Hunter v. Dist. of D.C. Child and Family Serv. Agency

• Decision Date: 11 May 2010
• Docket Number: Civil No. 09-1491(RMC)
• Parties: Ernest HUNTER, Plaintiff, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES AGENCY, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

710 F.Supp.2d 152

Ernest HUNTER, Plaintiff,

v.DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CHILD AND FAMILY SERVICES AGENCY, Defendant.

Civil No. 09-1491(RMC).

United States District Court,

District of Columbia.

May 11, 2010.

Ernest Hunter, Waldorf, MD, pro se.

Daniel A. Kapner, William B. Jaffe, Office of the Attorney General for the Districtof Columbia, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ROSEMARY M. COLLYER, District Judge.

Ernest Hunter, pro se, sues his employer, the District of Columbia's Child and Family Services Agency ("CFSA"), with a four count Complaint alleging discrimination, retaliation, and a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16, as well as a claim under the D.C. Whistleblower Protection Act, D.C.Code § 1-615.54. CFSA moves to dismiss. As explained below, the motion will be granted in part and denied in part. The hostile work environment claim (Count III) will be dismissed for failure to state a claim because the allegations, taken as true, do not meet the legal standard for such a claim. In all other respects, the motion will be denied.

I. FACTS

Mr. Hunter, an African American man, is a Contract Compliance Officer with CFSA and he has been employed in this position since April 2007. Am. Compl. [Dkt. # 3] ¶¶ 5, 10. Mr. Hunter's responsibilities include making sure CFSA's Contracts and Procurement Administration complies with applicable rules and regulations. Id. ¶ 11. On July 1, 2008, Mr. Hunter sent a letter to Ronnie Charles, then Senior Deputy Director for Administration at CFSA, complaining about the "lack of experience among staff in key positions, cronyism, gender discrimination in the application of the agency's Alternative Work Schedule Program, unprofessional, negative and malicious behavior and comments from management, discriminatory practices and the lack of adherence to Contracting rules and regulations." Id. ¶ 13. Mr. Hunter also claims that Latonya Bryant, then Acting Program Manager at CFSA, attempted to have two other employees "forge funding documents" in anticipation of an audit, and Mr. Hunter informed both his immediate supervisor and Mr. Charles about this. Id. ¶¶ 13-14.

Mr. Hunter wrote a second letter of complaint to Mr. Charles, alleging that Ms. Bryant allowed her friends to come to work at various times without consequences while at the same time Ms. Bryant recommended to Mr. Charles that Mr. Hunter's request for an Alternative Work Schedule be denied. Id. ¶ 15. This second letter prompted an August 7, 2008, meeting attended by Mr. Hunter, Mr. Charles, Ms. Bryant, and Catherine Higgins, then Acting Contracts Administrator at CFSA. Mr. Hunter complained at that meeting about "mismanagement and circumvention of the rules" and informed the group that he had complained about the alleged forgery to the Office of Inspector General. Id. Mr. Charles informed Mr. Hunter that he was to report directly to Latonya Bryant; previously Mr. Hunter reported to Catherine Higgins. Id. ¶ 16. Also at the August 7 meeting, Mr. Charles, Ms. Bryant, and Ms. Higgins allegedly disparaged Mr. Hunter's work, and Ms. Bryant and Ms. Higgins unfairly accused Mr. Hunter of being hostile and threatening to coworkers. Id.

The next day, August 8, 2010, Mr. Hunter was required to attend a meeting with Ms. Bryant, Ms. Higgins, human resource specialist Yasmine Mitchell, and an unnamed man who was a "classification generalist." Id. ¶ 18. At this meeting, Ms. Bryant accused Mr. Hunter acting in a threatening manner the previous day and ordered Mr. Hunter to take a fitness for duty examination at Mr. Hunter's expense. Id. ¶¶ 19-21. CFSA placed Mr. Hunter on administrative leave with pay pending completion of the examination. Id. ¶ 21.Mr. Charles and Ms. Higgins allegedly did not authorize the order for a fitness for duty exam. Id. ¶ 23.

