Sánchez–Arroyo v. Dep't of Educ. of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

• Decision Date: 01 February 2012
• Docket Number: CIV. No. 10–2083 (PG).
• Citation: 842 F.Supp.2d 416,281 Ed. Law Rep. 1017
• Parties: Wanda SÁNCHEZ–ARROYO, et al., Plaintiffs, v. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OF the Commonwealth of PUERTO RICO, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

842 F.Supp.2d 416

281 Ed. Law Rep. 1017

Wanda SÁNCHEZ–ARROYO, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OF the Commonwealth of PUERTO RICO, et al., Defendants.

CIV. No. 10–2083 (PG).

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

Feb. 1, 2012.

Eduardo A. Vera–Ramirez, Eileen Landron–Guardiola, Luis A. Rodriguez–Munoz, Landron & Vera LLP, Guaynabo, PR, Leila S. Castro–Moya, San Juan, PR, for Plaintiffs.

David R. Rodriguez–Burns, Sheila J. Torres–Delgado, Aldarondo & Lopez Bras, PSC, Guaynabo, PR, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

JUAN M. PEREZ–GIMENEZ, Senior District Judge.

Plaintiffs Wanda Sánchez Arroyo (“Sánchez”), her spouse José Ramos–Dieppa (“Ramos”), and the conjugal partnership established between them, have brought this action against the Puerto Rico Department of Education (“DOE”) and several individual defendants, namely: Jesus Rivera–Sánchez (“Rivera–Sánchez”), Odette Piñeiro Caballero (“Piñero”), Carlos E. Chardón (“Chardón”), Brenda Virella Crespo (“Virella”), Edward Moreno–Alonso (“Moreno–Alonso”), José Morales Rivera (“Morales–Rivera”) and Elia Colón–Berlingeri (“Colón–Berlingeri”)(hereinafter collectively referred to as “Defendants”). ¹ In her complaint, Sánchez, who is a current employee of the DOE, asserts that Defendants discriminated against her on the basis of her age, mental condition and gender, as well as subjected her to harassment and a hostile work environment as punishment for speaking out publicly against Defendants' alleged political discrimination practices. The matter is before the Court on Defendants' motion to dismiss. Docket No. 36. Because the Court finds it lacks jurisdiction to entertain most of Sánchez's claims, it dismisses all of her claims except her First Amendment claim. Defendants' motion to dismiss is thus GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.

I. Background

A. Procedural Background

On November 4, 2010 Sánchez filed the instant complaint, where she alleges that Defendants illegally discriminated against her on the basis of her age, mental condition and gender. Docket No. 1. She claims said acts by Defendants constitute violations of her rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e, et seq. (“Title VII”), Titles I and II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111, et seq.; and 42 U.S.C. §§ 12115, et seq., and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. § 623 (“ADEA”). Sánchez also advances claims under Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which are predicated on Defendants' alleged violations of her rights under the First Amendment, Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Lastly, she claims the events recounted in her complaint also give rise to violations of Sections 1, 4, 6 and 7 of Article II of the Constitution of Puerto Rico, the Public Service Personnel Laws of Puerto Rico and its merit system regulations, Law No. 184 of August 3, 2004, as well as articles 1802 and 1803 of the Puerto Rico Civil Code, P.R. Laws Ann. tit. 31, §§ 5141–42.

On June 24, 2011 Defendants filed the pending motion to dismiss, seeking dismissal of Plaintiffs' complaint for failure to state a claim, comply with the applicable statute of limitations and/or exhaust administrative remedies. See Docket No. 36. Plaintiffs failed to file a timely response to said motion, and thus the Court deemed it as unopposed. Docket No. 45. Plaintiffs sought reconsideration from the order, which the Court denied on October 5, 2011. Docket No. 48.

B. Factual Background

The Court draws the following facts from Plaintiff's complaint and takes them as true for the purpose of resolving Defendants' motion to dismiss.

Sánchez is a 55 year old disabled woman that is a member of the New Progressive Party (“NPP”),² fact known to Defendants at all times relevant to this action, especially given the highly politically charged environment that exists at the DOE.

Her active membership in the NPP includes, without limitation, active participation in the 2004 and 2008 electoral campaign, and attendance to different political meetings, parties, seminaries, conventions, among others and contributing in fundraising for the NPP.

Sánchez has been an employee of the DOE since August 23, 1976. At this time she occupies the career position of “Auxiliary Superintendent Reg. V.”

