Tennant v. Dist. of Columbia

• Decision Date: 03 August 2020
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 19-2949 (BAH)
• Parties: DENISE TENNANT, Plaintiff, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

DENISE TENNANT, Plaintiff, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 19-2949 (BAH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

August 3, 2020

Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Plaintiff Denise Tennant, a former Probation Officer in the Court Social Services Division ("CSSD") of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, has sued her former employer under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq., the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq., and the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 2601 et seq., alleging discrimination and retaliation based on sex and her disabilities, and interference with her FMLA rights in a five-count complaint, Compl., ECF No. 1. Defendant has moved to dismiss three of those five counts, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), for failure to state a claim on which relief can be granted. See Def.'s Mot. to Partially Dismiss Pl.'s Compl. ("Def.'s Mot."), ECF No. 7. For the reasons explained below, defendant's motion is denied.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff worked as a CSSD probation officer for almost nine years, from March 29, 2010, until her December 3, 2018 termination, and never received a rating of less than commendable performance. Compl. ¶¶ 12-13.¹ As a probation officer, plaintiff "supervisedjuveniles charged with or convicted of criminal offenses [and] conducted home curfew visits and school visits." Id. ¶ 18. Over her tenure with CSSD, plaintiff conducted that work from several different offices. As relevant to this action, between March 2014 and December 3, 2018, plaintiff was assigned to the Northeast Regional Office's Leaders of Today in Solidarity (LOTS) Balanced and Restorative Justice Center ("BARJ"). Id. ¶ 17. This assignment was "in addition to . . . her juvenile caseload." Id. ¶ 19. Plaintiff describes BARJ as a "healthy and secure environment for juvenile offenders to attend after-school activities, including group and individual counseling," educational programs and mentorship events. Id. Her duties included helping juvenile participants develop their social skills, overseeing the juveniles' mentors and tutors, and even preparing meals. Id. Plaintiff complains about several incidents that occurred while she was assigned to BARJ, as described below.

A. The Anthony Brooks Incident

Sometime in 2016, plaintiff and one of her supervisors, Acting Supervisory Probation Officer Stephanie Lea, saw a CSSD-affiliated mentor, Anthony Brooks, behaving inappropriately with a 14-year-old juvenile. Id. ¶ 24. Plaintiff reported her concerns to several people, including her "immediate supervisor[]," id. ¶ 17, Supervisory Probation Officer Lawrence Weaver, id. ¶ 24, and Shelia Roberson-Adams, the Program Manager/Assistant Deputy Director for the entire Northeast Regional Office, id. ¶¶ 17, 24. For her part, Lea "wrote a memorandum documenting her concerns about Mr. Brooks' inappropriate actions." Id. ¶ 24. According to plaintiff, those concerns fell on deaf ears. Id. Indeed, after Lea authored her memorandum, she was demoted and replaced. Id.

In "August or September 2017," plaintiff received a call from the father of the juvenile with whom plaintiff had witnessed Brooks acting inappropriately. Id. ¶ 25. The father reported that Brooks had engaged in "sexual conduct" with his daughter. Id. Not long after, in September 2017, Brooks was arrested and charged with "criminal offenses involving sexual abuse of a minor." Id. As Brooks' prosecution began, Terri Odom, CSSD's Director, instructed plaintiff not to cooperate voluntarily with the authorities. Id. ¶¶ 15, 26. In October 2017, plaintiff received a subpoena from the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia directing her to meet with the Assistant United States Attorneys ("AUSAs") prosecuting Brooks' case. Id. ¶ 27. Plaintiff alerted her supervisor Weaver, who explained that, if she wanted, someone from the Superior Court's general counsel's office would accompany her to any meeting with the prosecuting authorities. Id. Plaintiff declined and told Weaver "that she was comfortable meeting with the AUSA without the Court's general counsel present." Id. ¶ 28. Plaintiff alleges that this did not sit well with Odom, who "angrily told Plaintiff that she did not like how Plaintiff had handled the situation," and ordered plaintiff to "report to the Court's general counsel's office the next day to provide a full accounting of the information that she had provided" to the authorities. Id. Plaintiff did so.² Nevertheless, plaintiff claims Odom "several times expressed" dissatisfaction over plaintiff's cooperation with prosecuting authorities and informed plaintiff that "the Brooks criminal proceedings reflected poorly on the [Superior] Court and the CSSD in particular." Id. ¶ 31.

