DARRIN P. GAYLES, District Judge.
Plaintiff Rosalia Williams ("Plaintiff") brings this action against Defendants Florida Atlantic University Board of Trustees ("FAU"), Charles L. Brown ("Brown"), and Corey King ("King") (collectively "Defendants") alleging Defendants discriminated and retaliated against her based on her gender, race, and age.
Plaintiff is an African-American woman over the age of fifty-five. She worked for FAU for over ten years, until her termination in October, 2013. In support of her claims, Plaintiff details several incidents, spanning a four-year period, when FAU, Brown, and/or King mistreated her. At the time of alleged acts, Brown was FAU's Senior Vice President of Student Affairs and King was FAU's Associate Vice President and Dean of Students and Plaintiff's supervisor.
In March 2009, Plaintiff complained to FAU's Equal Opportunity Programs Director that King was making sexist and derogatory comments. Following her complaint, Brown and King admonished Plaintiff for not reporting her concerns directly to King.
On April 15, 2009, King ridiculed Plaintiff's use of "big words" and her Harvard education. Plaintiff does not allege that King based his comments on Plaintiff's gender, race, or age.
On June 20, 2009, King pressured Plaintiff to complete an assessment plan three months early, but did not ask any other similarly situated person to expedite their plans. Three days later, King changed Plaintiff's schedule.
FAU offered Plaintiff the Associate Dean position in the spring of 2010. Following Plaintiff's acceptance of the offer, Brown demanded that she accept a lower salary. Plaintiff refused, and Brown became verbally abusive to her. Plaintiff alleges that following this incident, Brown's abusive conduct towards her increased in intensity. She does not allege that Brown's actions were related to her gender, race, or age.
On March 20, 2012, Brown referred to middle school students as "brats," and incapable of understanding a lecture by Dr. Cornel West. Plaintiff objected to Brown's comments, causing Brown to call Plaintiff a "know-it-all." Brown also ignored Plaintiff's objections to the funding of a building project. Plaintiff does not allege that Brown's actions had anything to do with her gender, race, or age, or that she suffered an immediate adverse employment action.
King, in 2012, embarrassed Plaintiff in front of others by (a) asking the other deans to submit reports to him, instead of Plaintiff, (b) forcing her to condense a presentation, and (c) shouting at her during a presentation. Plaintiff alleges that King treated two other Associate Deans, Terry Mena ("Mena"), a Hispanic male, and A.J. Chase ("Chase"), a Caucasian female, more favorably.
On February 26, 2013, Plaintiff received a security incident report regarding FAU student Ryan Rotela ("Rotela").
Plaintiff filed her Second Amended Complaint on September 25, 2015, asserting: (1) gender, race, and age discrimination claims against FAU under both Title VII and the Florida Civil Rights Act ("FCRA") (Counts I-V), (2) gender, race, and age discrimination and retaliation claims against Brown and King under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Counts VI and VII), and (3) retaliation claims against FAU under both Title VII and the FCRA (Counts VIII and IX) [ECF No. 35]. FAU has moved to dismiss, arguing that the statute of limitations bars any acts that occurred more than 300 days before Plaintiff filed her EEOC charge and that Plaintiff fails to state a claim for gender and age discrimination. Brown and King also move to dismiss, arguing that Plaintiff cannot maintain a Title VII case against them, that Plaintiff has failed to state a § 1983 claim, and that they are entitled to qualified immunity.
"To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to `state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.'" Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (2007)). Although this pleading standard "does not require `detailed factual allegations,' . . . it demands more than unadorned, the defendant —unlawfully-harmed-me accusations." Id. (alteration added) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555).
Pleadings must contain "more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555 (citation omitted). Indeed, "only a complaint that states a plausible claim for relief survives a motion to dismiss." Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556). To meet this "plausibility standard," a plaintiff must "plead[] factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id. at 678 (alteration added) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556). When reviewing a motion to dismiss, a court must construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and take the factual allegations therein as true. See Brooks v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Fla. Inc., 116 F.3d 1364, 1369 (11
Title VII, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the FCRA all prohibit discrimination on the basis of race and gender. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq.; 42 U.S.C. § 1983; Fla. Stat. § 760.10 et seq. The FCRA also prohibits discrimination on the basis of age. Fla. Stat. § 760.10. The Court applies the same legal analysis to Title VII, § 1983, and FCRA claims that are based on the same set of facts. Quigg v. Thomas County School Dist., ___ F.3d ___, No. 14-14530, 2016 WL 692177 at *3 (11
In her § 1983 claims, Plaintiff alleges that King and Brown, in their individual capacities, discriminated against her in violation of Title VII, the FCRA, and the Fourteenth Amendment. King and Brown argue that Plaintiff may not bring employment discrimination claims against them in their individual capacities.
