Holley v. N. Carolina Dep't of Admin., N.C., 5:09–CV–345–D.

Decision Date10 February 2012
Docket NumberNo. 5:09–CV–345–D.,5:09–CV–345–D.
Citation87 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 851,846 F.Supp.2d 416
CourtU.S. District Court — Eastern District of North Carolina
PartiesYvonne Lewis HOLLEY, Plaintiff, v. NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION, State of NORTH CAROLINA, Defendant.

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

M. Jackson Nichols, Catherine Elizabeth Lee, Allen Pinnix & Nichols, P.A., Raleigh, NC, Marwan E. Porter, Tricia P. Hoffler, Willie E. Gary, Gary, Williams, Finney, Lewis, Watson & Sperando, P.L., Stuart, FL, for Plaintiff.

Ann Wilkinson Matthews, N.C. Attorney General's Office, Raleigh, NC, Mary Ann Stone, N.C. Department of Justice, Raleigh, NC, for Defendant.

ORDER

JAMES C. DEVER III, Chief Judge.

Yvonne Lewis Holley (“Holley” or plaintiff) is an African–American woman who is upset that she was not promoted to State Purchasing Administrator (“SPA”) in October 2006. On June 15, 2009, Holley filed a complaint in Wake County Superior Court against the North Carolina Department of Administration (“NCDOA” or defendant) alleging race and gender discrimination and retaliation. [D.E. 1], Ex. 2 (“Compl.”). On July 31, 2009, the NCDOA removed the case to this court. [D.E. 1], Ex. 3. On January 11, 2010, Holley filed an amended complaint. Am. Compl. [D.E. 17]. Thereafter, the NCDOA moved to dismiss the amended complaint [D.E. 18]. The court granted the NCDOA's motion to dismiss counts IV and V of the amended complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, but denied the motion as to counts I–III. [D.E. 30]. In her remaining claims, Holley seeks relief under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) for race discrimination (count I), gender discrimination (count IT), and retaliation (count III). Am. Compl. ¶¶ 38–55. On May 23, 2011, the NCDOA moved for summary judgment [D.E. 41], and filed a supporting memorandum [D.E. 42]. On July 8, 2011, Holley responded in opposition. Pl.'s Mem. Opp'n [D.E. 49]. On July 25, 2011, the NCDOA replied. Def.'s Reply [D.E. 55]. As explained below, the court grants defendant's motion for summary judgment.

I.
A.

Holley holds a political science degree from Howard University. Holley Dep. I [D.E. 52] 20. In January 1987, Holley began her career as a State Procurement Specialist in the NCDOA's Division of Purchase and Contract (“P & C”). See [D.E. 50], Ex. 10 (Holley Aff.) ¶ 3. She has since received one upgrade and one promotion. Holley Dep. I 59. Holley now works as a Procurement Specialist III in P & C. Am. Compl. ¶ 9; Answer [D.E. 2] ¶ 9; see Holley Dep. I 59. During her twenty-four years at P & C, Holley has specialized primarily in purchasing medical and scientific equipment. See Holley Dep. I 85. She has had some experience with service contracts, but she could not recall how much. Id. 83. She has handled some maintenance-related service contracts, but otherwise could not recall what types of service contracts she has handled. Id.

Holley has never formally been a supervisor at P & C. However, Holley claims that, early in her career at P & C, she was left in charge of her office's staff for about two hours every morning because her boss “didn't come to work until ... nine-thirty ... in the morning and the majority of the staff was [there] by seven-thirty.” Holley Dep. III [D.E. 54] 247. During these two hours, Holley “was the person ... [the staff members] were to come to if they had any questions, if they needed any assistance, [or] if the managers were called up to the front for a meeting....” Id. Specifically, Holley “would ... keep up if somebody said they had to leave early or something, but [she] didn't put that in ... any system.” Id. 248. She likewise did not draft or submit any performance evaluations. Id. Holley also trained two new employees. Id. 247. Finally, Holley generally considered herself “a manager because of [her expertise in] scientific and medical equipment and [because of] the people in the field who ... did not have that expertise and relied on [her] very heavily.” Id. 252.

In addition to her P & C experience, Holley tried to gain supervisory experience through non-P & C activities. In particular, Holley once worked as a lifeguard-pool manager, where she “managed from 25 to 30 people ... in the summertime....” Id. She also managed a program for girls at the YWCA. Id.

