WILLIAM H. PAULEY, III, District Judge.
Plaintiff Valerie Russell brings this employment discrimination action against the County of Rockland, Ed Day (in his official capacity as Rockland County Executive), Louis Falco III (individually and in his official capacity as Sheriff), and Anthony Volpe (individually and in his official capacity as Chief of Rockland County Correctional facility). She asserts claims for hostile work environment, disparate treatment, and retaliation in violation of Title VII and the NYSHRL. Defendants move for summary judgment dismissing this action. For the reasons that follow, Defendants' motion is granted in part and denied in part.
Russell worked as a corrections officer at Rockland County Correctional Facility from December 2011 to October 2014. (Rule 56.1 Statement of Material Facts ("56.1"), ECF No. 62, ¶ 1.)
Throughout Russell's employment, Rockland County maintained an Anti-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity ("EEO") Policy (the "Policy"), which was set forth in two executive orders. (56.1, ¶¶ 9, 98; Jan. 21, 2017 Decl. of Jill King ("King Decl."), Exs. A and B.) The Policy prohibits sexual harassment, gender-based discrimination, and retaliation. (56.1, ¶ 10.) Individuals in violation of the Policy were subject to disciplinary action. (56.1, ¶ 11.) The Policy also provides a procedure for complaints of sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. (56.1, ¶ 14; King Decl., Ex. A at 7-11.) Under that procedure, an employee has the right to meet with a representative of the Office of Employee Rights to discuss any potential claim. (King Decl., Ex. A at 7.) An individual with a claim may file a written complaint with any department head, supervisor, manager, or the Office of Employee Rights. (King Decl., Ex. A, at 8.) "Where an individual choose[s] not to file a complaint, the Office of Employee Rights reserves the right to determine" whether it "should be handled as a formal complaint." (King Decl., Ex A at 8.) In addition, the Policy also directs all employees to report known EEO violations. (King Decl., Ex. A, at 6.)
On her first day of employment, Russell acknowledged receiving a copy of the Policy. (56.1, ¶ 54.) Thereafter, she received training on the Policy as part of the New Staff Orientation Training Program. (56.1, ¶ 55.) In October and November 2012, she attended the "Corrections Academy," where she also received equal opportunity employment training. (56.1, ¶¶ 56, 58.) In December 2014, she attended the County's sexual harassment training and once again acknowledged understanding the Policy and the procedure for filing a complaint. (56.1, ¶¶ 59-60.)
Russell contends that throughout her tenure as a corrections officer, a hostile work environment pervaded the Rockland County Correctional Facility. Notwithstanding multiple purported instances of harassment, Russell rarely reported them to a "department head, supervisor, manager, or the Office of Employee Rights." (King Decl., Ex. A, at 8.) Instead, she complained to her union, which was comprised entirely of other corrections officers. (
In October 2012, Russell and Corrections Officer Hickey engaged in a personal feud that spilled over into the workplace. In brief, Hickey fathered a child with one of Russell's friends and, in a series of texts and Facebook messages, Russell was critical of Hickey's parenting skills. (56.1 ¶¶ 199-200.) In response, Hickey's mother filed a complaint with the Piermont Police Department against Russell and Hickey filed a memorandum with Chief Volpe, complaining of harassment by Russell. (56.1 ¶¶ 205-06.) In November 2012, Chief Volpe reprimanded Russell for making multiple disparaging comments toward Hickey. (56.1 ¶ 216.)
Two months later, the feud erupted again. In January 2013, Hickey told an inmate where Russell lived. Russell reported that rules violation to a sergeant, who forwarded the issue to Chief Volpe. (56.1 ¶¶ 223-24.) When Hickey found out, he disparaged Russell and claimed that she was seeking to jeopardize his job because of his earlier complaint against her. (56.1 ¶ 225.) Over the next several weeks, Chief Volpe investigated Russell's allegations, including a comment by someone who purportedly overheard Hickey calling Russell a "coke whore." (56.1 ¶¶ 226-27.) Because Chief Volpe could not verify Russell's claims, he closed the investigation. (56.1 ¶ 236.)
In February 2013, Chief Volpe met with Hickey and Russell and told them to end the feud. (56.1 ¶ 237.) Despite the personal animus, Russell admits that Hickey did not sexually harass her, he "just harassed [her] generally." (June 2, 2016 Deposition of Russell, Weissman Decl. (ECF No. 52), Ex. E., at 220.)
