Ifedigbo v. Buffalo Pub. Sch.

• Decision Date: 10 March 2018
• Docket Number: 13-CV-637S
• Parties: OBI IFEDIGBO, Plaintiff, v. BUFFALO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, JOSEPH GIUSIANA, and OLIVIA LICATA, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of New York

OBI IFEDIGBO, Plaintiff, v. BUFFALO PUBLIC SCHOOLS, JOSEPH GIUSIANA,and OLIVIA LICATA, Defendants.

13-CV-637S

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

March 10, 2018

DECISION AND ORDER

I. INTRODUCTION

In this action, Plaintiff Obi Ifedigbo alleges that his employer, Defendant Buffalo Public Schools ("BPS"), and two BPS employees discriminated against him based on his race and violated his due process rights, in violation 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, 1983, and 1985.

Pending before this Court is Defendants' fully briefed Motion for Summary Judgment. (Docket No. 23.) For the reasons stated below, Defendants' motion is granted in its entirety.

II. BACKGROUND

Ifedigbo is an African-American male of Nigerian descent. He began working for BPS on March 19, 1990. (Defendants' Statement of Undisputed Facts ("Defendants' Statement"), Docket No. 23-1, ¶ 2; Plaintiff's Local Rule 56 Statement ("Plaintiff's Statement"), Docket No. 26-1, p. 2, ¶ 2.¹)

The organizational structure of the Buffalo public school system includes a Division of Plant Services. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 10.) The Chief Operating Officer of BPS, who at all times relevant was Defendant Joseph Giusiana, oversees and manages the Division of Plant Services, including budgeting. (Defendants' Statement, ¶¶ 9, 10.)

Within the Division of Plant Services, there were two positions called Assistant Superintendent of Plant. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 11; Plaintiff's Statement, p. 9, ¶ 11.) One of those positions was held by Edward Lindsay, who previously held the post of Senior Architect before his appointment to the Assistant Superintendent of Plant position on August 24, 1992. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 3; Plaintiff's Statement, p. 8, ¶ 3.) Ifedigbo held the other position for his entire tenure with BPS. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 2; Plaintiff's Statement, p. 8, ¶ 2.)

Although Lindsay and Ifedigbo held the same positions and were subject to the same job description, they performed different duties. Lindsay's responsibilities included the planning and design of new school buildings and the renovation of existing school buildings. (Defendants' Statement, ¶¶ 4, 12.) He negotiated construction and consulting contracts and managed and supervised the design and project-management staff. (Defendants' Statement, ¶¶ 5, 6, 12.) Ifedigbo, on the other hand, principally managed the maintenance of new and existing school buildings, including supervising clerical staff and maintenance crews, assigning work to tradesmen, and overseeing third-party service contractors. (Defendants' Statement, ¶¶ 8, 12.)

The distinctions between Lindsay and Ifedigbo's day-to-day duties are reflected in the Division of Plant Services organizational chart. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 13.) There, Lindsay is listed as "Asst. Supt. Plant" overseeing a number of architects, the supervisorof building construction, a mechanical engineer, and two drafting technicians, among others. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 14.) In contrast, Ifedigbo is listed as "Asst. Supt. Bldg. Maint. & Repair" overseeing the Director of Building Repairs and more than 80 tradespeople. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 14.)

In 2010, the BPS commissioned an organizational study by the consulting firm MGT of America, Inc. ("MGT"), to examine the use and management functions of the Buffalo public school system. (Defendants' Statement, ¶¶ 15, 17; Plaintiff's Statement, p. 9, ¶¶ 15, 17.) In its July 2, 2010 final report, MGT made the following observations and recommendations:

• that "BPS does not have a clear and effective organizational structure for the Facilities Department;"

• that "the structure and the job titles should be regularly reviewed and reflect the current needs of the District and profession;"

• that BPS should "reorganize the Facilities Department to reduce administrative staff and provide clear lines of authority and connection between units;"

• that "having three individuals in a department all with the word 'superintendent' in their title is confusing;"

• that BPS should create a "Director of New Construction" position to replace Lindsay's existing Superintendent of Plant position, which would be responsible for the "planning, implementing, and commissioning of all capital projects;" and

• that BPS create several new middle-management positions, such as "Executive Director for Facilities" and "Director of Building Safety and Health."

(Defendants' Statement, ¶¶ 16-20; Plaintiff's Statement, p. 10, ¶¶ 16-20.)

