Patterson v. Saul
| Decision Date | 13 February 2020 |
| Docket Number | C.A. No. 18-193 |
| Parties | GUY C. PATTERSON, Plaintiff, v. ANDREW M. SAUL, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Pennsylvania |
SYNOPSIS
In this civil action, Plaintiff, an attorney proceeding pro se, brings claims pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq., and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. § 621, et seq. Plaintiff is a white male, born in June,1965, and currently in Defendant's employ as a Senior Attorney. Plaintiff's claims are based on his non-selection for the position of Appeals Officer, in 2014, and for Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") in 2016 and 2017.
Specifically, Plaintiff's Amended Complaint asserts the following: With respect to the Appeals Officer non-selection, he avers disparate treatment due to age, race, and sex. With regard to the 2016 ALJ non-selection, he alleges disparate treatment due to race and sex. With regard to the 2017 ALJ non-selection, he alleges disparate treatment due to age, race, and sex. His retaliation claims allege that Plaintiff was not selected for the 2016 and 2017 ALJ positions in retaliation for his Equal Employment Opportunity ("EEO") filings challenging his non-selections.
Before the Court are the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment on all Counts. In addition, Plaintiff has moved for a preliminary injunction, seeking, inter alia, to enjoin Defendant from filling any vacancies for ALJ and Appeals Officers positions pending final judgment in this suit. For the following reasons, Plaintiff's Motions will be denied, and Defendant's granted.
OPINIONSummary judgment shall be granted if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). In considering a motion for summary judgment, the Court must examine the facts in a light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. Marino v. Indus. Crating Co., 358 F. 3d 241, 247 (3d Cir. 2004); International Raw Materials, Ltd. v. Stauffer Chem. Co., 898 F. 2d 946, 949 (3d Cir. 1990). The moving party bears the burden of demonstrating the absence of any genuine issues of material fact. United States v. Onmicare, Inc., 382 F. 3d 432 (3d Cir. 2004).
Rule 56, however, mandates the entry of judgment against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof. Celotex Corp. v. Cattrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S. Ct. 2548, 91 L. Ed. 265 (1986). The sum of the affirmative evidence to be presented by the non-moving party must be such that a reasonable jury could find in its favor; it cannot simply reiterate unsupported assertions, conclusory allegations, or suspicious beliefs. Groman v. Township of Manalapan, 47 F.3d 628, 633 (3d Cir. 1995); Saldana v. Kmart Corp., 260 F.3d 228, 232 (3d Cir. 2001). A genuine issue for trial does not exist "unless the party opposing themotion can adduce evidence which, when considered in light of that party's burden of proof at trial, could be the basis for a jury finding in that party's favor." J.E. Mamiye & Sons, Inc. v. Fidelity Bank, 813 F.2d 610, 618 (3d Cir. 1987) (Becker, J., concurring).
Importantly, "if the non-movant's evidence is merely speculative, conclusory, 'or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted.'" Raczkowski v. Empire Kosher Poultry, 185 Fed. App'x 117, 118 (3d Cir. 2006) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249-50, 106 S. Ct. 2505, 91 L. Ed. 2d 202 (1986)). "To withstand a properly supported motion for summary judgment, the nonmoving party must identify specific facts and affirmative evidence that contradict the moving party." Jacobs v. Cumberland Cnty., No. 16-1523, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92831, at *14-15 . Bald speculations, therefore, are insufficient. Johnson v. St. Luke's Hosp., No. 06-3417, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78746, at *25 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 23, 2007).
Plaintiff is a white male, born in 1965. On March 3, 2014, Defendant2 issued a vacancy announcement for multiple Appeals Officer positions. Plaintiff applied to those positions on March 21, 2014. Defendant conducted oral interviews, or "structured oral interviews," for the position. The interviews were conducted by two-person panels, and all of the applicants referred by the Office of Personnel were interviewed, except for two applicants who withdrew or retired.The interviewers were given written guidance on explaining the competencies related to each question, as well as proficiency level examples, explaining what would be considered poor, acceptable, good, or excellent answers.
