Shands v. Lakeland Cent. Sch. Dist. & Dr. Tammy Cosgrove, 15-CV-4260 (KMK)
| Decision Date | 05 July 2018 |
| Docket Number | No. 15-CV-4260 (KMK),15-CV-4260 (KMK) |
| Parties | ANNETTE SHANDS, Plaintiff, v. LAKELAND CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT and DR. TAMMY COSGROVE, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Appearances:
Annette Shands
Cortlandt Manor, NY
Pro se Plaintiff
James A. Randazzo, Esq.
Portale Randazzo LLP
White Plains, NY
Drew W. Sumner, Esq.
Morris Duffy Alonso & Faley
New York, NY
Pro se Plaintiff Annette Shands ("Plaintiff") brought this Action against the Lakeland Central School District (the "District"), and Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Tammy Cosgrove ("Cosgrove") (collectively, "Defendants"), alleging that Defendants failed to offer her an Assistant Principal position because of her age, race, and gender, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ("ADEA"), 29 U.S.C. § 621, the New York State Human Rights Law ("NYSHRL"), N.Y. Exec. Law § 296, and the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause. Before the Court is Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. (Not. of Mot. (Dkt. No. 83).) For the following reasons, the Motion is granted.
The following facts are taken from Defendants' statement pursuant to Local Civil Rule 56.1 (Defs.' Rule 56.1 Statement ( ) (Dkt. No. 86)), Plaintiff's response to that statement, (Pl.'s Resp. to Summ. J. Mot. ("Pl.'s 56.1") (Dkt. No. 90)), Plaintiff's declaration, which duplicates the disputed facts identified in Plaintiff's 56.1 statement, (Decl. of Opp'n to Summ. J. Mot. ("Pl.'s Decl.") (Dkt. No. 91)), and the admissible evidence submitted by the Parties, and are recounted in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, the non-movant.1 The facts as described below are not in dispute, except to the extent indicated.
Plaintiff is an African-American woman over the age of sixty-five. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶¶ 1-2; Pl.'s Decl. ¶ 1.) Defendant Cosgrove is the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources inthe District. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 3.) Her duties include, among other things, overseeing recruitment and hiring and processing grievances. (Id. ¶ 5.) Cosgrove had never met or spoken to Plaintiff until after Plaintiff filed this Action. (Id. ¶¶ 7-8, 18.)
At some point in 2004, Plaintiff presented to the District's Board of Education to search for employment as an administrator. (Id. ¶ 254.) A receptionist directed Plaintiff to the Human Resources office. (Id. ¶ 255.) While there, Plaintiff saw a job posting for a position of Elementary School Principal on a bulletin board. (Id. ¶ 257.) Plaintiff spoke with District employees concerning the posting and indicated that she was interested in the position. (Id. ¶¶ 259-60.) An employee responded that the District received too many applicants for the position and that the position would, or should have, been taken down. (Id. ¶ 261.) Plaintiff did not respond to the employee's statement. Plaintiff was also told that she would not be hired because she was not in the database as certified for the position. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 263.) Plaintiff asked that a search be conducted for both her maiden name, "Annette Oliver," and her married name, "Annette Shands." (Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 260.) As the search was being conducted, Plaintiff said, "You just passed my name," but the unidentified female employee nervously said, "oh no. That's not it." (Id. ¶¶ 39, 179, 260.) Plaintiff said "I am quite sure it was," and offered to bring in her certification from home, but the employee said, (Id. ¶ 260; see also Pl.'s Dep. 183-84 (same); Pl.'s 56.1 ¶¶ 10, 260 ).) Plaintiff does not remember if she submitted her resume oran application for the Elementary School Principal Position, nor does she remember discussing the job posting with anyone else from the District afterwards. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶¶ 264-65.)
