Kozlowski v. Fry

• Decision Date: 30 December 2002
• Docket Number: No. 00 C 5296.,00 C 5296.
• Citation: 238 F.Supp.2d 996
• Parties: Camille KOZLOWSKI, Darlene Williams, Susan Horn, Vicki Rogers, Moses Collins, Marc Miller, and Kenneth Fletcher Plaintiffs, v. Rita FRY, in her official capacity as Cook County Public Defender, and County of Cook, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

238 F.Supp.2d 996

Camille KOZLOWSKI, Darlene Williams, Susan Horn, Vicki Rogers, Moses Collins, Marc Miller, and Kenneth Fletcher Plaintiffs, v. Rita FRY, in her official capacity as Cook County Public Defender, and County of Cook, Defendants.

No. 00 C 5296.

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division.

December 30, 2002.

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Jorge Sanchez, Despres Schwartz & Geoghegan, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiffs.

Cheryl Blackwell Bryson, Duane Morris LLC, Chicago, IL, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

KEYS, United States Magistrate Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment on all counts and Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment on Counts III, IV, and VI.¹ For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants in part and denies in part the parties' respective motions.

FACTS²

Defendant Rita Fry is the Public Defender of Cook County, and was appointed to her position in February 1992. (Id. ¶ 3.) Defendant Cook County is a political subdivision established by the laws of the State of Illinois and is Plaintiffs' employer. (Id. ¶ 4.) Defendants are subject to the consent decree in Shakman v. Democratic Org. of Cook County, Ill.³ (Id. ¶ 48.)

The Public Defender's Office has 53⁴ supervisory attorneys, of which 15 are women. (Id. ¶ 8.) Supervisory attorneys⁵ are designated as Attorney Supervisors, Chiefs, and Directors, and the salary levels for such attorneys range from the lowest level D1 through the highest D11.⁶ (Id. ¶ 9.) The Public Defender's Office is divided into four Operational Units, with each such Unit supervised by a Director. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶¶ 27-29.)⁷ The Directors are at the highest level and report to the First Assistant Public Defender; Chiefs report to Directors and supervise Divisions within the Operational Units; Attorney Supervisors report to Chiefs and supervise the line attorneys within each Division who provide legal services to the clients of the Public Defender's Office. (Id.) Other duties of the Attorney Supervisors include, strategy, case development and trials, supervising the courtrooms where the line attorneys work, conferring with judges, and handling personnel matters relating to the line attorneys. (Id.) Attorney Supervisors are Shakman positions, and therefore subject to the Shakman decree. (Id. ¶ 59.)

All attorney supervisors at a particular grade earn the same salary. (Id. ¶ 20.) The higher the grade, the greater the salary associated with the position. (Id.) The D10 positions are held by Directors, the D8 and D9 positions are held by Chiefs,⁸ and D1 through D7 positions are held by Attorney Supervisors. (Id. ¶ 19.)

The salary system at the Public Defender's Office is not merit-based, and therefore, employee evaluations play no role in determining salary increases (Pls.' 56.1 ¶¶ 31-34) nor in filling vacancies (Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 84). One way for an Attorney Supervisor to increase her salary is to be selected, or promoted, to fill a vacant supervisory attorney position which is graded higher than her current position. (Id. ¶ 25, 64.) The only other way an Attorney Supervisor can increase her salary is by having her grade increased through a process called "reclassification" (Id. ¶ 24), but Ms. Fry must get approval for this action (Id. ¶ 172).

Ms. Fry makes the decision as to which D-grade a person is assigned when filling vacant supervisory attorney positions. (Pls.' 56.1, Ex. I at 19.) However, she has no ability to change the grade of the position when filling a vacancy, and cannot fill any supervisory attorney position unless it is vacant. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶¶ 96, 97.) Ms. Fry testified that the D ranks are not tied to specific responsibilities because of her frequent need to move supervisors around when vacancies arise. (Pls.' 56.1 Resp. ¶ 62, Ex. 5. at 94.) Ms. Fry also stated that a vacancy in a certain division may require her to move a supervisor from one division to the next, regardless of the supervisors' respective salaries at the time of the move. (Pls.' 56.1, Ex. I at 18-19.) She explained that working in a particular division does not necessarily govern what one's salary is to be, because she could not always tie salaries to the supervisors' movements. (Pls.' 56.1 ¶ 34, Ex. I at 18-19, 26-27; Defs.' 56.1 Resp. ¶ 34.) However, Ms. Fry also testified that experience or type of supervisory work is connected to someone's designation as a D1 through D11. (Pls.' 56.1, Ex. I at 26-27.) Where possible, Ms. Fry explained that a felony supervisor should be paid more than a supervisor in the First Municipal division (id. at 18), but would not necessarily be paid more than a supervisor in the juvenile division (Id. at 17-18). However, an individual from Defendants' personnel department testified that nothing in the Public Defender's Office classification system dictates that a person working in a particular division, such as misdemeanors, should be a D1 and someone working in the felony division should be a D4. (Pls.' 56.1 Resp. ¶ 62, Ex. 7 at 28.)