As a result of the foregoing, Mr. Hunter filed a complaint of discrimination and retaliation with the D.C. Office of Human Rights. On May 26, 2009, the Office of Human Rights sent him a Letter of Determination, indicating a finding of no probable cause. Id. ¶ 21. Mr. Hunter sought reconsideration, but the Office of Human Rights never responded. See Pl.'s Opp'n [Dkt. # 11] at 2.

Mr. Hunter also alleges that he submitted a letter to the D.C. Office of Risk Management, alleging discrimination and the whistleblower claims. On November 4, 2008 the Office of Risk Management acknowledged receipt of Mr. Hunter's claims but did not take any action. Id. ¶ 31.

Consequently, Mr. Hunter filed suit in this Court asserting that he is the victim of race and gender discrimination, a hostile work environment, and retaliation all in violation of Title VII and that he is a victim under the D.C. Whistleblower Protection Act. After filing this suit, Mr. Hunter received a right to sue letter dated December 10, 2009, from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"). Id. CFSA has moved to dismiss, and Mr. Hunter opposes.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) challenges the adequacy of a complaint on its face, testing whether a plaintiff has properly stated a claim. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) requires that a complaint contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a). A complaint must be sufficient "to give a defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (internal citations omitted). Although a complaint does not need detailed factual allegations, a plaintiff's obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief "requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Id. The facts alleged "must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Id. Rule 8(a) requires an actual showing and not just a blanket assertion of a right to relief. Id. at 555 n. 3, 127 S.Ct. 1955. "[A] complaint needs some information about the circumstances giving rise to the claims." Aktieselskabet AF 21. Nov.2001 v. Fame Jeans, Inc., 525 F.3d 8, 16 n. 4 (D.C.Cir.2008) (emphasis in original).

In deciding a motion under Rule 12(b)(6), a court may consider the facts alleged in the complaint, documents attached to the complaint as exhibits or incorporated by reference, and matters about which the court may take judicial notice. Abhe & Svoboda, Inc. v. Chao, 508 F.3d 1052, 1059 (D.C.Cir.2007). To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim for relief that is "plausible on its face." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. When a plaintiff pleads factual content that allows a court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged, then the claim has facial plausibility. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, --- U.S. ----, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). "The plausibility standard is not akin to a 'probability requirement,' but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully." Id.

A court must treat the complaint's factual allegations as true, "even if doubtful infact." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. But a court need not accept as true legal conclusions set forth in a complaint. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949. "Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice." Id. "While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint, they must be supported by factual allegations. When there are well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should assume their veracity and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief." Id. at 1950.

III. ANALYSIS

A. Non Sui Juris

CFSA first argues that this case should be dismissed because it is non sui juris, i.e., it is not an entity that can be sued. Without statutory authority to the contrary, "bodies within the District of Columbia government are not suable as separate entities." Braxton v. Nat'l Capital Hous. Auth., 396 A.2d 215, 216 (D.C.1978). Thus, in a Title VII case against the District of Columbia, the District is the proper defendant, not its agencies. Raney v. District of Columbia, 892 F.Supp. 283, 289 (D.D.C.1995). However, when a plaintiff proceeds pro se, a court liberally construes his pleadings. Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972). When a pro se plaintiff erroneously names a D.C. agency instead of the District of Columbia itself, it is appropriate to automatically substitute the District for its agencies. See, e.g., Ennis v. Lott, 589 F.Supp.2d 33, 37 (D.D.C.2008). Accordingly, the Court construes Mr. Hunter's pro se complaint as intending to state claims against the District of Columbia, and the District will be substituted for CFSA as the defendant in this action.

B. Exhaustion

The District initially argued that this case should be dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies because Mr. Hunter failed to allege that had he received a right-to-sue letter from the EEOC. In response, Mr. Hunter indicates that after his filed the Complaint on August 7, 2009, he received a right-to-sue letter from the EEOC dated December 10, 2009. See Pl.'s Opp'n [Dkt. # 11] 2. The District does not contest this fact in its Reply and thus the exhaustion argument is deemed abandoned.

C. Hostile Work Environment

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits an employer from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in hiring decisions, compensation, terms and conditions of employment, and classifying employees in a way that would adversely affect their status as employees. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16. The Supreme Court has determined that "[t]he phrase 'terms, conditions, or privileges of employment' evinces a...