RUDOLPH CONTRERAS, District Judge.
The plaintiff claims that a co-worker subjected her to a series of sexually charged and inappropriate comments over the course of her employment with the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department. After she complained to her superiors, she alleges, she was transferred to a different office. She now brings suit, alleging that her employer violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq. ("Title VII") and the District of Columbia Human Rights Act, D.C. CODE §§ 2-1401.01 et seq. ("DCHRA"). Now before the court is the defendants' motion to dismiss,
The plaintiff, Sgt. Joanne Craig, was hired as a police officer by the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department ("MPD") in October 1988, 2d Am. Compl. ¶ 9, and was assigned to the Seventh District in November 1995, id. ¶ 11. Sgt. Craig first made contact with Sgt. Eric Levenberry in 2006 when the latter was assigned to investigate an incident involving one of the plaintiffs officers. Id. ¶ 12. While conducting the investigation, Sgt. Levenberry was discourteous to the plaintiff, yet respectful of the plaintiffs subordinate male officer. Id. In October 2007, Sgt. Craig had a chance encounter with Sgt. Levenberry, where he made an apparently sexist remark relating to a female coworker. Id. ¶ 16.
In the summer of 2008, Sgt. Craig complained to Lt. Peter Hunt, her superior, about Sgt. Levenberry's conduct. Id. ¶ 37. Her complaint fell on deaf ears. Id. Sgt. Craig next went to Commander Maupin, one of the named defendants, to protest Sgt. Levenberry's actions. Id. ¶ 52. Rather than taking measures against Sgt. Levenberry, Commander Maupin responded by preventing Sgt. Craig from receiving Police Segway Certification training in November 2008. Id. ¶ 53. Moreover, he denied her requests to participate in a Crisis Intervention Training, as well as the MPD's Take Home Vehicle Program. Id.
On February 26, 2009, the plaintiff filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") claiming gender discrimination and retaliation. Id. ¶ 7. On February 21, 2010, Commander Maupin transferred Sgt. Craig away from the Seventh District, her home of fifteen years, to a temporary detail with the Fourth District, thus moving her farther away from her residence and positioning her with a less desirable assignment. Id. This transfer was made permanent on April 24, 2011. Id. ¶ 57. The plaintiff filed another EEOC charge on February 10, 2012, alleging that the April 2011 transfer was an act of retaliation.2d Am. Compl. ¶ 7. The EEOC issued the plaintiff notice of her right to sue on February 28, 2012. Id.
The plaintiff's second amended complaint sets forth four counts: Sex Discrimination under Title VII (Count I); Retaliation under Title VII (Count II); Sex Discrimination under the DCHRA (Count III); and Retaliation under the DCHRA (Count IV). The defendants move to dismiss all four claims.
All that the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require of a complaint is that it contain a "short and plain statement of the claim" in order to give the defendants fair notice of what the claim is and the grounds upon which it rests. FED. R.CIV.P. 8(a)(2), see Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007). A motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) does not test a plaintiffs ultimate likelihood of success on the merits; rather, it tests whether a plaintiff has properly stated a claim. See Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 236, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974). A court considering such a motion presumes the factual allegations of the complaint to be true and construes them liberally in the plaintiffs favor. See, e.g., United States v. Philip Morris, Inc., 116 F.Supp.2d 131, 135 (D.D.C.2000). It is not necessary for the plaintiff to plead all elements of his prima facie case in the complaint. Swierkiewicz v. Sorema N.A., 534 U.S. 506, 510-12, 122 S.Ct. 992, 152 L.Ed.2d 1 (2002); Bryant v. Pepco, 730 F.Supp.2d 25, 28-29 (D.D.C. 2010).
Nevertheless, "[t]o survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain
The defendants argue that the plaintiffs Title VII gender discrimination claim must be dismissed because the plaintiff failed to exhaust her administrative remedies in a timely manner. Defs.' Mot. at 4. Specifically, the defendants maintain that the plaintiffs EEOC charge was untimely because it was not filed within 180 days of the allegedly unlawful incident. Id. at 5. The plaintiff counters that Title VII plaintiffs have 300 days to file a charge with the EEOC. Pl.'s Opp'n at 4. The plaintiff has the better side of the argument.