Giusiana considered the MGT Study and agreed with some of its conclusions and recommendations. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 21.) Although he disagreed with implementing a new level of middle-management, Giusiana agreed that the Division of Plant Services would benefit from reorganization, particularly as it related to differentiating the duties actually performed by Lindsay and Ifedigbo, notwithstanding their identical job descriptions. (Defendants' Statement, ¶¶ 22-24.) Giusiana therefore began working with the BPS Department of Human Resources and the City of Buffalo Division of Civil Service in August 2010 to create a new job title that would distinguish Lindsay's planning, design, and construction duties from Ifedigbo's building-maintenance duties. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 25.) Defendant Olivia Licata, as Administrative Director of Civil Service for the City of Buffalo Division of Civil Service, assisted Giusiana in this endeavor. (Defendants' Statement, ¶¶ 27, 28.)

Not long thereafter (in September 2010), Lindsay retired from his Assistant Superintendent of Plant position, which then remained unfilled while Giusiana and Licata explored the creation of a new job title and position. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 26, Plaintiff's Statement, p. 10, ¶ 26.) Giusiana's department told Licata that it wanted to replace Lindsay's Assistant Superintendent of Plant position with a new title and position, while leaving Ifedigbo's position and title unchanged. (Defendants' Statement, ¶¶ 32, 50.) That is, Giusiana sought to replace only Lindsay's Assistant of Superintendent of Plant position. (Defendants' Statement, ¶¶ 32, 50.) Licata advised Giusiana that Lindsay's position could be replaced with a new job title and position without changing Ifedigbo's existing title or position. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 34.) As a result, Giusiana createdthe new position and title of "Director of Facilities, Planning, Design, and Construction" to replace Lindsay's position. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 35; Plaintiff's Statement, ¶ 35.)

Upon Giusiana's creation of the new position, Licata deemed the new title substantially different from the Assistant Superintendent of Plant title such that creation of the "Director of Facilities, Planning, Design, and Construction" was warranted under the civil service law. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 36.) Accordingly, on November 10, 2010, the Commissioner of Human Resources officially adopted a new civil service position titled "Director of Facilities, Planning, Design, and Construction." (Defendants' Statement, ¶¶ 37, 45; Plaintiff's Statement, ¶¶ 37, 45.) This new position incorporated into its job specifications some of the duties and qualifications from the Assistant Superintendent of Plant position, while also adding new distinguishing features to make the position more closely align with Lindsay's construction-oriented duties. (Defendants' Statement, ¶¶ 38-39.) The new position also required a NYS Professional Architect's license or the ability to obtain one within six months of appointment. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 43.)

Ifedigbo did not apply for this new position. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 48.) He remained in his unchanged title and position of Assistant Superintendent of Plant. Paul McDonnell, who, like Lindsay, previously worked as an architect for the City of Buffalo, received the provisional appointment to the new Director of Facilities Planning, Design, and Construction position on February 25, 2011. (Defendants' Statement, ¶¶ 49, 51.) McDonnell was fully appointed to the position on May 29, 2012, after completing the newly-developed civil service exam. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 51.) Ifedigbo and McDonnell worked under this new restructuring without any challenge, grievance, or lawsuit since its inception through June 2012. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 52.)

In early 2012, the Chief Financial Officer for BPS instructed all department heads to submit a proposed 10% cut in expenditures to close a projected budgetary gap of approximately $20 million. (Defendants' Statement, ¶¶ 54-55, 57.) To comply with this directive, Giusiana proposed several cuts in his department, including the elimination of Ifedigbo's Assistant Superintendent of Plant position. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 58.) In conjunction with the results of the MGT Study, Giusiana determined that Ifedigbo's oversight duties were largely duplicative of those provided by the Director of Building Repairs, because both positions supervised the work of tradespeople and other employees involved in the maintenance and repair of district facilities. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 59.) Giusiana therefore recommended eliminating Ifedigbo's position to the Chief Financial Officer in April 2012. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 60.) The Chief Financial Officer accepted Giusiana's recommendation and included the elimination of Ifedigbo's position in the 2012-2013 budget proposal, which resulted in a projected savings of $68,545. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 61.)

On May 31, 2012, Giusiana gave Ifedigbo a letter terminating his employment effective June 29, 2012. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 65; Plaintiff's Statement, p. 19, ¶ 65.) Ifedigbo then reached out to Licata to inquire whether he had civil service rights or entitlement to any other positions within BPS. (Defendants' Statement, ¶ 66; Plaintiff's Statement, p. 19, ¶ 66.) Licata advised Ifedigbo that he had no rights under the civil service law and...