Hemphill v. Aramark Corp.
| Decision Date | 25 March 2014 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 1:12-cv-01584-ELH |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
| Parties | ERIC HEMPHILL, Plaintiff, v. ARAMARK CORPORATION, et al., Defendants. |
Plaintiff Eric Hemphill, who is self-represented, has sued ARAMARK Corporation and ARAMARK Campus Services, LLC, defendants (collectively, "ARAMARK," unless otherwise noted), pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq.; the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act ("MFEPA"), Md. Code (2009 Repl. Vol., 2013 Supp.), State Gov't. §§ 20-606 et seq.; and Maryland common law.1 Amended Complaint ("Am. Compl.," ECF 47). In particular, Hemphill alleges employment discrimination based on race (Count 1); retaliation (Count 2); wage discrimination based on race (Count 3); unlawful termination based on race (Count 4); breach of contract (Count 5); and wrongful discharge based on race (Count 6).2
At the conclusion of discovery, plaintiff filed a motion for summary judgment and a supporting memorandum (ECF 68) (collectively, "Motion"), asserting that the Court should award judgment as a matter of law under the doctrine of spoliation because defendant withheld critical evidence.3 In a consolidated submission, defendants opposed plaintiff's Motion and filed a cross-motion for summary judgment (ECF 69) (collectively, "Cross-Motion").4 Plaintiffsubsequently moved for leave to file a second amended complaint ("Motion to Amend," ECF 74), which defendants oppose. ECF 80.
The motions have been fully briefed,5 and no hearing is necessary to resolve them. See Local Rule 105.6. For the reasons that follow, I will deny plaintiff's Motion and plaintiff's Motion to Amend, and I will grant defendants' Cross-Motion.
On August 5, 2004, plaintiff, who is African-American, submitted an employment application with ARAMARK, a leading food service provider. See Def. Ex. A; Pla. Ex. A; Pla. Dep. at 10-12. On the application, plaintiff responded "No" to the following question: "Have you ever been convicted of a crime (misdemeanor or felony)?" Def. Ex. A, ECF 69-1 at 5; Pla. Ex. A, AMK_HEM_000001. As the question indicates, it was not limited in duration or scope. Hemphill also signed an acknowledgment stating: "I understand and agree that any misrepresentations or omission of facts in my application may be justified for refusal to hire, or termination of employment." Def. Ex. A, ECF 69-1 at 8; Pla. Ex. A, AMK_HEM_000004.
ARAMARK, through its Regional Staffing Center, hired plaintiff on August 20, 2004. See Acknowledgment ("Ellis Decl. Ex. 5," ECF 69-1 at 144); Plaintiff's Affidavit at 1:22-23 ( ECF 68-1). He was an at-will employee. See Def. Ex. A, ECF 69-1 at 8; Def. Ex.E, Response to Interrogatory No. 2. The Staffing Center initially placed plaintiff in the position of Cook at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Facility at the Mount Washington Conference Center ("MWCC") in Baltimore. See Pla. Dep. at 10-14. Shortly after plaintiff was hired, the manager of the Bayview Facility sent plaintiff back to the Staffing Center because he was "dissatisfied with [plaintiff's] work performance." Pla. Dep. at 13:13-19. Around September 2004, the Staffing Center reassigned plaintiff to the position of a temporary Cook at the Piper Facility, another building at MWCC. Pla. Dep. at 13:19-22 - 14:1-3, 14:13-15. Plaintiff transitioned into a permanent Cook position at the Piper Facility on or about November 18, 2004. See Pla. Dep. at 9:6-14, 14:16-21; Beyer Decl. at ¶ 5; Pla. Aff. at 1:25-27.
On July 11, 2005, ARAMARK promoted plaintiff to "Chef/Manager" at the Piper Facility. Beyer Decl. at ¶ 6. Plaintiff refers to the position as "Executive Chef." Pla. Dep. at 14:22 - 15:1-9. As a Chef/Manager at the Piper Facility, plaintiff was responsible for "placing food orders, maintaining and tracking inventory, managing up to eight employees, and overseeing attendance," as well as "minimal catering functions" during occasional events on weekday evenings. Beyer Decl. at ¶ 7. Initially, plaintiff reported to Marianne Beauchamp, the Food and Beverage Director, and Tim Murphy, the Assistant General Manager. Id. at ¶ 8.
According to Scott Beyer, the General Manager of the MWCC, Hemphill's "job performance as Chef/Manager was generally acceptable until 2010." Beyer Decl. at ¶ 9. However, in early 2010 ARAMARK received complaints about Hemphill's treatment of other employees, including allegations that Hemphill "raised his voice, yelled and cursed at subordinate employees and that he displayed an insubordinate attitude toward Ms. Beauchamp and Mr. Murphy by storming out of meetings." Id. at ¶ 10. In addition, Beyer claims that Hemphill's level of care for customer/client service was not acceptable, he failed to performstandard managerial tasks, and he violated ARAMARK's policy concerning notification of absence from work. Id. at ¶ 11. For his part, plaintiff avers that he complained to Murphy in October 2010 about unequal pay and unfair treatment. Pla. Aff. at 1:36-38.
