Barnes v. Breeden

911 F. Supp. 1038, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 835, 1996 WL 33115
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedJanuary 25, 1996
DocketCiv.A. No. H-92-0898
StatusPublished

This text of 911 F. Supp. 1038 (Barnes v. Breeden) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barnes v. Breeden, 911 F. Supp. 1038, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 835, 1996 WL 33115 (S.D. Tex. 1996).

Opinion

AMENDED MEMORANDUM OPINION CONTAINING FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

HOYT, District Judge.

This is a civil rights case brought by Wan-derlon Ann Barnes, the plaintiff. She asserts violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Title 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and the Equal Pay Act, Title 29 U.S.C. § 206(d)(1). Specifically, she claims that she was treated differently in the terms and conditions of employment, not fairly considered in her work assignments, subjected to sexual harassment and gender bias, and in spite of qualifications, not given a promotion that she was qualified to receive. Finally, she claims that she was not paid an equal wage for equal work.

This Court has jurisdiction over the plaintiffs claims pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Pay Act. After a trial to the Court, the following findings of fact are chronicled:

The Parties and Key Actors:

The plaintiff is a African-American female attorney, who was employed in the Houston Branch Office (“HBO”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) from on or about August 28, 1988, until September 6, 1991, when she left the employment of the SEC and began employment with the Reso[1041]*1041lution Trust Corporation on or about September 9, 1991.

The SEC is a governmental agency charged with, among other things, the regulation and enforcement of the federal securities laws. It’s mission was accomplished through several field offices, including the Fort Worth District Office, formerly the Fort Worth Regional Office, (“FWRO”). The HBO was a branch office of the FWRO until approximately December 30, 1991, when it was officially reclaimed by the FWRO.

During the relevant time to the claims and defenses raised in this proceeding, T. Christopher Browne, a Caucasian male, was the Regional Administrator of the FWRO of the SEC.

Joseph C. Matta, an Hispanic male, served as the Branch Chief of the HBO from April of 1986, until October of 1987, when he was appointed the Assistant Regional Administrator serving at the HBO. He remained in that capacity until the HBO was officially merged into the FWRO. When he became Assistant Regional Administrator, Joy Bod-die, an African-American female, became the Branch Chief of the HBO and remained in that capacity until August of 1990, when she transferred to the Chicago office. Nancy McGinley, a Caucasian female, succeeded Joy Boddie as Branch Chief of the HBO and maintained that status throughout the remainder of the plaintiffs employment which ended in September of 1991. Both Boddie and McGinley served as the plaintiffs immediate supervisor during their tenure and their immediate supervisor was Matta. Banes’ First Year:

In August of 1988, the plaintiff interviewed with Joseph C. Matta and Joy M. Boddie for a staff attorney’s position with the SEC. Barnes was employed at salary grade of GS13, Step 1 in August, shortly after the interview. Although Barnes sought a higher salary, she would not obtain it.1 Instead, she was assured that at every opportunity she would be considered for promotion or increase. Barnes received step advances during her tenure: a GS13-3 in 1990 and a GS13-4 in 1991.

After commencing employment, Barnes was assigned at least one “case” and several “matters under investigation” (“MUI”). Barnes learned early on that to advance, a staff attorney must handle cases and MUI’s that were high profile, if possible, and that statistics were gathered based on specific action taken by the staff attorney on a particular file.

In fact, the SEC office operated somewhat on a competitive basis. To be well thought of and to receive advances, promotions and bonuses the staff attorney should receive and successfully complete a case and numerous MUI’s. Oftentimes, the high profile cases assured advancement and were, therefore, coveted. For every action taken on a file, the attorney received from a one-half Qf¡) to one (1) full statistical point. Thus, the progress of the case could be tracked, as well.

One of the cases assigned to Barnes, that became focused in this dispute, was In the Matter of John N. Ehrman case.2 When Barnes received the Ehrman assignment, she was to proceed with an investigation and determine what action, if any, should be taken. At this point in time, 1988, the Ehrman entities were involved in various fraudulent schemes and the schemes were ongoing. These revelations were made for the first time in July of 1989 in Barnes’ initial draft of the Action Memorandum. Although the case had been around the office for some time and had been handled by Boddie and others, none had performed an adequate investigation. As a result of this Memorandum, Barnes received the highest possible rating, [1042]*1042“Outstanding,” on her annual performance evaluation. Both Boddie and Matta received and reviewed the Memorandum and expressed the view that it was excellent.

Up to this point, neither Boddie nor Matta had done anything unusual in supervising Barnes’ work product. In fact, both Boddie and Matta stated during trial that because Barnes had trial and courtroom experience, they assumed that she was well equipped to handle herself and that if she needed help they expected her to consult with them. It should be noted that neither Matta nor Bod-die had the amount of trial or courtroom experience as Barnes.

During this first year, and to October of 1989, Barnes, Matta and Boddie had a friendly relationship. Although general comments about Barnes’ appearance and her ancestral mix (texture of hair and color of skin) had been made by Matta, these comments were not focused or insulting. Barnes testified that the relationship between and among them changed when Barnes failed to attend the Bandera Conference held in Austin, in September of 1989. According to Barnes, an administrative officer, as opposed to a fellow attorney, was sent to ask her about attending the conference. When that officer was unable to persuade Barnes that it was important that she attend, both Boddie and Matta came separately, each making inquiry and demanding to know why Barnes would not attend the conference. It is noteworthy that Matta had not made arrangements to travel with another member of the staff and desired that Barnes either ride with him or she with him. After this exchange, and when Barnes failed to attend, Matta and Boddie changed their attitude and conduct toward Barnes.

After the Bandera Conference:

Shortly after returning from the Bandera Conference, Boddie wrote a short memorandum to Barnes describing certain stylistic and substantive changes that should be incorporated in Barnes’ Memorandum. Later, meetings were convened and during those meetings both Boddie and Matta, for the first time, engaged in serious criticism of Barnes’ work and of her personally to the point of yelling at her. Comments such as “a smart attorney would have done this” and “even a first year attorney would have done this” were frequent statements.

The meetings often started around noon and would continue until the staff had left late in the evening.

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911 F. Supp. 1038, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 835, 1996 WL 33115, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barnes-v-breeden-txsd-1996.