Smith v. Jackson

• Decision Date: 10 March 2008
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 05-2042 (CKK).
• Citation: 539 F.Supp.2d 116
• Parties: Clifford F. SMITH, Plaintiff, v. Alphonso R. JACKSON, Secretary, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

539 F.Supp.2d 116

Clifford F. SMITH, Plaintiff, v. Alphonso R. JACKSON, Secretary, United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 05-2042 (CKK).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

March 10, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Uduak James Ubom, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

Diane M. Sullivan, United States Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Clifford F. Smith, brings this action against Defendant Alphonso R Jackson, in his capacity as Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD" or the "Agency"), pursuant to Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq., as well as 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Plaintiff alleges that he was subjected to a hostile work environment and disparate treatment based on his race and age,¹ when his former supervisor allegedly attacked his performance, shouted at him and threatened him with disciplinary action, revoked his Compressed Work Schedule ("CWS"), charged him with Absence Without Leave ("AWOL"), issued a Proposal to Suspend him, and physically blocked his path when he tried to leave his office. Plaintiff further alleges that he was retaliated against for Union activity when he was ordered to return to a work station from which he had temporarily been relocated. Defendant has moved to dismiss certain of Plaintiff's factual allegations, and seeks summary judgment on Plaintiff's entitle' Complaint. Based upon a searching consideration of Defendant's motion, Plaintiff's Opposition, Defendant's Reply, the attached exhibits, the relevant case law, and the entire record herein, the Court shall grant Defendant's Motion to Dismiss and for Summary Judgment in its entirety.

I: BACKGROUND

A. Plaintiffs Employment by HUD and Work on the SASI Contract

Plaintiff Clifford F. Smith is an African-American, black male, who was 66 years old at the time of the events giving rise to this action.² At that point, Plaintiff was employed as a GS-1101-13 Contract Oversight Specialist in the Office of Housing of the Procurement Management Division of HUD. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 1; Pl.'s' Stmt. ¶ 1. From March 2002 until June 13, 2002, Plaintiffs first-line supervisor was Thomas Vincent, Deputy Director of the Procurement Management Division. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 2; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 2. Plaintiffs second-line supervisor was Don Schade, Director of the Procurement Management Division. Id. During the same period, Plaintiffs team leader was Brenda Lambert, and the other team leader in the office was Bernard Morton. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 3; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 3. Prior to April 25, 2002, Plaintiff was on a Compressed Work Schedule ("CWS"), whereby he worked four ten-hour days per week and was off every other Friday and the following Monday. See Def.'s Ex. 5 (EEO Report of Investigation) ("ROI"), Ex. 14 (4/30/02 Mem. from T. Vincent to C. Smith).

At some point during March 2002, Plaintiff was assigned to handle a contract referred to as the SASI contract. See Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 4; ROI, Ex. 7 (10/24/03 Lambert Aff.) at 3; Def.'s Ex. 6B (2/27/07 Smith Dep.) at 6:14-22. On Thursday, April 25, 2002, Ms. Lambert went to Plaintiffs office and attempted to inquire as to the status of the SASI contract, which she believed was due to be issued the next day. See ROI, Ex. 7 (Lambert Aff.) at 9; Def.'s Ex. 6B (2/27/07 Smith Dep.) at 15:13-16:16.³ Plaintiff responded to Ms. Lambert's inquiry by telling her to leave him alone so that he could get his work done. ROI, Ex. 7 (Lambert Aff.) at 9; Def.'s Ex. 6B (2/27/07 Smith Dep.) at 16:2-16. In light of the impending deadline, Ms. Lambert proceeded to report. Plaintiffs behavior to Mr. Schade. ROI, Ex. 7 (Lambert Aff.) at 9; Def.'s Ex. 6B (2/27/07 Smith Dep.) at 16:21-23.⁴ Mr. Schade then accompanied Ms. Lambert into Plaintiffs office to discuss the status of the SASI contract. ROI, Ex. 7 (Lambert Aff.) at 9; Def.'s Ex. 6B (2/27/07 Smith Dep.) at 16:21-23. According to Mr. Schade and Ms. Lambert, Plaintiff could not explain the status of his assignment on the SASI contract to Mr. Schade, and Mr. Schade therefore instructed Plaintiff to bring the completed assignment to his office in an hour (i.e., at approximately 2:15 p.m.). ROI, Ex. 7 (10/23/03 Schade Aff.) at 3; Ex. 7 (Lambert Aff.) at 9.