On September 2008, Sánchez was diagnosed with major depression. The Puerto Rico State Insurance Fund (SIF) diagnosed her with a disability for an emotional condition related to her working environment that she was subjected to by co-defendant Morales–Rivera.³ As a direct consequence of the mental and emotional state and the treatment that she was subjected to, Sánchez has a limited ability to perform her daily activities. For said reasons she has requested reasonable accommodations with her employer DOE who has failed to take the necessary measures to reasonably accommodate said emotional condition. If a reasonable accommodation was afforded by DOE, Sánchez would be able to perform her duties and functions of her position. She requested to be located in an area where co-defendant Morales–Rivera could not continue to harass her.

On January 5th, 2009 Sánchez was named Special Aide in the Special Education Division, effective February 5th, 2009 by co-defendant Chardón.⁴ On January 7th, 2009 she was appointed Interim Regional Director of the Caguas School Region, effective January 8th, 2009 also by Defendant Chardón.

On January 30th, 2009 co-defendant Moreno–Alonso,⁵ the Administrative Sub–Secretary, sent a letter to Sánchez informing her that she was being reinstated to her position as Auxiliary Superintendent in the Cidra School District, leaving without effect the assignment as Interim Director of the Caguas Educational Region. During this time, when Sánchez was removed from her appointment as Regional Director of the Caguas School Region, she sent a letter to co-defendant Chardón with regards to an alleged investigation that gave basis for her destitution due to some information provided by an anonymous person. Sánchez requested that she continue as Regional Director, pending the investigation. Chardón then sent a notification on February 2009 appointing her to the Comerio School District, a school district that is outside her residence and her career position, distant from Cidra and Caguas.

On or around February, 2009, Sánchez started notifying the DOE of the illegal use of equipment by defendant Moreno–Rivera ⁶ and his harassing and hostile attitude against Plaintiff and other of his subordinates. No action was taken against Moreno–Rivera demonstrating either a concerted effort on the part of the Defendants to ignore her valid complaints or a reckless disregard for her situation.

During this time the DOE was under the supervision of the federal government due to irregularities in the school system; the DOE informed that they had identified school directors that were performing Auxiliary Superintendent functions in the DOE, and in order to maximize the DOE resources they would relocate them in the Director positions for the remainder of the school year. Little did they know that the DOE and the Defendants used this as a pretext to create a trust position called “staff developers” that had the exact duties as an Auxiliary Superintendent, in order to accommodate people from their same political affiliation, NPP, and discriminate and marginalize supporters of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP).⁷

Defendants requested Plaintiff in multiple occasions, to take adverse employment actions against employees of the DOE under her supervision that are affiliated to the PDP, the opposing Political party of the current administration. At all times, Plaintiff has refused to take any of the requested adverse employment actions and has publicly reported her superiors because of their discriminatory behavior against employees of the DOE for their political affiliation to the PDP.

On July 29th, 2009 Plaintiff participated at a meeting with co-defendants Chardón, Virella–Crespo ⁸ and Moreno–Rivera. Virella–Crespo alleged that the position of Special Aide was not a trust position, that it was afforded a salary differential and not a salary raise. Notwithstanding, Sánchez explained to Defendant Virella–Crespo that in the DOE all the Special Aide positions are of trust. During that same meeting Sánchez requested the investigation of a list of illegal personnel transactions that were taking place at the DOE. All the other Defendants present at the meeting ignored her valid complaints in a concerted effort to discriminate and marginalize her. These actions are one more effort to retaliate, discriminate, marginalize and harass against Sánchez.

Sánchez has always received excellent evaluations, notwithstanding, Defendants, including Virella–Crespo, have started a harassment campaign against her because of her age, emotional condition, her request for reasonable accommodations and her opposition to the political discriminatory practices of the Defendants.

Sánchez has been subject to five (5) transfers since January 2009, she has been denied her right to receive her list of her duties and responsibilities, with the sole intent to harass her and make her working conditions more difficult. The multiple transfers have also affected her ability to receive medical treatment for her disability.

On August 5, 2009 Sánchez was sent in administrative special assignment (“ destaque ”) as School Director at Josefa Pastrana School in Aguas Buenas. She was assigned to this school even when the school already had a Director assigned. For said reason Sánchez did not have an office assigned to her and she was placed in an area that lacked among other things a telephone, records, and office equipment, all of which are necessary to carry out her functions, and all this in an effort to make her fail in her duties.

August 24, 2009 Sánchez made a...