In an effort to improve Hemphill's performance, ARAMARK changed Hemphill's reporting structure in January 2011, so that he reported directly to Beyer. See id. at ¶¶ 8, 12.6 At his deposition, plaintiff indicated that it was his belief that the change in reporting structure occurred due to complaints that staff made about Beauchamp and Murphy. See Pla. Dep. at 16:20-22 - 17:1-15. In any event, according to Beyer, Hemphill's performance did not improve, despite the change in reporting structure. See Beyer Decl. at ¶ 13. On March 1, 2011, with the approval of ARAMARK's Human Resources Division, Beyer placed Hemphill on a 60-day Performance Improvement Plan ("PIP"), which Hemphill completed. Id.; see Pla. Ex. I; Def. Ex. I.
In 2011, ARAMARK received two anonymous complaints about Hemphill through its Employee Hotline, both alleging that, on his employment application, Hemphill had been untruthful about his criminal history. See Ellis Decl. at ¶ 4; Employee Hotline Complaints ("Ellis Decl. Ex. 1," ECF 69-1 at 72, 79). Specifically, a complaint filed online on January 2, 2011, alleged: "Mr. Hemphill has been convicted of three felonies in the state of New York, of one which included manslaughter." Ellis Decl. Ex. 1, ECF 69-1 at 72. Likewise, a complaint of June 5, 2011, reported: Ellis Decl. Ex. 1, ECF 69-1 at 79. The complaint of January 2, 2011, also included inmate information sheets from the New York State Department of Correctional Services, which outlined the details of plaintiff's convictions and the location and dates of his incarceration. See Ellis Decl. at ¶ 4; Ellis Decl. Ex. 1, ECF 69-1 at 72-78.
ARAMARK's Employee Relations division subsequently conducted an investigation of the allegations left with the hotline. Ellis Decl. at ¶ 5. The investigation revealed Hemphill's incarceration at Collins Correctional Facility in Buffalo, New York, which overlapped with his period of alleged employment at "Collins Café" in Buffalo, New York, as reported by Hemphill on his employment application of August 5, 2004. Ellis Decl. at ¶ 5; compare Def. Ex. A, ECF 69-1 at 7 with Def. Ex. C, ECF 69-1 at 42. Based on this information, ARAMARK determined that it had reason to believe that Hemphill had lied on his employment application when he claimed that he had not been convicted of a crime. Ellis Decl. at ¶ 6. Under the Conduct Guidelines set forth in the Employee Handbook that applied to Hemphill, falsifying information on the employment application was an offense that could result in "disciplinary action up to and including dismissal, with or without any written warnings." Ellis Decl. Ex. 4 (ARAMARK Higher Education Employee Handbook at 22-23); see Ellis Decl. at ¶ 7.
In the meantime, on March 7, 2011, plaintiff filed with the Maryland Commission on Human Relations ("MCHR")7 a charge of discrimination against "ARAMARK, INC.", allegingthat he was the victim of race discrimination. See ECF 81 at EEOC_000082; see also Am. Compl. ¶ 14; Pla. Ex. J-4. Plaintiff filed an amended charge of discrimination on March 17, 2011, adding a claim of retaliation. See ECF 81 at EEOC_000081. According to plaintiff, he "received good evaluations since being hired in 2004 through 2010 when he filed his claim with the EEOC." Pla. Aff. at 1:38 - 2:39. Further, plaintiff attested that after ARAMARK was notified of his EEOC complaint, he began to suffer retaliation by ARAMARK management in the form of "interference with job duties, refusal to perform job evaluations linked to performance pay increases, increased workload, reduced labor, given a write up for calling out of work 1 time in 6 years contrary to [the] Aramark employee handbook, being placed on a 90 day performance based probation for 120 days, change in job status (demoted from executive Chef to Chef/Manager, and made to report to another Executive Chef with less qualifications and seniority), and finally wrongful termination." Pla. Aff. at 2:39-47. On November 30, 2011, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") dismissed Hemphill's charge and notified him of his right to sue. See ECF 2-1; Pla. Ex. J-4.
On January 13, 2012, ARAMARK's Human Resources Director Steven Christian and Human Resources Associate Bonnie Ellis met with Hemphill. Ellis Decl. at ¶ 6, 8; see Pla. Dep. at 52, 70:19-22 - 71:1-2; Ellis. Decl. Ex. 2, ECF 69-1 at 81. At his deposition, plaintiff recalled that he began the meeting by discussing his complaints with the reporting structure. See Pla. Dep. at 54. Plaintiff told Ellis and Christian that he believed the new reporting structure was implemented in retaliation for his complaints and that...
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