In May 2014, Plaintiff applied for an Assistant Principal position at Lakeland Copper Beech Middle School ("Copper Beech"), where grades six through eight are taught. (Id. ¶¶ 14, 19-20.) Plaintiff first learned of the opportunity to apply for the position when she visited the District's Board of Education on May 16, 2014 for the purpose of seeking employment. (Id. ¶ 21.) Plaintiff met with Jayana Davis, who is African American, (id. ¶¶ 24, 26), works in Human Resources, is supervised by Cosgrove, and is responsible for posting job openings in the District, (id. ¶¶ 9-11), for "possibly 20 minutes," (id. ¶ 32). Davis had never met with, spoken with, or heard of Plaintiff before. (Id. ¶¶ 27-29.) Plaintiff told Davis that she was looking for employment. (Id. ¶ 31.) Davis showed Plaintiff a bulletin board, and together they looked at job postings. (Id. ¶ 33.) Plaintiff verbally expressed interest in an administrative position—specifically, the Copper Beech Assistant Principal position. (Id. ¶¶ 34-35.) Davis told Plaintiff that the District may be taking that post down that same day. (Id. ¶ 36.) Plaintiff said she intended to give Davis an application that day, and gave her a copy of Plaintiff's resume. (Id. ¶¶ 37, 43; Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 37.) Plaintiff did not give Davis any other documents. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 44.)
Davis searched "the New York State Ed Public Inquiry database" for Plaintiff's teacher administrator certifications. (Id. ¶ 38.)2 Davis searched for "Annette Shands," which did not return any results. (Id. ¶ 39.) Plaintiff also requested a search be made for her maiden name, "Annette Oliver," and Davis affirmed that both of Plaintiff's names had been searched. (Pl.'s56.1 ¶¶ 38-39; see also Davis Dep. 45-46.) Plaintiff attributes this failure to lack of training of the District's on-site employees, because Plaintiff is certified, and the District is able to find Plaintiff's credentials when she informs them of her availability to substitute teach. Ex. F ( ) 2 ¶ 4 (admitting that Plaintiff is certified).) Plaintiff offered to bring in a copy of her certification from home, but was again told, (Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 39; see also id. ¶ 40 (same).) Davis explained that Plaintiff would not be considered for the Assistant Principal position if Plaintiff was not certified. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 40.) Davis testified that she advised Plaintiff to contact the New York State Department of Education because she was unable to locate Plaintiff's certifications, and provided her with their contact information, (id. ¶ 41-42), but Plaintiff avers that Davis never mentioned the Department of Education, let alone provided contact information, (Pl.'s 56.1 ¶¶ 41-42).3 Plaintiff left with a copy of the job posting. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 45.)
Plaintiff read the Assistant Principal job posting and the qualifications the District was seeking in prospective candidates. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 47.) The posting stated that "New York State certification" in school administration was "required," and listed the following "qualifications":
(Randazzo Decl. Ex. F ("Job Posting"); see also Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 17 ().)
Plaintiff believed that as of May 2014, she had a successful background in middle school education, as listed in the first requirement. (Pl.'s Dep. 84.) She testified that this background consisted of (1) working with Copper Beech students in 2003 in conjunction with the John C. Hart Library; (2) teaching middle school students in 1969 through 1970 at Mount Vernon High School; and (3) substitute teaching at Copper Beech. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 53.)4 The first category consisted of leading a voluntary after-school program celebrating African American History during February of 2001, (id. ¶ 54), which was extended to include making presentations at Copper Beech and an elementary school in the District, (Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 54). Plaintiff testified that this experience lasted between several weeks and a month and that Copper Beech students were enrolled in the program, but she could not remember if the program met once per week or more. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶¶ 55-56.) The John C. Hart Library is a public library for the Yorktown community. (Id. ¶ 57.) Plaintiff did not list this after-school program on her resume, (id. ¶ 58),but she listed it on her purported cover letter dated May 16, 2014, (Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 58; Compliance Letter Ex. G ("Email Application") at 6 ("Cover Letter")).5
Plaintiff's resume does state that she worked as a teacher at Mount Vernon High School in 1969-70. (Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 67.) Plaintiff contends that she was teaching Traphagen Middle School students who were being housed in the High School, (Pl.'s 56.1 ¶ 67), and that her cover letter spoke to work with middle school students "elsewhere," (id. ¶ 69), but her resume did not state that she worked in the Mount Vernon Middle School, (Defs.' 56.1 ¶ 69), or that she worked with middle school students, (Randazzo Decl. Ex. E ("Resume")). As to the...
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