Singleton v. Potter

• Decision Date: 22 July 2005
• Docket Number: No. Civ.A. 03-1276 (CKK).,Civ.A. 03-1276 (CKK).
• Citation: 402 F.Supp.2d 12
• Parties: Gloria E. SINGLETON, Plaintiff, v. John E. POTTER, Postmaster General, United States Postal Service, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

Page 12

402 F.Supp.2d 12

Gloria E. SINGLETON, Plaintiff, v. John E. POTTER, Postmaster General, United States Postal Service, Defendant.

No. Civ.A. 03-1276 (CKK).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

July 22, 2005.

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John Edward Carpenter, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

Wyneva Johnson, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

KOLLAR-KOTELLY, District Judge.

Plaintiff, a longtime EAS-9 secretary in the Employee Development Department of the United States Postal Service, brings this employment discrimination case pursuant to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. ("ADEA"), alleging that Defendant ("Defendant" or "the Postal Service") (1) "knowingly and willingly" discriminated against her on the basis of her age when failing to offer her the position of training specialist EAS-21 in 2001; (2) retaliated against her upon her submission of a complaint with the EEOC office; and (3) created a hostile work environment full of continual surveillance and repeated harassment. Currently before the Court is Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment, which contends that summary judgment is appropriate with respect to Plaintiff's claims because (1) the Postal Service had legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons for not selecting Plaintiff for the promotion at issue, and Plaintiff cannot show the requisite pretext that the Postal Service failed to promote her on the basis of her age; and (2) Plaintiff failed to exhaust her retaliation and hostile work environment claims and, in any event, cannot establish a prima facie case to support either allegation.

Upon a searching examination of Defendant's motion, Plaintiff's Opposition, Defendant's Reply, the relevant case law, and the entire record herein, the Court shall grant Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment and dismiss the above-captioned action.

I: BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Gloria Singleton is a longtime employee of the Postal Service who was initially hired in 1986. See Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 1 (Singleton Dep.) at 76. In 1990, Plaintiff was transferred to the Postal Service Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and later promoted to senior word processor. See First Am. Compl. ¶¶ 17-18. In 1996, Plaintiff was placed in the Employee Development Department at Headquarters. Id.; Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 1 (Singleton Dep.) at 77, 81. In the Employee Development Department ("the Department"), Plaintiff worked as a level EAS-9 secretary, wherein her responsibilities included handling administrative duties and assisting team leaders in the Department. Def.'s Stmt. of Mat. Facts Not in Dispute ("Def.'s Stmt.") ¶ 3; Pl.'s Stmt. of Facts that Remain in Dispute Necessitating the Denial of Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J. ("Pl.'s Stmt.") ¶ 3. During a roughly two month period from January 6, 2001, until March 2, 2001, Plaintiff was detailed into a EAS-21 "Training Specialist" position as a developmental assignment. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 4; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 4. During this developmental detail, Plaintiff's responsibilities included handling administrative duties, as well as engaging in some budgetary duties that consisted of monitoring the expenses for the Department. Id. Plaintiff's budgetary duties in her detail did not involve the preparation of budgets or decision-making responsibilities. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 5; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 5.

A. Non-Selection

In early 2001, Plaintiff applied for a permanent position as an EAS-21 Training Specialist. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 7; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 7. At the time of Plaintiff's application, she was fifty-five (55) years old. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 10; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 10. The only other applicant for the position was Ms. Joyce Ghu, who was thirty-four (34) years old at the time of her application. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 11; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 11. At the time of the announcement, Ms. Ghu worked in an EAS-14 position in the Workplace Environment Department at Postal Service Headquarters handling administrative responsibilities, and had been with the Postal Service for roughly four (4) years. Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 2 (Dep. of William Koukos, EAS-25 team leader and selecting official) ("Koukos Dep.") at 27:1-19; Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 1 (Koukos Dep.) at 33:19-22. The vacancy announcement for the EAS-21 Training Specialist position described the responsibilities of the position as including "development programs, corporate training objectives, evaluation training, and development issues." Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 6 (citing Koukos Dep. at 24:20-25:3). While the words "budget" or "budgeting issues" were not directly listed under either the responsibilities or requirements of the position in the vacancy announcement, Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 2 (Koukos Dep.) at 24:12-19, 26:5-8, included among the functional purposes explicitly named was "analysis," id. at 24:12-16, and included among the seven requirements identified on the announcement for the position was "contracting officer representatives," id. at 26:3-4.

