Carpenter v. City of Mount Vernon

198 F. Supp. 3d 272, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98770, 2016 WL 4059353
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJuly 27, 2016
Docket15-cv-0661 (NSR)
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 198 F. Supp. 3d 272 (Carpenter v. City of Mount Vernon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carpenter v. City of Mount Vernon, 198 F. Supp. 3d 272, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98770, 2016 WL 4059353 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

NELSON S. ROMÁN, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Jennifer Carpenter brings this action against Defendants City of Mount Vernon, Mayor Ernest D. Davis,1 Commissioner Terrance Raynor, Chief James M. Dumser, Deputy Commissioner Richard Burke, Captain Michael Goldman, Lieutenant Mario Curzio, and Lieutenant Joseph Hunce, in their official and individual capacities alleging claims of: (1) gender discrimination under the 14th Amendment, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (2) gender discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-17 (“Title VII”); (3) gender discrimination, retaliation, and disability discrimination under the New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”), N.Y. Exec. Law §§ 290-97; and (4) disability discrimination and retaliation claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12112-12117 (the “ADA”).

Before the Court is Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiffs Second Amended Complaint. For the following reasons, the motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

BACKGROUND

The following facts are taken from Plaintiffs Second Amended Complaint (“SAC”), unless otherwise noted, and are accepted as true for purposes of this motion.

Plaintiff is a female employee of the Mount Vernon Police Department (“MVPD”). In December 2011, Plaintiff became the first African-American female promoted to Sergeant in the MVPD. (SAC ¶ 17.) Plaintiff asserts that no woman has ever held a rank above Sergeant, and at the time she was promoted she was the only female Sergeant out of 20 Sergeants in the MVPD. (Id.) In January 2012, Plaintiff was assigned to the MVPD’s “Squad 3” as its patrol supervisor. (Id. ¶ 19.) Plaintiff alleges that since her promotion, members of the MVPD have mistreated her “on account of her gender,” as well as “retaliated against [her] due to her opposition to discriminatory practices.” (Id.)

Plaintiff sets forth the following instances of mistreatment and/or disparate treatment on account of her gender or her purported opposition to discriminatory practices:

(1) During Plaintiffs first roll call after being assigned to Squad 3 she was not introduced as the Squad’s Sergeant by her supervisor, Lieutenant Nawrocki, whereas the previous male Sergeant of Squad 3 was introduced during his first roll call (Id. ¶ 19);
(2) In October 2013, Lieutenant Naw-rocki told Plaintiff to “control her emotions” (Id. ¶ 22);
(3) On January 31, 2014, Plaintiff submitted several requests for training, including search warrant training. Plaintiffs requests were purportedly denied because such trainings typically were not intended for supervisors. Nevertheless, other male su[276]*276pervisors attended these trainings (Id. ¶ 25);
(4) On February 4, 2014, Plaintiff was informed that Chief Dumser did not want her to be physically present at Headquarters, while male employees were not similarly rebuked (Id. ¶ 26);
(5) Between March 1 and April 5, 2014, Plaintiff was not permitted to conduct roll calls. She was the only supervisory officer who was not permitted to conduct roll calls (Id. ¶ 31);
(6) On March 9, 2014, Plaintiff requested to attend three training sessions but never received a response. Other male Sergeants were permitted to attend the trainings (Id. ¶ 32);
(7) In April 2014, Plaintiff was ordered to report to Headquarters after her injury to meet with a doctor whereas other white male officers injured on-the-job were not ordered to report to Headquarters or were given transportation (Id. ¶ 36); and
(8) In May 2014, Plaintiff was denied 207-c benefits whereas male officers who suffered on the job injuries and did not oppose discriminatory practices were granted 207-c benefits (Id. ¶¶ 43 and 54).

Plaintiff also alleges that she complained multiple times, verbally and in writing, to her superiors about discriminatory practices and behavior in the MVPD. Following Lieutenant Nawrocki’s comment to Plaintiff that she should “control her emotions,” Plaintiff immediately complained to Naw-rocki that such “treatment was ‘sexist.’ ” (Id. ¶ 22.) On December 9, 2013, Plaintiff sent a written complaint to Commissioner Raynor alleging that Lieutenant Hunce was discriminating against her on account of her gender. (Id. ¶23.) Specifically, Plaintiff stated that as the only female supervisor she was being treated differently than her male counterparts. (Id.) Plaintiff believes that these claims were never investigated. (Id.) On January 17, 2014, Plaintiff visited Mayor Davis at his office and complained that she was being treated differently based on her gender and race,2 and specifically that black officers were subject to different treatment than white officers, who were permitted to engage in misconduct without repercussions. (Id. ¶ 24.) During this visit, Plaintiff alleges that Mayor Davis inappropriately asked her if she was sleeping with Commissioner Raynor. (Id. ¶ 24.)

On February 4, 2014, after Plaintiff was informed by Lieutenant Curzio that she was not to be physically present at the MVPD Headquarters, she verbally complained to Lieutenant Curzio, arguing that it was a “double standard” because male employees “could be seen at any given time sitting around chatting inside for hours and Dumser never appeare[d] to order them outside.” (Id. ¶ 27.) Plaintiff returned to Headquarters two days later. Immediately upon entering Headquarters, Plaintiff was followed by Lieutenant Cur-zio, who repeatedly reminded her that Chief Dumser did not want her inside Headquarters. (Id. ¶ 28.) Plaintiff immediately complained about this treatment to Lieutenant Curzio and informed Human Resources. (Id. ¶ 28.) Following this incident, Plaintiff “took sick leave from February 7, 2014 through February 26, 2014 as a result of the undue stress ... caused by the gender discrimination and retaliation.” (Id. ¶ 29.)

On February 7, 2014, Plaintiff filed a complaint with Human Resources Commissioner Williams relating the above instances of purported discrimination, Specifical[277]*277ly, Plaintiff complained of the following: Lieutenant Hunce threatened her for writing up a white female officer who was sleeping on the job; she was the only supervisor being followed around; all other male supervisors were permitted to stay at Headquarters; she had been called derogatory names relating to her gender; and Lieutenant Hunce demonstrated that he was committed to targeting her. (Id. f 30.) Plaintiff never received a response to this complaint and believes no investigation was undertaken. (Id. ¶ 30.)

Plaintiff returned to work on March 1, 2014, but was not permitted to conduct roll calls until April 5, 2014. (Id. ¶ 31.) On March 9, 2014, Plaintiff requested to attend three training sessions with no response.

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198 F. Supp. 3d 272, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 98770, 2016 WL 4059353, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carpenter-v-city-of-mount-vernon-nysd-2016.