When seeking to fill a supervisory attorney position, Ms. Fry recommends individuals to Cook County Board President John Stroger for approval. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 93.) Ms. Fry and President Stroger never discuss any such candidates, but Ms. Fry's recommendations are approved as a matter of course. (Id. ¶¶ 94, 95.) Ms. Fry does not consider a candidate's political affiliation when she fills vacancies, nor was she aware of the political affiliations of the candidates which she recommended for various supervisory positions. (Id. ¶¶ 101, 106, 110, 115, 118, 121, 124, 127, 130, 133, 136, 140, 143, 146, 149, 152, 155, 158, 161, 164, 168, 171, 186, 192, 200, 205, 211, 218, 225.)

For Shakman positions, Defendants continuously post a notice for D1 through D4 positions. (Id. ¶ 66, 70). The D1 through D4 positions require no specific qualifications beyond what the actual posting indicates on its face. (Pls.' Add. Facts ¶ 152-58, Ex. 8.) In contrast, Defendants do not advertise or post openings for positions above D5. (Id. ¶ 156-57.) However, in December 2000, some Shakman supervisory positions were reclassified and are now graded D5 through D8. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 71.) Since December 2000, the continuous notice posted expressly for D1 through D4 positions applies for all Shakman supervisory attorney positions, including those now graded D5 through D8. (Id. ¶ 71.)

When the Public Defender's Office anticipates a vacancy, the hiring committee, comprised of Chiefs and Directors, convenes. (Id. ¶¶ 76, 77.) The interview committee interviews candidates for supervisory positions and makes a recommendation to Ms. Fry, not for a particular vacancy either in terms of pay or assignment, but rather issues a generic recommendation that a candidate is qualified to fill any vacancy that might open up in the office. (Pls.' Add. Facts ¶ 107.) These recommended candidates are placed on the "must hire" list, and Ms. Fry considers the candidate for the next vacancy with other "must hires." (Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 81, 86). Ms. Fry is not obligated to accept the interview committee's recommendations and may choose another candidate based on her own subjective reasons. (Pls.' Add. Facts ¶ 126-27; Defs.' Resp. Add. Fact ¶ 126-27, Pls.' 56.1 Resp., Ex. 11 at 37.) Defendants allege that the hiring committee has not convened since January 1999. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 83).

In 2000, Ms. Horn, Ms. Kozlowski, and Ms. Williams completed applications for promotion. (Id. ¶¶ 197, 202, 222.) Neither Ms. Horn, Ms. Kozlowski, nor Ms. Williams have been interviewed for these positions. (Id. ¶¶ 198, 203, 223.) Ms. Horn and Ms. Williams had previously applied and interviewed for a promotion in 1996, but were not placed on the "must hire" list. (Id. ¶ 195, 220.) However, Ms. Horn spoke to Ms. Fry about the promotion, was subsequently hired as an Acting Chief, but later declined to continue in the position in a permanent capacity. (Id. ¶ 196.) Ms. Rogers never completed an application for promotion (id. ¶ 217), but she claims that she approached Ms. Fry about a promotion to Director but the position went to another woman (Id. ¶ 213). Ms. Rogers has not approached Ms. Fry again about any positions. (Id. ¶ 215.) Since 1996, Ms. Horn has not, nor have Ms. Kozlowski nor Ms. Williams ever, approached Ms. Fry about vacancies, nor has Ms. Fry ever approached them about such positions. (Id. ¶¶ 199, 204, 214-215, 224). In addition, Ms. Fry has not offered Ms. Horn a second Chief position because she advised Ms. Fry that she did not want the Chief position in the Fifth Municipal Division. (Id. ¶ 199.)

Female Plaintiffs have worked in several divisions, including felony trial, with the exception of Ms. Rogers, who has only worked in the appeals division. (Id. ¶¶ 193, 201, 212, 219.) Ms. Horn has been an Attorney Supervisor since 1997, and briefly held a position as an Acting Chief. (Id. ¶ 193.) Ms. Kozlowski and Ms. Rogers have been Attorney Supervisors since 1997 and 1998, respectively. (Id. ¶¶ 201, 212.) For a brief period, Ms. Williams served as an Acting Chief, but otherwise she has been an Attorney Supervisor since 1994. (Id. ¶ 219.)

Male Plaintiffs Moses Collins, Kenneth Fletcher and Marc Miller are Attorney Supervisors. (Id. ¶¶ 180, 187, 206.) Mr. Collins was hired as an assistant public defender in 1979, and has worked as an Attorney Supervisor in various divisions, including felony. (Id. ¶ 180.) In 1991, Mr. Collins approached Ms. Fry about a promotion to First Assistant Public Defender, but the job instead went to another man. (Id. ¶ 182.) Mr. Fletcher has been an Attorney Supervisor since 1989, and has worked in various divisions, including the murder task force, and is currently in felony. (Id. ¶ 187.) Mr. Fletcher applied for a promotion in 1996, but was unsuccessful in obtaining the position. (Id. ¶ 189, 191.) Mr. Miller has been an Attorney Supervisor since 1989, and has...