When Plaintiff did not bring the completed assignment to Mr. Schade's office at the designated time, Mr. Schade called Plaintiff into his office. Id. Also present in Mr. Schade's office when Plaintiff arrived were Mr. Vincent and Ms. Lambert. Id.; Pl.'s Ex. 4 (Pl.'s Ans. to Def.'s Interrogs.). at 4. Plaintiffs supervisors informed him that he was to complete his assignment by 5:00 p.m. that afternoon. ROI, Ex. 7 (Lambert Aff.) at 10; Def.'s Ex. 613 (2/27/07 Smith Dep.) at 27:10-14; Pl.'s Ex. 4 (Ans. to Interrogs.) at 4. Plaintiff asserts that he did not agree to the 5:00 p.m. deadline, but admits that it was imposed. Def.'s Ex. 6B (2/27/07 Smith Dep.) at 27:10-14; Pl.'s Ex. 4 (Ans. to Interrogs.) at 4. At approximately 4:45 p.m., Plaintiff informed Mr. Vincent that he had encountered computer difficulties while attempting to complete his assignment. Pl.'s Ex. 4 (Ans. to Interrogs.) at 4-5; Def.'s Ex. 6B (2/27/07 Smith Dep.) at 27:17-28:13; Def.'s Ex. 7 (3/28/07 Vincent Dep.) at 44:9-45:19. When it became clear to Mr. Vincent that Plaintiff would not complete the `assignment before 5:00 p.m., Mr. Vincent told Plaintiff that he had to report to work on Friday, April 26, 2002 to finish the assignment. Pl.'s Ex. 4 (Ans. to Interrogs.) at 5; Def.'s 7 (Vincent Dep.) at 46:18-47:4. Friday, April 26, 2002 and Monday, April 29, 2002 were Plaintiffs scheduled days off on his CWS. Def.'s Ex. 14 (4/30/02 Mem. from T. Vincent to C. Smith); Pl.'s Ex. 4 (Ans. to Interrogs.) at 5. Thus, by requiring Plaintiff to report to work on Friday, April 26, 2002, Mr. Vincent was cancelling Plaintiffs CWS. Def.'s Ex. 7 (Vincent Dep.) at 46:18-47:4.⁵

Plaintiff asserts that he informed Mr. Vincent that he would not be coming in to work on Friday the 26th because he had already worked his scheduled 40 hours for the week. Def.'s Ex. 6B (2/27/07 Smith Dep.) at 29:16-31:12; Pl.'s Ex. 4 (Ans. to Interrogs,) at 5; Def.'s Ex. 7 (Vincent Dep.) at 47:5-15.⁶ Plaintiff also asserts that he believed he had completed the assignment by 5:00 p.m., although he admits that he might have left something out. Def.'s Ex. 6B (2/27/07 Smith Dep.) at 29:23-30:11; Pl.'s Ex. 4 (Ans. to Interrogs.) at 5. Mr. Vincent warned Plaintiff before he left the office that Plaintiffs failure to report to work on April 26th would result in disciplinary action. Id. Plaintiff did not report to work on Friday, April 26 or Monday, April 29, 2002, but returned to work on Tuesday, April 30, as if his CWS was still in effect. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 4; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 4; Pl.'s Ex. 4 (Ans. to Interrogs.) at 5; Def.'s Ex. 7 (Vincent Dep.) at 66:5-7. On Friday, April 26, Ms. Lambert reviewed the work Plaintiff had submitted at the end of the previous day and determined that it was "substantially not completed and several of the items [Plaintiff] considered to be complete had errors." ROI, Ex. 7 (Lambert Aff.) at 10.

B. Ramifications of the SASI Contract Difficulties

When Plaintiff returned to work on Tuesday, April 30, 2002, Mr. Vincent advised Plaintiff that the SASI contract was his responsibility, that he had not completed the assignment in a satisfactory manner, that he had disregarded a direct order from his supervisor by not reporting to work on Friday, April 26th, and that this was grounds for disciplinary action. Def.'s Ex. 7 (Vincent Dep.) at 66:8-69:8; Pl.'s Ex. 4 (Ans. to Interrogs.) at 5. On the same day, Mr. Vincent issued a memorandum to Plaintiff temporarily revoking his CWS effective May 5, 2002. ROI, Ex. 14 (4/30/02 Mem. from T. Vincent to C. Smith); Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 5; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 5. Mr. Vincent stated that the revocation was based on Plaintiffs failure to complete the SASI contract assignment on April 25, 2002, as well as Plaintiffs disregard of Mr. Vincent's order to report to work on April 26, 2002, and was intended to "enable Management to meet the operational needs of the office and better monitor [Plaintiffs] workload management." ROI, Ex. 14.⁷ Mr. Vincent specifically noted that within sixty days management would review Plaintiffs workload and ability to meet deadlines, as well as the needs of the office, and determine whether Plaintiff could return to his CWS. Id.

Despite Mr. Vincent's revocation of Plaintiffs CWS, Plaintiff continued to work the hours of his CWS during the months of May and June 2002. Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 6; Pl.'s Stmt. ¶ 6. On April 30 or May 1, 2002, Plaintiffs Union submitted a "Demand to Bargain" memorandum on Plaintiffs behalf, which requested that Management not change Plaintiffs CWS pending resolution of an agreement on that issue. See Def.'s Ex. 15 (4/30/02 Mem. from C. Duckett to N. Mesewicz). Mr. Vincent did not accede to this request, apparently based on advice that a change in an employee's work schedule was not subject to union bargaining. Def.'s Ex. 7 (Vincent Dep.) at 71:9-72:4; ROI, Ex. 21 (9/9/02 Mem. from T. Vincent to C. Smith).⁸

C. Plaintiffs Allegations of Hostile Work Environment

According to Plaintiff, when he returned to work on April 30, 2002, Mr. Vincent began "berating [him] on a daily basis throughout the day using the contract as a disguise since he felt that things were not moving fast enough." Pl.'s Ex. 4 (Ans. to Interrogs.) at 5. Plaintiff asserts that Mr. Vincent's "verbal and email attacks became so frequent, and the daily routine of calling me into his office at least eight or nine times a day inquiring about [the SASI] contract. [were] sometimes explosive. ..." Id. In particular, Plaintiff describes an incident on May 2, 2002, in which he asserts that Mr. Vincent called Plaintiff into his office several times to discuss the status...