The EEOC has broad authority to enforce Title VII's mandates, and the EEOC has established detailed procedures for the administrative resolution of discrimination complaints. Bowden v. United States, 106 F.3d 433, 437 (D.C.Cir.1997). "Complainants must timely exhaust these administrative remedies before bringing their claims to court." Id. In particular, Title VII ordinarily requires that plaintiffs file an EEOC charge within 180 days of the allegedly unlawful act. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1). But this deadline is extended to 300 days if the plaintiff also initiated proceedings with a state or local agency. Id. In the District of Columbia, the EEOC and the local agency tasked with investigating discrimination claims operate on a "worksharing agreement" whereby a claim filed with one agency is simultaneously cross-filed with the other. Lee v. District of Columbia, 733 F.Supp.2d 156, 161 (D.D.C.2010). As a result, plaintiffs in the District of Columbia who file a complaint with the EEOC are deemed to have instituted proceedings with a state or local agency and are thus afforded 300 days to file their complaints under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1). Carter v. George Washington Univ., 387 F.3d 872, 879 (D.C.Cir.2004); Griffin v. Acacia Life Ins. Co., 925 A.2d 564, 568-69 (D.C.2007).
Here, the plaintiff alleges that she was subjected to repeated acts of sexual harassment between 2006 and 2008. She alleges that she filed a charge with the EEOC alleging gender discrimination and retaliation on February 26, 2009. 2d Am. Compl. ¶ 7. It thus appears that her February 26, 2009 EEOC charge would be timely for any discrete discriminatory acts that occurred May 2, 2008 or later. Due to the lack of factual development in this case and the parties' limited briefing on the issue, it remains unclear which acts occurred on or after this date. This reason
But the defendants' argument suffers from a deeper flaw. The defendants assume that the plaintiffs claim is based on a number of separate, discrete acts of discrimination. They ignore the possibility that the plaintiff could prevail under a "hostile work environment" claim, which would require the court to apply a different timeliness analysis entirely. To prevail on a hostile work environment claim, the plaintiff must show that her "workplace is permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule and insult" that is "sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim's employment and create an abusive working environment." Baloch v. Kempthorne, 550 F.3d 1191, 1201 (D.C.Cir.2008) (quoting Harris v. Forklift Sys., Inc., 510 U.S. 17, 21, 114 S.Ct. 367, 126 L.Ed.2d 295 (1993)); Morris v. Jackson, 842 F.Supp.2d 171, 180 (D.D.C. 2012). A hostile work environment is usually characterized by a series of events that cumulatively give rise to a claim, although each individual component might not be actionable on its own. Nat'l R.R. Passenger Corp. v. Morgan, 536 U.S. 101, 115, 122 S.Ct. 2061, 153 L.Ed.2d 106 (2002).
Because a hostile work environment claim aggregates numerous occurrences, these claims are subject to a different timeliness analysis than claims involving discrete acts. See id. at 118, 122 S.Ct. 2061. Thus, plaintiffs need only allege that one or more contributing acts occurred within the relevant time period. Id. at 115, 122 S.Ct. 2061. It does not matter that some component acts may fall outside that period. Id. at 117, 122 S.Ct. 2061. Of course, this doctrine should not be interpreted as an "open sesame to recovery for time-barred violations." Baird v. Gotbaum, 662 F.3d 1246, 1251 (D.C.Cir. 2011). Instead, the plaintiff must show that the time-barred incidents are "adequately linked into a coherent hostile environment claim." Id. A plaintiff can do so by establishing that they "involved the same type of employment actions, occurred relatively frequently, and were perpetrated by the same managers." Morgan, 536 U.S. at 120-21, 122 S.Ct. 2061. To the extent that the plaintiff may pursue her Title VII discrimination claim by showing she was subjected to a hostile work environment, the defendants have put forth no arguments to suggest that she failed to exhaust administrative remedies in a timely manner. Accordingly, the plaintiff's discrimination claim cannot be dismissed at this stage.