Mr. William Koukos, a level EAS-25 team leader who indirectly supervised Plaintiff, was the selecting official for the EAS-21 Training Specialist position, while Ms. Carol Aspengren was the approving official for the position. Def.'s Stmt. ¶¶ 8-9; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶¶ 8-9. After both candidates were interviewed by Mr. Koukos, see Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J, Ex. 1 (Koukos Dep.) at 33, Ms. Ghu was selected for the Training Specialist position on March 2, 2001. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 11; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 11. According to Mr. Koukos, Ms. Ghu was chosen for two major reasons. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 13. First, he believed that Ms. Ghu's qualifications were superior to those of Plaintiff. Id.; see also Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J, Ex. 1 (Koukos Dep.) at 33. Specifically, he felt that Ms. Ghu was "just a brighter individual" with better "[o]verall work experience and background," id., especially given the fact that — in contrast to Plaintiff, who did not have a college degree, Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 13; Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 2 (Singleton Dep.) at 70 — Ms. Ghu was a college graduate with a degree in finance. See Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 2 (Singleton Dep.) at 70-71. In contrast, Mr. Koukos understood that Plaintiff's primary responsibilities in her limited EAS-21 detail included handling administrative matters and providing support to the EAS-21 position, and that while she monitored expenses for the Department, Plaintiff was not involved in the preparation of budgets or decision-making responsibilities. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 14 (citing Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 1 (Koukos Dep.) at 14-21; Ex. 2 (Singleton Dep.) at 61-63, 67); see also Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 14 (adding that her EAS-9 "responsibilities included training activities and employee development").

Second, Mr. Koukos was aware of Plaintiff's "attendance issues," and indicated that Plaintiff's attendance problems had a "significant impact" on the selection decision. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 17; Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 1 (Koukos Dep.) 48:2-14; see also Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 17 (noting that, "[a]t times plaintiff arrived at work late but she would nonetheless arrive at work"). Plaintiff currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland, and did so during the relevant period in question. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 18; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 18. As such, her commute to the Postal Service's Headquarters in Washington, D.C., was often approximately two to two and a half hours. Id.; Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 2 (Singleton Dep.) at 5-7. Due to the length of her commute, Plaintiff was frequently tardy to work, even "a couple of times a month, at least" by her own admission. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 19; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 19; Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 2 (Singleton Dep.) at 7; see also Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. 1 (Koukos Dep.) at 61:7-62:3 (noting that he discussed orally Plaintiff's tardiness problems with her "[e]very week, a couple of times a week" for "[a] good part of the detail"); Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex 5 (Decls. of Messrs. James French and Charles Johnson) at ¶ 3, 1 (noting that "[f]rom January 2001 through March 2003," each individual had "observed Gloria Singleton reporting late for work once or twice every week," that "it was not uncommon for Gloria to be an hour or more late for work," and that her "supervisors had several conversations with her regarding her poor attendance"). Even after the Postal Service had accommodated Plaintiff's long commute and frequent tardiness by changing her starting time from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., Plaintiff continued to arrive tardy. Id. In contrast, Ms. Ghu — who resided in Richmond, Virginia, during 2001 — had a reputation for arriving to work everyday on time despite her lengthy commute. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 21; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 21.

After Plaintiff's non-selection, which was announced on March 2, 2001, Plaintiff filed a charge of discrimination against the Postal Service with the EEO Compliance and Appeals in Washington, D.C, on March 12, 2001. First Am. Compl. ¶ 9. Plaintiff felt that "age was a determining factor in her not being selected by the Defendant for the position for which she had applied." Id. ¶ 27. Specifically, Plaintiff stressed that she "had experience in training, employee development, and curriculum longer than Ms. Ghu had been with the [P]ostal [S]ervice," she "had been detailed into this very same position prior to not being selected for the permanent position," and "[a]fter Ms. Ghu was placed in the position, she constantly sought help from the plaintiff and she was told by Mr. Koukos to help her." Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 14. However, as Plaintiff noted at her deposition, she did not hear anyone in the Department's management indicate that they wanted someone younger than her for the permanent EAS-21 position. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 16; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 16; Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex 2 (Singleton Dep.) at 87.

Given the above-mentioned facts, Count I of Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint alleges that the Postal Service "knowingly and willingly discriminated...