When Russell reported sexual harassment, the County dealt with it promptly. For instance, during training in 2011, Russell notified a sergeant that a fellow corrections officer said other corrections officers were betting on who would have sex with Russell first. (56.1 ¶ 100.) That sergeant spoke to the corrections officer who in turn apologized to Russell. (February 15, 2015 Deposition of Valerie Russell ("Russell Dep."), Ranni Decl., Ex 17, at 151.) No further complaints on this topic were raised. (Weissman Decl., Ex. F, June 4, 2016 Deposition of Russell Dep., at 282.)
In September 2013, at a golf outing, Corrections Officer Esposito announced to other corrections officers that Russell had slept with nine corrections officers. Russell did not learn of that comment until August 2014. (56.1 ¶ 253.) She promptly raised the issue with Lieutenant Mueller via email, who in turn forwarded it to Chief Volpe. (56.1, ¶ 258.) Chief Volpe forwarded Russell's email complaint to the EEO Office. (56.1, ¶¶ 265-66.) Days later, she visited the EEO Office and discussed the complaint with an EEO investigator. (56.1 ¶¶ 274-77.) Thereafter, Russell filed her first written complaint. (56.1 ¶ 278.)
The EEO Office promptly initiated an investigation, found that Esposito had engaged in sexual harassment, and recommended discipline. (56.1 ¶¶ 276-78, 284-85, 289.) Disciplinary charges were lodged against Esposito, who ultimately agreed to a suspension without pay, loss of ability to volunteer for overtime for a month and the right to bid on posts for a year, probation, and mandatory sexual harassment training. (56.1 ¶ 296.)
Russell filed her complaint against Corrections Officer Esposito with the EEO Office on August 28, 2014. (56.1 ¶ 585.) Russell contends that Corrections Officer Farrison told her that Sergeant Falco told him about her complaint. (56.1 ¶ 586.) However, Sergeant Falco denies making such a disclosure and Farrison does not remember any such interaction. (56.1 ¶¶ 588-90.) When Russell learned of the purported disclosure, she reported it to her union representative, Chief Volpe, and the EEO Office. (56.1 ¶ 592.) As a result of this disclosure, Russell claims confidentiality was lost and she had to relive her humiliation from the golf outing comments when those comments were re-circulated through the Corrections Facility. (56.1 ¶ 591.)
On August 6, 2014 and August 13, 2014, Russell submitted requests to switch shifts with Corrections Officer Heller, a male. (56.1 ¶¶ 530, 539.) In both instances, Russell was scheduled to work the 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. shift, during which time she would be the only female officer on duty. (56.1 ¶¶ 532, 541.) Because a law required at least one female to be on duty, her requests were denied. (56.1 ¶ 534.) The second time her request was denied, the lieutenant handling the request noted that if Russell could find a female with whom to switch shifts, her request would be granted. (56.1 ¶ 544.) Because of that denial, Russell was forced to use a vacation day. (56.1 ¶ 548.) Later, Russell submitted a grievance claim to the Union. Eventually, Russell's vacation day was restored. (56.1 ¶¶ 551-54.)
In the summer of 2014, the Sheriff's Department interviewed candidates for the Patrol Division. (56.1 ¶ 559.) Interviewees were selected from a list of candidates certified by a civil service test. (56.1 ¶ 562.) Russell and four male Corrections Officers—Culianos, Perrone, Hendrickson, and McKiernan—each scored a 90 on the test and were listed as eligible. (56.1 ¶¶ 563, 565.)
Local police chiefs in Rockland County had an understanding with Sheriff Falco that they would notify him if they were planning to hire a Sheriff's Department employee. (56.1 ¶ 573.) Sheriff Falco heard that Russell and Culianos were under serious consideration for higher-paying positions in the Clarkstown Police Department. (56.1 ¶¶ 574, 577.) Sheriff Falco excluded Russell and Culianos from interviews for the Patrol Division because he believed they were seeking other employment. (56.1 ¶ 566; Falco Decl., ¶¶ 8, 11.) Apparently, McKiernan was also under consideration for a position with the Clarkstown Police Department, but Sheriff Falco was not aware of that. (Falco Decl., ¶ 9; Ranni Aff., ECF No. 60, Ex. 17 (February 10, 2015 50-h Deposition Transcript of Russell ("Russell 50-h"), at 180).)
