Osekavage v. Sam's E., Inc.
| Docket Number | 19-CV-11778 (PMH) |
| Decision Date | 03 August 2022 |
| Parties | Kamila OSEKAVAGE, Plaintiff, v. SAM'S EAST, INC., et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Jonathan Robert Goldman, Sussman and Associates, Goshen, NY, for Plaintiff.
Lawrence Peikes, Wiggin & Dana, LLP, New Haven, CT, Joshua Jonathan Wyatt, Nuvance Health, Danbury, CT, for Defendants.
Kamila Osekavage ("Plaintiff") brings this action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. and New York Human Rights Law ("NYSHRL"), N.Y. Exec. Law § 296 et seq., alleging that Sam's East, Inc. ("Sam's"), Walmart, Inc. ("Walmart") and Stephen Orloski ("Orloski," and collectively, "Defendants") unlawfully terminated Plaintiff's employment on the basis of her sex and in retaliation for her engaging in protected activity.
Presently pending before the Court is Defendants' motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of Plaintiff's claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. . Plaintiff opposed Defendants' motion and the motion was fully submitted with the filing of the motion, opposition, and Defendants' reply brief on December 15, 2021 (Doc. 63, "Reply").
For the reasons set forth below, Defendants' motion is DENIED.
The facts recited below are taken from Plaintiff's Complaint (Doc. 1, "Compl."), the single document representing Defendants' Local Civil Rule 56.1 Statement with Plaintiff's responses and Counterstatement of additional material facts,1 and the admissible evidence submitted by the parties.
Plaintiff began her employment with Sam's in the Secaucus, New Jersey store—known as a "Club"—as a Café Associate in or about August or September 2004. . Plaintiff was thereafter promoted to Marketing Team Leader and later, in or about October or November 2006, promoted to a Management Trainee position. (Compl. ¶ 17; Ans. ¶ 17). From 2007 to 2014, Plaintiff held various Assistant Manager positions at Sam's in Edison, New Jersey, reporting to Club Manager Rocco Capuano ("Capuano"). (Compl. ¶ 18; Ans. ¶ 18; Pl. Tr. 54:6-18).2 In 2014, Orloski, as Market Manager, promoted Plaintiff to the position of co-manager of the Secaucus Club, where she initially reported to Club Manager John Donnelly ("Donnelly") and then to Donnelly's replacement, Salvatore Salemi. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 1; Pl. Tr. at 61:12-24).
Plaintiff alleges that throughout her years as a co-manager in the Secaucus Club, she observed Orloski's interactions with his subordinates and determined that Orloski treated his male subordinates more favorably than his female subordinates, including Plaintiff. (Pl. Decl. ¶ 4). Plaintiff contends that Orloski would speak to female subordinates in a hostile and intimidating manner, which was different from his more jovial and less demanding interactions with male subordinates. (Id.). Plaintiff maintains that while she served as a co-manager, she expressed her interest in a promotion to a Club Manager position in the New Jersey or Eastern Pennsylvania geographic area, but Orloski allegedly remarked that if Plaintiff became a Club Manager, her husband would likely divorce her. (Pl. Decl. ¶ 5). Orloski promoted Plaintiff to the position of Club Manager of the Fishkill, New York Club on April 1, 2017. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 2). Orloski was the Market Manager responsible for overseeing the Fishkill Club, and the several other Clubs which made up Market 15. (Id.; Orloski Tr. 35:2-36:17).
As a Club Manager, Plaintiff was responsible for the Club's operation, with the attendant duties of providing direction, guidance, and supervision to other members of club management and hourly associates. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 3; see also Doc. 60, "Wyatt Decl.," Ex. 4). Fundamentally, Club Managers are tasked with increasing the quality of members' experience by ensuring appropriate service levels and effective merchandise presentation, including proper signage and maintenance of stock and inventory levels. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 3). Club Managers are also responsible for the development and implementation of action plans to improve performance; providing direction and guidance on executing Company programs and strategic initiatives; ensuring that all areas of the club are in compliance with Company policies and procedures; and communicating with management and associates about Facility operations, merchandising, and Company direction. (Id.).