In June, 2014, Plaintiff was interviewed by Administrative Appeals Judge Crawford and Administrative Appeals Judge Gabriel DePass. For each interview, the panel asked the same series of scripted questions. Most of the questions asked candidates to identify knowledge, skills, or experience relevant to particular aspects or qualities of the Appeals Council and Appeals Officer position. Three of the questions were hypothetical questions, which asked the interviewee what he or she would do as an Appeals Officer in handling a hypothetical case or situation. At Plaintiff's interview, he was asked the same scripted questions as the other candidates. Plaintiff testified that he has no reason to believe that he was treated differently than other interviewees, in terms of the questions asked and the interview process. Plaintiff's overall interview score was 16 out of a possible 28, as he was graded as having no "excellent" answers, three "good" answers, three "acceptable" answers, and one "poor" answer. This score was within the bottom 23 of the 93 candidates for the position. Judge Crawford testified that Plaintiff's age, race, and sex were not taken into account, which Plaintiff disputes.
Following 93 interviews, the Appeals Council compiled a spreadsheet of the candidates and their interview scores. It then continued the selection process for the 42 top-scoring interviewees, for whom it obtained references; each of them had interview scores of at least 20. As discussed supra, Plaintiff was not within that group. Defendant then selected 16 candidates,3 who had interview scores higher than Plaintiff's, as well as strong references. Gerald Ray, the selecting officer, testified that Plaintiff's age, sex, marital status, parental status, and race werenot taken into account. Plaintiff denies this claim, on grounds that the successful candidates all were more than five years younger than Plaintiff (and only one was over 40), 50/50 male/female, and "66/33 majority/minority." Plaintiff subsequently filed an EEO complaint, claiming that his non-selection for the Appeals Officer position resulted from discrimination because he was over 40, married, had children, and white.
On or about March 5, 2013, Defendant issued a vacancy announcement for an ALJ position. Plaintiff applied to the position on March 15, 2013.
A lengthy process results in interview teams conducting interviews, completing a composite rating sheet, and assigning "not recommend," "recommend," or "highly recommend" to each candidate.4 In addition, applicants underwent a three-phase Office of Personnel Management ("OPM") application process, which resulted in a numerical rating. Following the completion of interviews and background checks, a team of two Hearing Office Chief ALJs conducted "folder reviews," which involved reviewing all of the candidates' information, including application records, background checks, social media background checks, results of interviews, and criminal and credit histories. The "folder review" team then rated each candidate, as "not recommend," "borderline recommend," "recommend," or "highly recommend." The selecting official then considered all the information, and decided which candidate was best qualified for the vacancies. The selecting official made determinations in accordance withapplicable rules and regulations, including the "rule of three," or the "three strike rule," which can apply to candidates who have been considered and not selected for three prior positions.5
Plaintiff was interviewed on August 18, 2016. Mark Sochaczewsky, a white male, was the selecting official for the pertinent vacancies in 2016. ALJs William Wallis and Kurt Schuman conducted twenty interviews at the time. ALJ Schuman was unaware of Plaintiff's age and EEO activity, and testified that Plaintiff's sex and race were not considered in the selection decision. ALJ Wallis also testified that Plaintiff's race, sex, age, and prior EEO activity were not considered in the interview process.
Ratings for candidates were based on numerical scores assigned by interviewers, after they discussed the interview and reached a consensus. Interview responses were weighed based on a set variety of factors, including relevance of response and whether the question was ultimately answered. ALJs Schuman and Wallis rated Plaintiff's verbal communication skills as "poor," indicating that he provided hesitant and unorganized responses, was aggressive and argumentative, and provided inappropriate emotional responses. Their overall impression of Plaintiff was "poor," noting that he took a long time to provide responses that were not often on point, and they had a hard time following him. Their composite rating fell into the "not recommended" category. Interviewer comments noted that Plaintiff was "arrogant," "verbose," and that he "did not provide meaningful or relevant answers to most questions." The "folder review" revealed that Plaintiff's supervisor stated that she would not recommend...
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