Throughout her time at the Rockland County Correctional Facility, Russell constantly sought other employment opportunities and applied to seven other law enforcement agencies. (56.1 ¶¶ 309, 311.) In August 2014, Russell received an offer of employment from the New York Department of Health. (56.1 ¶¶ 329, 331.) With the offer in hand, Russell waited to resign from Rockland County Correctional Facility until New York State Department of Health notified her of her start date. (56.1 ¶ 335.) After giving Rockland County two weeks' notice, Russell made several requests to work overtime. (56.1 ¶¶ 340, 348-51.)
On November 3, 2014, Russell served a Notice of Claim on Rockland County concerning her various allegations of discrimination. (Weissman Decl., Ex. B.) On December 22, 2014, Russell filed charges with the EEOC. (Weissman Decl., Ex. SS.)
Summary judgment is appropriate only where all of the submissions taken together "show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). The moving party bears the burden of demonstrating "the absence of a genuine issue of material fact."
Once a defendant advances facts showing that the non-movant's claims cannot be sustained, a plaintiff must "set out specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial," and cannot "rely merely on allegations or denials" contained in the pleadings. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e);
"In order to establish a hostile work environment claim under Title VII [and the NYSHRL], a plaintiff must produce enough evidence to show that the 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."
When the harassment is perpetrated by a co-worker rather than a supervisor, "the employer will be held liable only for its own negligence."
Here, Rockland County had an anti-discrimination and equal opportunity policy in place. (56.1, ¶ 98.) Under that Policy, an individual could file a written complaint with
The effectiveness of that Policy was demonstrated when Russell actually invoked it. After Russell filed a complaint regarding Esposito's remarks at a golf-outing a year earlier, the EEO Office initiated an investigation, found Esposito engaged in sexual harassment, and recommended disciplinary charges. Esposito settled those charges by accepting a substantial punishment. (56.1 ¶¶ 253, 258, 265-66, 276-78, 284-85, 289.) And much earlier, when Russell complained of sexual harassment to a sergeant during training, the matter was quickly addressed and the offending officer apologized to Russell. (56.1 ¶ 100.) Thus, no reasonable juror could find that Rockland failed to provide a reasonable avenue of complaint.
"Despite offering a reasonable avenue of complaint to plaintiff, employer defendants can still be held liable if plaintiff can show that they knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known, about the harassment yet failed to take appropriate remedial action."
Aside from her one formal complaint and her single verbal complaint to a sergeant, Russell never raised any alleged sexual harassment with a supervisor or the EEO Office. "For non-supervisory co-workers who lack authority to counsel, investigate, suspend, or fire the accused harasser . . . the co-worker's inaction does not spark employer liability unless that co-worker has an official or strong de facto duty to act as a conduit to management for complaints about work conditions."
The fact that the Policy directs all employees to report any observed harassment does not mean that the purported failure by low-level corrections officers in their capacities as union shop stewards allows knowledge of the harassment to be imputed to Rockland County. As Judge Preska noted, "it would be anomalous if under
Accordingly, because Russell failed to report her claims of sexual harassment, knowledge cannot be imputed to Rockland County and the claims must be dismissed.
In the Second Circuit, an employee is constructively discharged when her employer intentionally creates a work atmosphere so intolerable that she is forced to resign.
Russell acknowledged that she was "constantly exploring other opportunities" while working at the Rockland County Correctional Facility. (Weissman Decl., ECF No. 52, Ex. D ("Transcript of May 17, 2016 deposition of Russell"), at 108.) And after receiving a job offer from the New York State Department of Health, she waited over a month to resign. Moreover, even after she provided two weeks' notice to Rockland County, she made multiple requests to work overtime. (56.1 ¶¶ 329-38.) Under such circumstances, no reasonable jury could conclude that Russell's working conditions were so intolerable that she was forced to resign.
Claims arising under Title VII and the NYSHRL are analyzed under the
A plaintiff may raise an inference of discrimination by relying on the theory of disparate treatment; that is, by showing that her employer treated her less favorably than a similarly situated employee outside her protected group.
If a plaintiff makes that initial showing, the burden shifts to the employer to demonstrate a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the adverse employment action.
Russell alleges disparate treatment arising out of (1) the denial of two requests to shift-switch with a male officer and (2) a denial of an interview for the Sheriff's Department patrol division.
Russell claims it is more difficult for women than men to switch shifts because Rockland County only permits women to switch shifts if another woman is working the same shift. That requirement is a consequence of New York County Law § 652, which provides that "[a] female correction officer or female deputy sheriff who is authorized to perform correctional duties and has completed training . . . shall be in attendance in a correctional facility when females are confined in the correctional facility." N.Y. County Law § 652. Facilities that fail to comply are penalized by the New York State Commission of Corrections.
