Okusami v. Md. Dep't of Health & Mental Hygiene
| Decision Date | 11 September 2020 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. ELH-18-1701 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
| Parties | TAIWO OKUSAMI, M.D., Plaintiff, v. MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND MENTAL HYGIENE, Defendant. |
Plaintiff Taiwo Okusami, M.D., who is African-American, worked as a Staff Psychiatrist at the Thomas B. Finan Center in Cumberland, Maryland from 2011 until his termination in November 2016. He has sued his former employer, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (the "Department" or "DHMH"), defendant, alleging employment discrimination based on race. ECF 1 (the "Complaint").1
The Complaint contains three claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000(e) et seq. ("Title VII"): discrimination on the basis of race (Count I); harassment and hostile work environment (Count II); and retaliation (Count III). ECF 1, ¶¶ 21-37. Plaintiff also brought a claim for wrongful discharge under Maryland law (Count IV). By Memorandum Opinion (ECF 14) and Order (ECF 15) of February 28, 2019, I dismissed Counts II, III, and IV of the Complaint.
The Department has now moved for summary judgment as to Count I (ECF 31), supported by a memorandum of law. ECF 31-1 (collectively, the "Motion"). The Motion is supported by numerous exhibits. ECF 31-2 to ECF 31-14. Plaintiff opposes the Motion (ECF 33), supported by a memorandum of law (ECF 33-1) and many exhibits. ECF 33-3 to ECF 33-12.2 Plaintiff also filed a supplement to his opposition (ECF 34), with additional exhibits. See ECF 34-1 to ECF 34-5. I shall refer to ECF 33 and ECF 34 collectively as the "Opposition." Defendant has replied (ECF 37) and submitted additional exhibits. ECF 37-1 to ECF 37-7.3
No hearing is necessary to resolve the Motion. See Local Rule 105.6. For the reasons that follow, I shall grant the Motion.
Plaintiff is a licensed Maryland physician, specializing in the field of psychiatry. ECF 31-2 (Okusami Deposition) at 28. He is board certified in child and adolescent psychiatry. Id. at 30. However, he is not board certified or board eligible in forensic psychiatry. Id. at 29.
Dr. Okusami attended medical school in Nigeria and came to the United States in 1976 for training in psychiatry. Id. at 5, 6. He completed his residency at Virginia Medical College in Richmond, Virginia and Northern Virginia Mental Health. Id. at 6. He also completed a two-year fellowship at "George Washington and Children's Hospital." Id. at 7. In 1980, he began work at Howard University and then entered private practice. Id. at 18.
Plaintiff joined the Thomas B. Finan Center (the "Center") in 2011 as a Staff Psychiatrist. Id. at 32. He continued to see patients in private practice until 2015. Id. at 25. He stopped seeing patients privately because he was "often on-call" at the Center and "was not able to meet their needs adequately." Id. at 24.
The Center, located in Cumberland, is a State-run, in patient psychiatric facility. See Md. Code , § 10-406(a)(6) of the Health-General Article; ECF 1, ¶ 2. Most of the Center's patients are admitted pursuant to a judicial commitment order after a finding that the defendant either is not competent to stand trial in a criminal case or not criminally responsible for his or her crimes. See Md. Code , §§ 3-101 et seq. of the Criminal Procedure Article; ECF 31-1 at 1-2.5
Dr. Okusami joined the Center in April 2011 as a Staff Psychiatrist, after he received an "invitation letter" from John Cullen. ECF 31-2 at 32. Cullen, who is not a physician, previously served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Center and later as "the CEO of the Department of Health." ECF 31-3 (Cullen Deposition) at 6; ECF 37-5 (Cullen Deposition) at 11.
From the outset of plaintiff's employment in 2011, he worked pursuant to a series of one-year contracts. ECF 10-4 ("Department Statement Position") at 6; see, e.g., ECF 31-9 (the 2011 Contract). According to plaintiff, Cullen and Dr. Linda de Hoyos "assured" him that "the onlyreason [plaintiff] would not be renewed is if [he lost his] license to practice or committed a crime." ECF 31-2 at 60. And, plaintiff "expected to work until [he] retired." Id.
