Bowden v. Clough

658 F. Supp. 2d 61, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89590, 2009 WL 3104041
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedSeptember 29, 2009
DocketCivil Action 05-2202 (RBW)
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 658 F. Supp. 2d 61 (Bowden v. Clough) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bowden v. Clough, 658 F. Supp. 2d 61, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89590, 2009 WL 3104041 (D.D.C. 2009).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

REGGIE B. WALTON, District Judge.

Plaintiff Anthony Bowden brings this action against the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution (“Institution”) in his official capacity, alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-3(a), 16(a)(2000) (“Title VII”), Second Amended Complaint of Employment Discrimination and Breach of Contract (“Second Am. Compl.”) ¶¶ 47-59, 66-73, 88-101, 107-110, and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. §§ 791, 794a(2000) (“Rehabilitation Act”), Second Am. Compl. ¶¶ 60-65, 74-81, 102-106, 107-110, on the basis that the Institution, an agency of the United States government and his employer, engaged in discriminatory employment practices against him based on his race (African-American), Second Am. Compl. ¶¶ 47-49, 66-69, 82-86, color (black), id. ¶¶ 50-52, 70-73, 87-91, sex (male), id. ¶¶ 53-55, 92-96, religion (Baptist), id. ¶¶ 56-59, 97-101, and disabili *71 ties (panic disorder, anxiety disorder and depression), id. ¶¶ 60-62, 74-77, 102-106, and retaliated against him because of his participation in statutorily protected Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) activity and a related lawsuit, id. ¶¶ 63-65, 78-81, 107-110. The plaintiff also alleges that the Institution violated the Rehabilitation Act, id. ¶¶ 114-17, and its settlement agreement with him, id. ¶¶ 111-13, by failing to provide him the reasonable accommodations he requested for his disabilities. This matter is currently before the Court on the defendant’s Motion for Judgment On The Pleadings Or, In The Alternative, For Summary Judgment (“Def.’s Mot.”), which the plaintiff opposes, Plaintiffs Opposition To Defendant’s Motion For Judgment On The Pleadings Or, In The Alternative, For Summary Judgment (“Pl.’s Opp’n”). 2 For the following reasons, the Court must grant the Institution’s motion.

I. BACKGROUND

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, the facts are as follows.

A. The Plaintiffs Employment with the Institution

At all relevant times pertaining to this lawsuit, the plaintiff, a black African-American, was a practicing Baptist and “suffer[ed] from various mental disabilities, including panic disorder, anxiety disorder and depression.” Second Am. Compl. ¶ 4. At the time of the filing of this lawsuit, the plaintiff had been working for the Institution for twenty-two-years, and held the position of an Exhibits Specialist in the production unit of the Exhibits Department at the National Zoological Park (“Zoo”), a component of the Institution, at the GS-1010-11 pay grade level. Id. ¶¶ 4, 12. At any given time during the plaintiffs employment between two and three other employees held the same job title as the plaintiff. PL’s Opp’n, Ex. 1 (Sept. 27, 2007 Deposition of Lynn Dolnick (“Dolnick Dep.”)) at 143; id., Ex. 7 (Dec. 5, 2007 Deposition of Charles Fillah (“Fillah Dep.”)) at 120. Among the other Exhibits Specialists were one Philippine female with a brown complexion and no religious affiliation, several African-American males of either black or brown skin color and with various religious affiliations, and none with any known disabilities. PL’s Opp’n, Ex. 5 (Dec. 4, 2007 Deposition of Anthony Bow-den (“Bowden Dep. I”)) at 66-67; id., Ex. 1 (Dolnick Dep.) at 143, 146-M7; id., Ex. 7 (Fillah Dep.) at 57; id., Ex. 11 (Sept. 28, 2007 Deposition of Jeffery Baxter (“Baxter Dep.”)) at 120-21; see also Second Am. Compl. ¶ 27(c), (e). The plaintiff maintains that his employment at the Institution has been marred by the following instances of unfairness, discrimination, and hostility. 3 Second Am. Compl. ¶ 23.

*72 1. The Plaintiffs Allegation of Inadequate Compensation

At his request, the plaintiff received a “desk audit” on October 17, 2003, to determine the accuracy of his responsibilities as compared with his grade level and compensation. Id. ¶ 23(e)-(f). The desk audit determined that the plaintiffs position was accurately graded as an 11, which was the plaintiffs existing grade level. Def.’s Mem., Ex. 28 (Evaluation Statement); see also id., Ex. 34 (Federal Position Description Cover Sheet); id., Ex. 32 (Grade Evaluation Guide for Visual Arts Work). The plaintiff disputed the outcome of the desk audit, alleging that it was “discriminatory, retaliatory, and inaccurate” because the audit “did not include many of the duties [that he] actually performed.” Second Am. Compl. ¶¶ 23(e)-(g), (o), 25; Def.’s Mem., Ex. 33 (Nov. 6, 2003 Letter from Anthony Bowden to Lynn Dolnick). The desk audit included an interview with both the plaintiff and his supervisor, and, although the plaintiff does not know what information his supervisors provided the auditor, Pl.’s Stmt, of Facts at 44, he contends that his supervisors must have “lied to the auditor about [the plaintiffs] duties in order to prevent him from receiving a promotion” and must have neglected to “include in his position description the additional duties that he was performing so that he would not be promoted.” 4 Second Am. Compl. ¶ 23(j); see also id., ¶¶ 23(g), 25.

In response to the plaintiffs complaints about the audit, the Institution offered to re-conduct it, but the plaintiff refused a second desk audit, stating that he “[had] given the auditor all of the info[rmation] that was needed for [the auditor] to make a clear and accurate assessment of what [his] job [entails].” Def.’s Mem., Ex. 18 (Nov. 12, 2003 E-mail from Anthony Bow-den to Lynn Dolnick).

*73 2. The Plaintiffs Performance Assessments Allegations

The plaintiff challenges two assessments of his work performance. The first assessment that he contests was his “Fully Successful” rating for his job performance from “June 2004 through December 2004.” 5 Second Am. Compl. ¶ 28(f). The plaintiff alleges that the rating he received is inexplicable because it was the first time during his tenure with the Zoo that he had not received an “Outstanding” rating. Pl.’s Stmt, of Facts at 22; Def.’s Mem., Ex. 9 (Apr. 22, 2004 National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Performance Appraisal Form). He also challenges his “Improvement Needed” rating for his 2005 job performance. Second Am. Compl. ¶ 42. That assessment was rendered because although the plaintiff received a “Met” or “Exceeded” rating in six of the seven categories of that review, he received an “Improvement Needed” rating in the areas of “Communication, Teamwork and Customer Service Skills.” Id.; Def.’s Mem., Ex. 10 (Feb. 3, 2006 National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, Performance Appraisal Form).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
658 F. Supp. 2d 61, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 89590, 2009 WL 3104041, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bowden-v-clough-dcd-2009.