Skates v. Inc. Vill. of Freeport

• Decision Date: 28 June 2017
• Docket Number: 15–cv–1136 (SJF)(AYS)
• Citation: 265 F.Supp.3d 222
• Parties: Earline SKATES, Plaintiff, v. INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF FREEPORT, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

265 F.Supp.3d 222

Earline SKATES, Plaintiff,

v.INCORPORATED VILLAGE OF FREEPORT, Defendant.

15–cv–1136 (SJF)(AYS)

United States District Court, E.D. New York.

Signed June 28, 2017

Chauncey D. Henry, Henry Law, Garden City, NY, for Plaintiff.

Michael Paul Siravo, Deanna Darlene Panico, Bee Ready Fishbein Hatter & Donovan, LLP, Mineola, NY, for Defendant.

OPINION AND ORDER

FEUERSTEIN, District Judge:

Plaintiff Earline Skates ("Plaintiff" or "Skates") commenced this action against Defendant Incorporated Village of Freeport ("Defendant" or the "Village"), seeking redress for: (i) racial discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. § 2000 et seq. ; (ii) violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981 ; (iii) retaliation pursuant to the Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. ; (iv) discrimination pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. § 12112 et seq. ; (v) First Amendment retaliation pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ; and (vi) racial discrimination and retaliation pursuant to the New York State Human Rights Law ("NYSHRL"), N.Y. Exec. Law § 291 et seq. See Docket Entry ("DE") [1]. Presently before the Court is Defendant's motion for summary judgment pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 56, which Plaintiff opposes. DE [36], [47]. For the reasons set forth herein, Defendant's motion is granted in its entirety.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background ¹

1. The Parties and Plaintiff's Employment for the Village

Plaintiff Earline Skates is a disabled African–American woman who resides in Freeport, New York. Compl., DE [1], ¶¶ 8, 19. According to Plaintiff, Skates "suffered from a qualified disability following [an] injury sustained to her right wrist." Id. at ¶ 20. Defendant Village of Freeport is a municipal entity in the State of New York, with its headquarters located at 46 N. Ocean Avenue, Freeport, New York. Id. at ¶ 10. At all relevant times, the Village was Plaintiff's employer as defined and codified within the meaning of Title VII, the ADA, and the FMLA. Id. at ¶ 17. On or about July 8, 2010, the Village hired Plaintiff as a "Seasonal Laborer." Def.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 1; Kirwan Decl. Ex. A. At the time Skates was hired in July 2010, non-party Andrew Hardwick was the Village's Mayor. Def.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 1. As Plaintiff's appointment as a Seasonal Laborer was temporary, on approximately October 7, 2010, Plaintiff applied for, and was hired as, a part-time "Laborer" for the Village. Id. at ¶ 2; Kirwan Decl. Ex. B. Plaintiff worked as a part-time Laborer for the Village until approximately May 2012. Def.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 3.

Although Skates disputes that she worked as a "Recreation Attendant" for the Village prior to April 3, 2013, see Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 9–11, the evidence establishes that, on May 18, 2012, Plaintiff applied for a position as a Recreation Attendant in the Freeport Recreation Center (the "FRC"). See Kirwan Decl. Ex. C. The evidence further establishes that, on June 8, 2012, Plaintiff was appointed to the position of Recreation Attendant in the FRC, and that Hardwick authorized Plaintiff's appointment. Id. ; see also Def.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 4; Panico Decl. Ex. B ("Pl.'s Dep.") at 69:17–24. Pursuant to a Civil Service Class Specification for Recreation Attendant ("Recreation Attendant Specification"), a Recreation Attendant "[p]erforms routine duties related to the conduct of a recreation activity, or to the care of a physical facility while in use; performs related duties as required." Def.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 5. The Recreation Attendant Specification further provides that a Recreation Attendant "maintains order while recreational activities are in session," "[m]aintains and supervises the use of recreational facilities," and "[m]aintains and repairs equipment used at a recreational facility." See Kirwan Decl. Ex. D.

Although Skates claims that she worked as a "permanent clerk" in the Village's Assessor's Office beginning in approximately 2012, see Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 1, she testified that she did not actually apply for a position in the Assessor's Office, and that she was asked "to help out in the Assessor's Department because they were shorthanded ...." Pl.'s Dep. 48:19–25, 50:1–9. Furthermore, it is undisputed that, unlike the position of Recreation Attendant, the position of Clerk requires passing a civil service examination, and that Plaintiff neither took nor passed a civil service examination. See Def.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 7; see also Kirwan Decl. ¶ 7; Pl.'s Dep. 76:21–23.