The defendants similarly argue that the plaintiff's Title VII retaliation claim must be dismissed because she failed to exhaust her administrative remedies in a timely
But again, the plaintiff could argue that she was subjected to a hostile work environment as a form of retaliation for her EEOC activity. See Baird v. Gotbaum, 662 F.3d 1246, 1250 (D.C.Cir.2011); Hussain v. Nicholson, 435 F.3d 359, 366 (D.C.Cir.2006) ("In this circuit, a hostile work environment can amount to retaliation under Title VII."). Construing the complaint generously, as the court must, the court deems it plausible that the plaintiff was subjected to a hostile work environment as a form of reprisal. See 2d Am. Compl. ¶ 53 (alleging several retaliatory acts following her complaint of sexual harassment). And if the initial detail to the Fourth District is "adequately linked" to other acts constituting a hostile work environment, it would not be time-barred. Baird, 662 F.3d at 1251. Thus, it is too early to dismiss the plaintiffs Title VII retaliation claim on exhaustion grounds.
The defendants next argue that the plaintiffs DCHRA claims are barred by D.C.'s one-year statute of limitations. Defs.' Mot. at 12. Once more, the court disagrees. Section 2-1403.16 of the D.C.Code provides that any DCHRA claim must be filed within one year of the allegedly unlawful occurrence or the discovery thereof. Ellis v. Georgetown Univ. Hosp., 631 F.Supp.2d 71, 77 (D.D.C.2009). Under § 2-1403.16(a), "[t]he timely filing of a complaint with the [D.C. Office of Human Rights] ... shall toll the running of the statute of limitations while the complaint is pending." When a charge of discrimination is filed with the EEOC in the District of Columbia, a claim is automatically cross-filed with the D.C. Office of Human Rights, 29 C.F.R. § 1601.13(a)(4)(ii)(A); see Carter v. George Washington Univ., 387 F.3d 872, 879 (D.C.Cir.2004), which suffices to toll the one-year statute of limitations for DCHRA claims. See Tucker v. Howard University Hosp., 764 F.Supp.2d 1, 6 (D.D.C.2011); Ibrahim v. Unisys Corp., 582 F.Supp.2d 41, 45 (D.D.C.2008) (citing Esteños v. PAHO/WHO Fed. Credit Union, 952 A.2d 878, 886 (D.C.2008)).
Here, the plaintiff first filed an administrative charge with the EEOC on February 26, 2009. Thus, the plaintiff may pursue any DCHRA claims that accrued on or after February 26, 2008. Yet it is again too early to tell which acts accrued on or after this date, for doing so would require a factual inquiry that is best undertaken at a later stage of the litigation. See Hamilton v. District of Columbia, 852 F.Supp.2d 139, 146 (D.D.C.2012) ("Because assessments of the statute of limitations often depend on contested questions of fact a court should hesitate to dismiss a complaint on statute of limitations grounds." (citing Smith-Thompson v. District of Columbia, 657 F.Supp.2d 123, 130 (D.D.C. 2009))). And this is particularly so where
The defendants argue that the plaintiff's retaliation claims should be dismissed because she does not allege that she suffered an "adverse employment action." Defs.' Mot. at 5-6. The plaintiff counters that the factual allegations in the complaint suffice to state a plausible claim for relief. Pl.'s Opp'n at 7-8.
To prove unlawful retaliation under Title VII or the DCHRA,
The plaintiff alleges that she was transferred from the Seventh District, where she had worked for approximately 15 years.2d Am. Compl. ¶ 56. She alleges that the Fourth District was a less desirable assignment and that it was farther from her home. Id. Whether or not the defendants' acts will ultimately give rise to liability is a fact-sensitive question that should be reserved for a later stage of the litigation. See Munro v. LaHood, 839 F.Supp.2d 354, 363 (D.D.C.2012) (noting that the plaintiffs allegations were speculative, yet concluding: "Despite these doubts as to whether plaintiff will ultimately be able to prove that he suffered an adverse employment action, the Court finds that plaintiffs allegations are sufficient to survive a motion to dismiss." (citing Ali v. District of Columbia, 697 F.Supp.2d 88, 91 (D.D.C.2010))); Sanders v. Veneman, 131 F.Supp.2d 225, 229-30 (D.D.C.2001) (noting that the test to determine whether or not a transfer was adverse "requires a case-by-case analysis" and thus denying the defendant's motion to dismiss). Although the defendants argue that the plaintiffs geographical transfer from the Seventh District to the Fourth District was a "purely lateral transfer" that was not "materially adverse" under Title VII, the court concludes that the plaintiffs allegations are enough to satisfy the low burden imposed by Rule 8(a)(2).