The investigation was a source of tension between plaintiff and Odom, and contributed to plaintiff's medical problems as well. Specifically, plaintiff alleges that she suffers from "post-traumatic stress disorder" ("PTSD") as a result of sexual abuse she suffered as a child and lateras an adult in 2006. Id. ¶ 9. Plaintiff claims that, upon learning of the sexual abuse involved in the Brooks incident, she "began experiencing issues with her PTSD, including anxiety, depression, panic attacks and headaches." Id. ¶ 32.

B. Plaintiff's Supervisor Makes Inappropriate Sexual Comments

Plaintiff's problems at work were not limited to the Brooks investigation. In November 2017, her "immediate supervisor[]," id. ¶ 17, Weaver engaged plaintiff in conversation while the two were at work, id. ¶ 34. Unsolicited, Weaver told plaintiff that he had begun having sex with prostitutes when he was in the military and, after being married, he continued to have sex with prostitutes. Id. Plaintiff was "shocked and offended" and told Weaver that "his comments were inappropriate and left his presence." Id. According to plaintiff, this was not the first time Weaver had "ma[de] . . . inappropriate remarks about females" in her presence. Id. ¶ 33. For instance, plaintiff recalls Weaver saying in a 2016 meeting that, to break up a fight between two female juveniles, he "had to slam that bitch." Id. Plaintiff also asserts that on another occasion, as CSSD staff attempted to restrain a female juvenile, Weaver stated "[y]ou are a bunch of pussies." Id. According to plaintiff, Weaver's November 2017 comments about sex with prostitutes triggered symptoms of her PTSD, causing "anxiety, depression, panic attacks and headaches." Id. ¶ 35.

A few months later, in January 2018, plaintiff was off duty when she received a call from Weaver asking her to accompany him as he dropped off a juvenile. Id. ¶ 36. "[A]nxious and worried" on account of Weaver's November 2017 comments, plaintiff refused and told Weaver that "she was off duty and," in any event "she had another commitment." Id. Weaver responded that she was being "insubordinate." Id. Shortly thereafter, plaintiff discussed the incident with another of her "immediate supervisors," Acting Supervisory Probation Officer Lisa McCants, id.¶¶ 17, 37. Plaintiff explained to McCants why she had declined Weaver's request to join him and specifically described Weaver's November 2017 conversation and that she now "felt very uncomfortable working with him." Id. ¶ 37. She also divulged that "Weaver's comments were causing issues with her PTSD and anxiety," id. ¶ 38, and ultimately "requested a transfer from under [Weaver's] supervision." Id. ¶ 37. McCants responded by assuring plaintiff that "she was a good, valued employee" and that "she could report to her, rather than" Weaver. Id. ¶ 38. Although "McCants told plaintiff that she would speak to . . . Weaver about his behavior," plaintiff alleges that McCants "attempted to excuse or minimize" his comments. Id. According to plaintiff, McCants did not report Weaver's conduct to Assistant Deputy Director Roberson-Adams and "no effective corrective actions were taken." Id. In fact, plaintiff asserts that Weaver "[s]ubsequently . . . continued to make inappropriate comments that were sexual in nature." Id.

C. A New Health Condition Causes Plaintiff's Increased Absences

Plaintiff's work issues were compounded when, in January 2018, she was diagnosed with adenomyosis. Id. ¶ 39.³ According to plaintiff, adenomyosis is "a debilitating physical condition that affects multiple physical and mental activities, including, but not limited to, walking, sitting, lifting, breathing and working." Id. ¶ 8. The condition "causes severe pain that adversely affects Plaintiff's ability to work, focus and concentrate." Id. In March 2018, two months after plaintiff's diagnosis, she informed McCants that she suffered from adenomyosisand described its effects. Id. ¶ 39. One day, in May 2018, plaintiff was experiencing "severe pain from her" adenomyosis, so she called in sick "[c]onsistent with CSSD practices." Id. ¶ 40. The same day, Robert Smith, a male probation officer with no disabilities failed to appear for his shift without reporting sick or requesting a day off. Id. Plaintiff alleges that Weaver rebuked and criticized her for calling in sick but did not discipline Smith in any way. Id.

The next month, on June 2, 2018, plaintiff and a male co-worker were on duty at BARJ. As no youth were present at the facility that day, plaintiff and her co-worker asked McCants for permission to leave early. Id. ¶ 42. McCants responded "okay," and plaintiff and her co-worker left for the day. Id. On July 12, 2018, however, Weaver recommended a 10-day suspension for plaintiff's actions on June 2, without recommending a suspension for her co-worker. Id. ¶ 43. On August 7, 2018, plaintiff appealed the proposed suspension to CSSD Director Odom. Id. ¶ 44. At a meeting one week later with Odom and McCants about the proposed suspension, plaintiff told both supervisors about her disabilities, which she explained were the...