2. Plaintiff's Protected Activities

Skates alleges that, while employed by the Village, she engaged in two (2) categories of activities protected by the First Amendment's right to associate and right to free speech. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that: (i) she attended the Village's 2012 Memorial Day parade in order to collect signatures in support of a local campaign "aimed at keeping broadcasts of the Village Board of Trustees meetings on local public access television"; and (ii) "made clear her support for Mayor Andrew Hardwick" in the Village's 2012 mayoral election and "that she was involved in gathering information regarding the residency of Hardwick's opponent." Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 2, 7.

i. 2012 Memorial Day Parade

On approximately May 28, 2012, Plaintiff attended the Village's Memorial Day parade, where she "collected signatures in support of a local campaign known as Resolution 18/44," which was a resolution "aimed at keeping broadcasts of the Village Board of Trustees meetings on local public access television." Id. at ¶ 2. According to Skates, two (2) Village trustees—non-parties Jorge Martinez and Carmen Pineyro—observed Plaintiff collecting signatures at the Memorial Day parade. Id. at ¶ 3. Skates claims that Martinez and Pineyro disapproved of her collecting signatures and "later instructed Scott Richardson Village Superintendent of Public Works to order [Plaintiff] to stop collecting signatures." Id. Although Plaintiff does not claim that she was required to stop collecting signatures at the parade, at a June 2012 meeting of the Village's Board of Trustees, Martinez and Pineyro "voiced their disapproval, and further commented that [Plaintiff] should no longer be employed by the Village of Freeport." Id. at ¶¶ 4–5. Plaintiff does not claim that she was terminated from her employment or otherwise reprimanded as a result of her activities at the 2012 Memorial Day parade. Nevertheless, approximately three (3) months after the parade, Plaintiff filed a complaint with the New York State Department of Human Rights alleging, inter alia , that she was "subject to discriminatory employment practices on account of her first amendment conduct." Id. at ¶ 6.

ii. Support for Hardwick's Mayoral Campaign

In addition to collecting signatures at the Memorial Day parade, while still employed by the Village, Plaintiff "made clear her support for Mayor Andrew Hardwick in the upcoming mayoral election ...." Id. at ¶ 7. As part of her support for Hardwick's campaign, Plaintiff assisted in "gathering information regarding the residency of Hardwick's opponent, Robert T. Kennedy, who was rumored to be living in Lynbrook, New York, rather than in the Village of Freeport." Id. In addition to investigating Kennedy's residency, Skates also reviewed Kennedy's petition for candidacy for discrepancies by comparing the petition to the Village's voter registration book. Pl.'s Dep. 106:7–13. As a result of her investigation, Skates uncovered "discrepancies in Robert T. Kennedy's property" and found "illegal signatures in connection with his election, and his petition, all of which were records that were publically available." Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 8. According to Plaintiff, she "reviewed the petitions that were questionable in the presence of employees of the Village of Freeport, and utilized the workplace computer to print the questionable records out." Id.

3. Transfer Back to Recreation Center

Kennedy ultimately won the election, and, upon assuming office in March 2013, he discovered that "many employees under the former mayor, Andrew Hardwick, were working out-of-title." Def.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 8. As the New York Civil Service Law prohibits employees from working out-of-title, Kennedy "transferred all of those employees, previously working out of title, back to their respective, proper positions." Id. at ¶ 9. Kennedy determined that Skates was one such employee who was working out-of-title, and "in or about April 2013, Ms. Skates was transferred to the Recreation Center to fill her position as Recreation Attendant, which was the title Ms. Skates held since June of 2012."² Id. at ¶¶ 8, 10. Although Plaintiff claims that she "did not apply for this involuntary transfer or demotion," and that the transfer was "instituted as a form of punishment by then mayor Robert T. Kennedy," see Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 10, Skates admitted that she had "no idea" whether Kennedy had any knowledge of her political activities in support of Hardwick. Def.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 12; see also Pl.'s Dep. 106:19–24.

It is undisputed that Plaintiff was not the only employee transferred when Kennedy assumed office, and that, upon being transferred back to the FRC, Plaintiff did not suffer any diminution in salary. Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 12; see also Def.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 11. However, Skates claims that upon transfer to the FRC, "her duties ... differed completely from those at [the] Village Assessor's office." Pl.'s 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 12. Specifically, Plaintiff claims that, whereas her position in the Assessor's Office "was an administrative position," her "work at the Freeport Recreation Center was janitorial in nature." Id. According to Plaintiff, her duties at the FRC included "sweeping, dusting, painting, cleaning recreation center equipment, mopping floors, cleaning paint off of walls and tables, cleaning bathrooms, and cleaning the Freeport Recreation Center parking lot." Id. Skates further claims that, upon being...