The relevant Personal Services Contract covered the period from July 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017. ECF 31-10 (the "Contract"). Under the Contract, plaintiff was "a contractual employee," pursuant to Md. Code , §§ 13-101 et seq. of the State Personnel and Pensions Article ("S.P.P."). Although the Contract specified that it "establishe[d] an employer-employee relationship" between the Center and Dr. Okusami, it also stated: "The Employee is not a Maryland State Employee, and is not entitled to the benefits afforded employees . . . ." ECF 31-10 at 1. Moreover, the Contract expressly provided that plaintiff's employment is "at-will." Id. at 3. Therefore, the Center "may, in its sole discretion and without cause, terminate this Contract at any time." Id. Plaintiff, too, could terminate the Contract at any time and for "no reason." Id.
Under the Contract, Dr. Okusami "was to be paid $120.00 per hour," based on "a regular workweek consisting of 40 hours." Id. Plaintiff's total compensation for the one-year term "was not to exceed $249,600.00." Id. at 2.
Services at the Center are provided by "two distinct teams" of staff: the treatment team and the forensic team. ECF 31-4 (Hendershot Deposition) at 19; ECF 31-3 at 19. The teams serve discrete roles; the treatment team treats the patient with regard to his or her mental health issues, while the forensic team evaluates the patient with regard to the patient's legal matters. ECF 31-3 at 20; ECF 31-5; ECF 31-6 (Perkins Deposition) at 6; ECF 31-8 (Forensic Team Minutes of 6/6/16).
Janet Hendershot, Ph.D., a psychologist at the Center, explained that in psychiatry and other mental health fields, there is an effort to avoid "dual relationships." ECF 31-4 at 19. She said, id.:
So if someone is providing forensic evaluations, they should not be providing treatment because that would interfere with the therapeutic relationship. And saying, in the other way, if they were providing treatment, but then going to be doing the evaluation as well. We can't always get around that because if we're—we are in a very rural area with limited staff, although right now we're fully staffed, but whenever possible, we try to avoid having that conflict of interest.
Dr. Okusami was part of the treatment team for Cottage One, which housed about nineteen people. ECF 31-6 at 6; ECF 31-4 at 9. Dr. Okusami was never a member of the forensic team. ECF 31-12 () at 2; ECF 31-6 at 6. For much of the relevant time, the forensic team consisted of Mary Lou Perkins, a social worker; Dr. Hendershot, a psychologist; and David Millis, M.D., an African-American who was the Center's Clinical Director. ECF 31-12 at 2-4; ECF 37-5 at 9.
The Department submitted a document titled "Forensic Assessments And Services." ECF 31-5. It describes the "Forensic Evaluation Team" as "the three Center clinicians (a psychiatrist, a psychologist and a social worker) who are charged with the development, provision and/or oversight of the Center's interactions with the correctional and court system related to the Center's forensic programing, training and service delivery." Id. ¶ 12. Further, the document provides, id. at 3:
Forensic clinical direction for the team is provided by a psychologist designated by the Director of Psychology. A staff social worker provides administrative forensic coordination. A psychiatrist provides psychiatric evaluation and consultation. The psychiatrist is typically the Clinical Director, but this role can be assumed by any psychiatrist on staff who has completed the DHMH Forensic Evaluator Training.
The Forensic Evaluation Team is "charged with accomplishing" various tasks, including: "Interface with the BHA Office of Forensic Services (OFS), correctional facilities and authorities, state's attorneys, public defenders and other lawyers, judges and courts, community-based forensic evaluators and aftercare service providers to assure appropriate, effective, and efficient delivery of forensic evaluation services." Id.
According to forensic team meeting minutes from June 6, 2016 (ECF 31-8), 35 out of 71 patients at the Center were "considered inpatient forensic . . . ." ECF 31-4 at 9. Twenty were found "incompetent to stand trial," while twelve had been found not criminally responsible and were "waiting for a conditional release." Id. at 9, 17. Two were sent from a detention facility and were found competent, and two were at the Center "purely for treatment." Id. at 9-10.
Cullen testified about the court testimony provided by employees of the Center, characterizing it as "wide open." ECF 31-3 at 8. He stated: Id. Issues as to competency were the responsibility of Dr. Hendershot "and the forensic team." Id.
Perkins testified that the forensic team, of which she was a member, would meet with the treatment team, of which Dr. Okusami was a member. ECF 31-6 at 6. She stated that the treatment team Id. As a member of the treatment team, plaintiff's job duties included the following, ECF 33-10 ():
To continue reading
Request your trial