Title VII and the FCRA do not impose individual liability. Busby v. City of Orlando, 931 F.2d 764, 772 (11
To the extent Plaintiff's individual claims against King and Brown are for age discrimination or retaliation, they must be dismissed. The ADEA is the exclusive remedy for age discrimination claims. See Ray v. City of Opa-Locka, Florida, No. 12-CV-21769, 2012 WL 4896162 at *3 (S.D. Fla. Oct. 15, 2012) (citing Paterson v. Weinberger, 644 F.2d 521, 525 (5
Title VII and the FCRA each require a plaintiff to file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC before filing suit in the district court. See Abram v. Fulton County Government, 598 Fed.Appx. 672 (11
Plaintiff argues that the Court may consider acts occurring before February/April, 2013, because they constitute continuing violations of her civil rights. The continuing violations doctrine permits an extension of the statutory limitations period where the discriminatory acts constitute a "continuing violation." See Morgan, 536 U.S. at 120; Abram, 598 Fed.Appx. at 674-75. However, "discrete discriminatory acts are not actionable if time barred, even when they are related to timely filed charges. Each discrete discriminatory act starts a new clock for filing charges alleging that act." Morgan, 536 U.S. at 113. This Court's task, therefore, is to determine whether each of Defendants' alleged acts are discreet occurrences, such that a majority of them are time barred, or are part of a continuing violation such that the Court may consider them all.
In Morgan, the Supreme Court distinguished between discrete acts of discrimination, such as termination, failure to hire, transfers, or failures to promote, from hostile-work environment claims. Id.
Id. at 105. Accordingly, courts have found the continuing violations doctrine inapplicable in situations where the plaintiff does not raise a hostile-work environment claim and bases the claim on discrete acts of alleged discrimination. See Abram, 598 Fed.Appx. at 676 (continuing violations doctrine inapplicable where plaintiff did not raise a hostile-work-environment claim and all of her claims raised separate instances of the defendant's failure to grant her requested accommodations); Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., 421 F.3d 1169, 1178 (11
Plaintiff's allegations include multiple incidents beginning well before the statutory limitations period. The Court finds the alleged incidents are discreet acts of discrimination and, therefore, the continuing violations doctrine does not apply.
Plaintiff has alleged race and gender discrimination claims against FAU and the individual Defendants. To state a discrimination claim, "a complaint need only `provide enough factual matter (taken as true) to suggest intentional race [or gender] discrimination.'" Surtain v. Hamlin Terrace Foundation, 789 F.3d 1239, 1246 (11
The allegations regarding the Rotela Incident are sufficient to infer intentional race or gender discrimination. Plaintiff asserts that, based on her race and gender, Defendants disciplined and fired her for her handling of the Rotela Incident and treated Mena, a Hispanic man, and Chase, a Caucasian woman, more favorably for similar incidents. Plaintiff alleges Defendants treated her different because of her race and gender. Defendants argue that Plaintiff fails to allege the elements of a McDonnell Douglas prima facie case.
Plaintiff also claims that FAU discriminated against her based on her age.
FAU also argues Plaintiff may not bring an age discrimination case in conjunction with a race and gender discrimination case. To prevail on a case for age discrimination, plaintiff must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that her age was the "but for" cause of her termination. See Gross v. FBL Fin. Serv., Inc., 557 U.S. 167, 177-78 (2009) (holding that the ADEA does not authorize mixed-motive claims). However, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permit Plaintiff to plead alternative claims for relief. See FRCP 8 (a). Plaintiff will eventually be required to prove that age was the "but for" cause of her termination; but, at this stage of the litigation, her allegations are sufficient to state a claim.
Title VII prohibits retaliation against an employee who has opposed an unlawful employment practice. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a). To prove a prima facie case for retaliation, Plaintiff must establish that: "(1) she engaged in an activity protected under Title VII; (2) she suffered an adverse employment action; and (3) there was a causal connection between the protected activity and the adverse employment action." Crawford v. Carroll, 529 F.3d 961, 970 (11
King and Brown also argue that they are entitled to qualified immunity. "Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity in a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss only if the complaint fails to allege facts that would show a violation of a clearly established constitutional right." Kyle K. v. Chapman, 208 F.3d 940, 942 (11
Based on the foregoing, the Court narrows the scope of this action. The actionable time frame is limited to those acts beginning with the Rotella incident in February, 2013. Within that time frame, Plaintiff's claims against FAU for race, gender, and age discrimination (Counts I-V), and retaliation (Counts VIII and IX) may proceed. Plaintiff's claims against King and Brown for race and gender discrimination (Counts VI and VII) may proceed. Plaintiff's claims against King and Brown for age discrimination and retaliation are dismissed. Plaintiff's claims against all of the defendants for retaliation are dismissed. It is therefore