Sam's promulgated a set of Club standards in 2017 called the "First Five." (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 4; see also Clark Tr. at 108:13-113:11). These standards required that Clubs be "clean, neat, and straight," with retail areas and the exterior of the Club kept free of trash and debris and the stocked retail areas well-organized. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 4). Sam's management also expected that Club aisles and merchandise pallets would be organized in a "crisp," "laser"-like manner. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 5; see also Clark Tr. at 89:22-23). Sam's also maintained a comprehensive Disciplinary Action policy that provided for first, second, and third written disciplinary actions within a twelve-month period before termination. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 6; see also at Pl. Tr. at 164:12-20).
On June 6, 2018, Sam's Vice President Cedric Clark ("Clark"), along with other regional personnel, toured the Fishkill Club with Plaintiff, offering Plaintiff notes on opportunities to improve the Club, including plans to ensure that the Club was "crisp" with aisle and retail items maintained in a tidy manner. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 8; see also Clark Tr. at 203:17-204:17). Clark expected Plaintiff to execute the improvements identified on the tour. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 8; see also Clark Tr. at 89:7-90:16). Clark perceived Plaintiff to have reacted to his feedback by offering excuses, whereas Plaintiff believed her responses demonstrated that she was working diligently to address issues. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 9; Clark Tr. at 186:10-17; Pl. Decl. ¶ 13). Clark returned to the Fishkill Club three days later, on June 9, 2018, finding that at least one of the opportunities he identified on June 6th had not been addressed and identifying other opportunities for improvement. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 11; see also Clark Tr. at 203:20-204:3). Orloski toured the Fishkill Club days later, on June 14, 2018, and, on June 15, 2018, issued Plaintiff a first written disciplinary action for job performance. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 16).
Until June 2018, Plaintiff had received only three minor written coachings3 during her entire career at Sam's, issued in September 2007, June 2009, and October 2010, respectively. . Plaintiff, prior to the June 2018 written disciplinary action, had no official coachings in her personnel file. (Id.; Goldman Decl., Ex. 1).
Separately, on June 10, 2018, following a tour of the Elmsford Club, Orloski issued Donnelly a first written disciplinary action for his job performance. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 14; see also Donnelly Tr. at 19:10-13; 20:13-16; Wyatt Decl., Ex. 27). Donnelly agreed with the feedback Orloski provided in the first written disciplinary action. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 15). Over the next month or two, Orloski toured Donnelly's Club on a weekly basis. (Orloski Tr. at 167:6-18; Donnelly Tr. 27:2-9). Orloski's recollection was that Donnelly had a "tremendous impact" and that "[h]e turned things around very well." (Orloski Tr. at 167:6-15).
On June 28, 2018, Orloski issued Middletown, New York Club Manager Cesar Angulo ("Angulo") a first written disciplinary action for job performance. . Angulo was receptive to the feedback in the first written disciplinary action, viewing it as helpful to his development as a manager. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 19; see also Angulo Tr. at 24:6-12; 28:4-29:2). Orloski visited the Middletown Club almost every week, sometimes twice per week, between June and November 2018. (Angulo Tr. at 29:7-30:11; 35:10-25). Angulo did not receive another written disciplinary action between June and November of 2018 but did receive feedback from Orloski during that timeframe. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 19; see also Angulo Tr. at 38:4-43:8).
Orloski returned to the Fishkill Club on June 22, 2018, one week after the issuance of Plaintiff's first written disciplinary action, and on June 23, 2018, issued Plaintiff a second written warning for job performance. (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 17). The second write-up indicated that Plaintiff failed to direct her staff to clean out a lock up cage, a task required by management—though Plaintiff maintains that she had directed her staff to do so. (Pl. Decl. ¶ 8; Pl. Tr. at 186:13-187:5). On a conference call held on June 25, 2018, Orloski remarked that there was an issue with management's compliance with the lock up cage directive. Plaintiff believes that multiple Clubs had not completed the task, but no Club Manager other than herself was disciplined or written up for it. (Orloski Tr. at 199:5-200:8; Pl. Decl. ¶ 8).
After Orloski issued Plaintiff a second write-up, on June 25, 2018 Plaintiff emailed Clark stating her belief that Orloski did not "treat male and female [Club Managers] equally." . Plaintiff's complaint was assigned for investigation to Sam's Field People Partner for Associate Relations in the Northeast Region, Toni Budrow ("Budrow"). (56.1 Stmt. ¶ 21). Between June 27 and August 3, 2018, Budrow investigated Plaintiff's complaint, soliciting feedback from, inter alios, Orloski. (Id.). On August 2, 2018, Budrow submitted her investigation report to U.S. Ethics Manager Fashia Cizerle, who reviewed the details and concluded that P...
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