On March 1, 2006, the NCDOA adopted an Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) plan. Def.'s Mem. Supp. Mot. Summ. J. [D.E. 42], Ex. 5 (“EEO Plan”). The plan “ensure[s] greater utilization of all persons by identifying the underutilized groups based upon their representation in the workforce and making special efforts to increase their participation in recruitment, selection, training and development....” Id. 4. As for P & C, the plan identified underutilization of African–American females and established a 2006 Target Classification with the goal of hiring an African–American female as a SPA. See id. 21; [D.E. 50], Ex. 5 (“Chavis Dep.”) 16, 101–02. The plan, however, did not mandate hiring an African–American female. Def.'s Mem. Supp. Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 10 (Robinson Aff.) ¶ 8; Chavis Dep. 102.

In July 2006, P & C posted a job announcement for a SPA position. Def.'s Mem. Supp. Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 3 (“SPA Job Posting”). The corresponding job description described the position as “an administrative and management [one] that functions as the Purchasing Manager that oversees Purchasing Group 2,” a purchasing group responsible for diverse contract types—including contractual and consultant service contracts, commodities contracts, and term contracts, Def.'s Mem. Supp. Mot. Summ. J. 5—and a diverse clientele—including state agencies, community colleges, and universities. SPA Job Posting 2. More specifically,

[t]his position directs and supervises the activities and operations of this purchasing group consisting of six purchasers and one support person in performance of statutory duties, which involves oversight of contracts valued at millions of dollars .... Develops relationships that extend the group's ability to reach more customers, provides proper guidance and direction to assigned staff, and implements processes that will develop and enhance procurement competencies within the group As a manager, this position is responsible for the development and administration of work plans to meet unit objectives, coaching and counseling of employees, and proper reporting of group activities and achievements.... The employee in this position plans, prioritizes, and prescribes the group's processes needed to achieve objectives....

Id. To ensure selection of an individual who can fulfill these myriad responsibilities, the job description sets forth several requirements. The position requires, at minimum, [g]raduation from a four-year college or university and five years of experience in large-scale purchasing; or an equivalent combination of training and experience.” Id. 3. Any successful applicant must also have [k]nowledge of large scale purchasing methods and procedures ... [and an a]bility to supervise and manage people through planning, interaction management, problem solving, goal setting and leadership.” Id. 2. Furthermore, the SPA must be “able to interact well and establish effective working relationships with associates, officials and vendors,” and must have “well-developed interpersonal, communication, managerial, [and] organizational ... skills.” Id. 2–3.

Twenty-seven individuals applied for the SPA position. [D.E. 51], Ex. 1 (“Screened Applicants List”). Of those twenty-seven applicants, the NCDOA deemed eight to be highly qualified. Id. Of the eight, four were Caucasian males, two were African–American females, one was an African–American male, and one was a Caucasian female. See Am. Compl. ¶ 34; Answer ¶ 34. The highly qualified applicant pool included Holley and Tim Lassiter (Lassiter) (Caucasian male). See Screened Applicants List.

Lassiter studied architectural technology for two and one-half years at a community college. See [D.E. 51], Ex. 4 (“Lassiter Dep.”) 12. He did not complete his degree, id, but when he applied for the SPA position, he had 150 months of qualifying experience above the minimum education and experience requirements. Part of that experience was outside P & C. Lassiter began his state purchasing career in 1986 as a Purchasing Agent II in the Purchasing Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (“UNC”). Def.'s Mem. Supp. Mot. Summ. J., Ex. 13 (“Lassiter Aff.”) ¶ 2. Between 1988 and 1992, Lassiter managed a procurement office at the North Carolina State University (N.C. State) School of Veterinary Medicine that “handled all of the purchasing for goods and services for the College of Veterinary Medicine.” Lassiter Dep. 20. Immediately thereafter, Lassiter spent three years as an information technology buyer for N.C. State before beginning a four-or five-year stint as manager of the Office of Purchasing for a physical plant at N.C. State. Id. 20–22. In that latter position, Lassiter “handled services as well as everything for the physical plant and [information technology] equipment....” Id. 22. Overall, Lassiter's experience with commodities contracts included “scientific commodities, chemicals, hospital supplies and equipment, and [information technology] equipment.” Lassiter Aff. ¶ 2. As for services contracts, Lassiter had worked with “environmental cleanup, janitorial supplies, landscape services, hazardous waste material management, blood borne pathogen services, facilities ... [and] all of the building maintenance facility services for the [N.C. State] Centennial Campus.” Lassiter Dep. 22; see also Lassiter Aff. ¶ 2. In 1999, P & C hired Lassiter as a service purchaser and community college liaison. Lassiter Aff. ¶¶ 3–4. When he applied for the SPA position, Lassiter had six years and eight months of experience working for P & C. [D.E. 51].

In addition to this diverse purchasing experience, Lassiter had substantial, relevant...

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