Here, Russell's disparate treatment claims relating to shift-switching arise out of two requests that were denied. In both instances, Russell was the only female corrections officer working that shift. Permitting her to switch with a male would have violated County Law § 652. Compliance with law is a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for denying Russell's request.
Russell claims she was not interviewed for a position with the Sheriff's Patrol Division because of her gender. Of the five corrections officers who applied and scored a 90 on the civil service exam—Russell, Culianos, Perrone, Hendrickson, and McKiernan—Russell was the only female. (56.1 ¶¶ 563, 565.) However, Russell was not the only corrections officer to be passed over: Culianos was also denied an interview. Both Russell and Culianos were in contention for a higher-paying position at the Clarkstown Police Department. (56.1 ¶¶ 574, 577.) Sheriff Falco testified that he sought to avoid wasting his time and resources on candidates unlikely to accept the position. (Falco Decl., ¶ 8.) Russell and Culianos were both eliminated from consideration for that reason. (56.1 ¶ 566; Falco Decl., ¶ 11.)
Although Russell neglects to address Defendants' arguments, this Court notes that McKiernan appears to also have been under consideration for a position with the Clarkstown Police Department. (Russell 50-h, at 180.) However, the record reflects that Sheriff Falco was unaware of McKiernan's application. (Falco Decl., ¶ 9.) In any event, what is clear, is that Russell was treated identically Culianos who was similarly situated. Accordingly, the disparate treatment claims relating to the patrol division interview are dismissed.
Like claims for disparate treatment, claims for retaliation follow the burdenshifting approach of
Russell claims that Defendants retaliated against her because she filed a complaint with the EEO Office. Specifically, Russell asserts that Sergeant Falco told Corrections Officer Farrison about the complaint. "Even in the absence of any non-disclosure obligation, Title VII prohibits an employer from responding to protected activity by taking an action that would `dissuade[ ] a reasonable worker from making or supporting a charge of discrimination.'"
In her opposition papers, Russell urges this Court to find additional instances of retaliation. For example, Russell argues that Chief Volpe retaliated against her for complaining about Corrections Officer Hickey. But, even assuming an adverse employment action, Russell engaged in no protected conduct because she was not complaining about sexual harassment, just "harass[ment] . . . generally." (June 2, 2016 Deposition of Russell, at 220.) Moreover, any such claim arising out of that incident is time-barred. A plaintiff in a Title VII action must file a charge of retaliation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") within 300 days of the alleged conduct and serve a notice of claim on the county within ninety days after a claim arises.
Similarly, Russell argues that Sergeant Hickey retaliated against her by confronting Corrections Officer Farrison after learning that Farrison told Russell what Hickey said. But that interaction in December 2013 is also time-barred. (56.1 ¶ 163.) Finally, Russell's unsupported assertion that Chief Volpe "buried" Esposito's complaint in her personnel file, is the type of speculative and conclusory allegation that is insufficient to overcome a motion for summary judgment.
The claims against individual defendants under Title VII are dismissed because "the remedial provisions of Title VII, including § 2000e-5, do not provide for individual liability."
Corrections Officer Hickey was served with a deposition notice in September 2016. While Hickey continues to be employed as a Rockland County corrections officer, he did not appear for deposition. Russell asks this Court to draw adverse inferences against Defendants because of his non-appearance. Defendants contend they made good faith efforts to produce Hickey but that he refused to appear. Importantly, Russell never sought judicial intervention to compel Hickey to appear.
In any event, Hickey's testimony would not change the outcome of this motion. As is clear from the record, Hickey and Russell were engaged in a personal feud, resulting in harassment that Russell did not consider to be sexual. (June 2, 2016 Deposition of Russel, Weissman Decl. (ECF No. 52), Ex. E., at 220.) And this Court has interpreted the evidence in the light most favorable to Russell, drawing all reasonable inferences against Defendants.
Defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part. Defendants' motion is denied with respect to the retaliation claim stemming from Sergeant Falco's alleged disclosure of Russell's complaint. Defendants' motion for summary judgment dismissing Plaintiff's claims is granted in all other respects.
The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate the motion pending at ECF No. 41. The parties are directed to submit a joint pretrial order by August 31, 2017 and appear for a final pretrial conference on September 8, 2017 at 10:00 a.m.
SO ORDERED.