However, the defendants' arguments are only relevant to the extent that the plaintiff bases her claim on a discrete number of individual retaliatory acts. If she were to claim that the defendants retaliated against her by creating a hostile work environment, her claims would be analyzed under a different legal standard. See Hussain v. Nicholson, 435 F.3d at 366 (concluding that a plaintiff must show that the employer's acts were of such "severity or pervasiveness" as to "alter the conditions
The defendants also argue that the plaintiff's transfer from the Seventh District to the Fourth District did not closely follow her complaint to her superiors regarding Sgt. Levenberry's discriminatory acts. Defs.' Mot. at 9. The defendants thus conclude that the plaintiff has not established that her protected activity caused the retaliatory acts. Id.
In order to establish a prima facie case of retaliation, a plaintiff must show: "(1) that [s]he engaged in a statutorily protected activity; (2) that the employer took an adverse personnel action; and (3) that a causal connection existed between the two." Solomon v. Vilsack, 845 F.Supp.2d 61, 74 (D.D.C.2012) (quoting Morgan v. Fed. Home Loan Mortgage Corp., 328 F.3d 647, 651 (D.C.Cir.2003)). The defendants cite Garrett v. Lujan, 799 F.Supp. 198, 202 (D.D.C.1992) for the proposition that no inference of causation may be drawn from the lack of temporal proximity between the plaintiff's EEOC charge and the defendants' alleged retaliation. But there are several flaws in this argument. First, temporal proximity is one way of proving causation, but it is not the only way. Casole v. Johanns, 577 F.Supp.2d 138, 141 (D.D.C.2008). Where plaintiffs rely solely on temporal proximity to prove causation, courts have held that the passage of time weakens or destroys the causal inference. Hamilton v. Geithner, 666 F.3d 1344, 1357 (D.C.Cir.2012) ("For purposes of establishing a prima facie case of retaliation, temporal proximity can indeed support an inference of causation, but only where the two events are very close in time.") (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). But the plaintiff may rely on other evidence to prove causation, including statements made by her superiors. See, e.g., Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 1 ¶ 2 (asserting that Commander Maupin himself admitted that he transferred the plaintiff to the Fourth District because of her sexual harassment claim against Sgt. Levenberry). Thus, even if the court were to accept the defendants' argument regarding the timing of her transfer, the plaintiff may always prove her claim using other evidence. Sharma v. District of Columbia, 791 F.Supp.2d 207, 219-20 (D.D.C. 2011) (collecting cases); Casole v. Johanns, 577 F.Supp.2d 138, 140-41 (D.D.C. 2008).
Second, the court reiterates that the plaintiff may pursue her retaliation claim by arguing that she was subjected to a hostile work environment. Therefore, she could argue that her transfer to the Fourth District was adequately linked to other retaliatory acts that occurred shortly after she complained to her superiors. Baird, 662 F.3d at 1251; see 2d Am. Compl. ¶ 53 (alleging that the plaintiff was subjected to a number of retaliatory acts in November 2008, only one month after complaining of sexual harassment). Accordingly, the court concludes that the plaintiff's factual allegations are sufficient to survive the defendants' motion and her retaliation claims may proceed to discovery.
The defendants argue that the plaintiffs DCHRA claim is barred by D.C.Code § 12-309, which provides that no individual may sue the District of Columbia
Individuals may not be held liable under Title VII. Gary v. Long, 59 F.3d 1391, 1399 (D.C.Cir.1995). Rather, an individual employee may be sued in his capacity as the agent of an employer. Id. Therefore, the court will dismiss sua sponte the plaintiff's Title VII claims against Commander Maupin, the only individual that is currently named as a defendant in this suit.
For the foregoing reasons, the court grants in part and denies in part the defendants'