencement of formal disciplinary charges.
Plaintiff received the Memorandum of Complaint on June 27, 1995 and on July 11, 1995, she consented to service of the charges against her by the Memorandum of Complaint. Also on that date, plaintiff appeared with her union counsel at an informal preliminary conference with the DOC's legal representative, Carl DiCarlo (DiCarlo). At the conference, the parties agreed to resolve the charges with a written reprimand, which would be expunged from plaintiffs record within one year (the negotiated plea agreement).
On October 11, 1995, plaintiffs counsel, Nelson, Klein and Garber (NK & G), contacted DiCarlo and requested that the negotiated plea agreement be set aside pending disposition of the matter in negotiations with the DOC First Deputy Commissioner's Office (FDCO). On November 25, 1996, when DiCarlo failed to receive any further communications from NK & G, the formal disciplinary process was reactivated. Thereafter, the DOC offered plaintiff a penalty of losing five (5) vacation days, which plaintiff rejected on January 7, 1997.
On June 9, 1997, a hearing was held at the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings (OATH) before Administrative Law Judge Charles R. Fraser (the ALJ), at which plaintiff was represented by other counsel. At the hearing, plaintiff testified, inter alia, that she used the words "moron," "stupid" and "punk" and that she said that she was "tired of these deps," but that she was referring to another ADW, a purported ex-lover of hers who was spreading gossip about her. The ALJ specifically discredited plaintiffs testimony, found plaintiff guilty of the charges and recommended that she be suspended without pay for fifteen (15) days.
On October 16, 1997, the DOC Commissioner at that time, Michael P. Jacobson (Jacobson), adopted the ALJ's recommended penalty. Plaintiff was suspended from November 7, 1997 to November 21, 1997.
In March 1995, after the commencement of formal disciplinary proceedings against plaintiff, Terrence Skinner (Skinner), the Deputy Warden for Security at JATC at that time, received a report from Captain William Burgos (Burgos) and an anonymous letter indicating that plaintiff had had information regarding a possible inmate action against COs that she had not reported. The matter was referred to the DOC Investigations Unit (IU).
According to defendants, as a result of the allegations, plaintiff was reassigned on April 3, 1995 from the JATC to the Brooklyn House of Detention for Men (BKHDM). According to plaintiff, she was reassigned because the officers wanted a male officer, specifically Captain Ralph Moran (Moran), and not her, to work the security post, and because of allegations that she was too friendly with the inmates. (Plf.Dep., pp. 89-94). Defendants maintain, and it is not disputed, that plaintiff was permitted to choose the borough facility to which she would be reassigned, and that she chose the BKHDM. It is also undisputed that plaintiff did not lose any benefits or salary as a result of the reassignment. (Transcript of the Examination Before Trial of Plaintiff on August 16, 2000 [Plf. Dep. II], p. 32).
By report dated March 15, 1996, the IU investigator, Sandra Coleman, found that the allegations that plaintiff was unduly familiar with inmates and that she had prior knowledge of a possible inmate uprising in JATC were unsubstantiated. The case was closed with no charges, but plaintiff was not transferred back to the JATC.
On July 2, 1995, plaintiff submitted an intradepartmental memorandum to the DOC's EEO office alleging that she was reassigned to the BKHDM in retaliation for her refusal to fabricate information regarding a "use of force" incident and to adopt or embrace Skinner's ideology, and because of her race and gender. Plaintiff also alleged that following her refusal to fabricate information, she was not invited to meetings and Skinner began delegating her responsibilities to other officers.
On August 2, 1995, plaintiff filed a formal complaint of discrimination with the DOC's EEO claiming gender discrimination and that she was not afforded a hearing regarding her April 1995 reassignment.
On July 8, 1996, plaintiff was reassigned from the BKHDM to the Transportation Division (TD) on Riker's Island. At her deposition, plaintiff indicated that she was pleased by the transfer back to Riker's Island because she did not like the BKHDM. (Plf.Dep., p. 108).
On June 1, 1999, plaintiff filed a complaint with the United States Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging discrimination based on race, color and gender and a hostile work...
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