Clendenny v. Architect of the Capitol

236 F. Supp. 3d 11, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21298, 2017 WL 627367
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedFebruary 15, 2017
DocketCivil Action No. 14-115 (RDM)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 236 F. Supp. 3d 11 (Clendenny v. Architect of the Capitol) 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
Clendenny v. Architect of the Capitol, 236 F. Supp. 3d 11, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21298, 2017 WL 627367 (D.D.C. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

RANDOLPH D. MOSS, United States District Judge

Plaintiffs Charles Clendenny and Mark Ingram bring this action against their employer, the Architect of the Capitol (“AOC”), for an alleged violation' of the Congressional Accountability Act, 2 U.S.C. § 1301 et seq. (“CAA”). Plaintiffs are employed as insulators at the AOC, and their responsibilities include performing “asbestos abatement” procedures in the buildings used by the United States House of Representatives. They allege that, after refusing to use a vacuum they believed to be unsafe to perform an abatement procedure, their supervisors unlawfully retaliated against them by transferring them to a lower-paying shift and by depriving them of overtime work opportunities. Dkt. 1 at 8 (Compl. ¶ 38). The AOC moves for summary judgment, Dkt. 19, arguing that their retaliation claims fails for two reasons: first, because Plaintiffs “never made a valid safety complaint nor opposed any unlawful practice,” id. at 3, 15-19, and, second, because the AOC, in any event, had legitimate, nOn-retaliatory reasons for altering Plaintiffs’ work schedules and continued to offer Plaintiffs opportunities to work overtime, id. at 3, 20-23. For the reasons explained below, the Court concludes that genuine disputes of material fact preclude the entry of summary judgment, The Court will, accordingly, deny the AOC’s motion.

I. BACKGROUND

For the purpose of considering the AOC’s motion for summary judgment, the Court will construe the evidence 'in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs, who are the nonmoving parties. See Arrington v. United States, 473 F.3d 329, 333 (D.C. Cir. 2006).

Clendenny began work as an insulator at the AOC in 1997, and received his asbestos “supervisor’s card” shortly thereafter. Dkt. 20-9 at 1; Dkt. 20-4 at 17-22 (Clendenny Dep. 17-22). Because he held this certification, Clendenny was permitted to serve as the’ “competent person” on asbestos abatement procedures, and he was “responsible” for ensuring that the procedures were conducted safely. Dkt. 20-4 at 18 (Clendenny Dep. 18); see also 29 C.F.R. § 1926.1101(o) (requiring employers to “designate a competent person” that possesses “the qualifications, and authorities for ensuring worker safety and health” for each -asbestos worksite). Ingram worked as a contractor at the AOC from 1999 to 2003, and became a full-time employee in 2003. Dkt. 20-1 at 16-17, 25-27 (Ingram Dep. 16-17, 25-27). Although he-held a “worker’s card”- allowing him to [14]*14perform asbestos abatement procedures, Ingram was required to work on an abatement team with a “competent person,” like Clendenny. Id. at 23-24 (Ingram Dep. 23-24). As a result, Plaintiffs were generally paired together to complete assignments. Dkt. 20-38 at 6-7, 10 (Pls.’ SMF ¶¶ 20-22, 40); Dkt. 20-6 at 20 (Follin Dep. 20) (“Chuck and Mark ... were a team.”).

As insulators, Plaintiffs’ “major duties” included the “application, repair and/or removal of insulation,” the “containment of asbestos!,] and asbestos removal.” Dkt. 19-1 at 1 (AOC’s SUMF ¶ 3). Asbestos-related procedures occupied roughly eighty percent of their time. Dkt. 20-10 at 49 (Williams Dep. 49). Prior to August of 2013, Plaintiffs were assigned to the night shift, which ran from 3:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Monday to Friday. Dkt. 20-23 at 1; Dkt. 19-10 at 1. This work schedule entitled Plaintiffs to a “nighttime differential” pay increase of ten percent. Dkt. 20-1 at 113-14 (Ingram Dep. 113-14); Dkt. 20-11 at 24-26 (Clayborne Dep. 23-25).

At the time they were constructed, the House office buildings used asbestos “as an insulation material” for their plumbing systems. Dkt. 20-2 at 34 (Murphy Dep. 34). Because it is now understood that “[a]ll forms of asbestos are known to cause diseases,” Dkt. 20-3 at 3, the AOC insulators must safely remove, or “abate,” the insulation that covers the buildings’ pipes before completing any repairs, Dkt. 20-2 at 34 (Murphy Dep. 34). To do so, Plaintiffs generally use the “glove bag method” of asbestos abatement, which entails wrapping the portion of an asbestos-insulated pipe that must be replaced or removed with an “impervious plastic bag-like enclosure,” wetting the asbestos fibers to keep them from becoming friable, sealing the bag with a vacuum cleaner, cutting away the pipe with the appropriate tools from inside the vacuum-sealed bag, and then disposing of the bag and its contents. Dkt. 20-4 at 23-35 (Clendenny Dep. 23-35); Dkt. 20-1 at 44-50 (Ingram Dep. 44-50); see generally 29 C.F.R. § 1926.1101(b), (g)(5). Although the vacuum is used to seal the bag rather than to remove its contents, water used to wet the asbestos fibers regularly “get[s] ... in[to] th[e] vacuum cleaner.” Dkt. 20-4 at 85 (Clendenny Dep. 85). In addition, if the bag tears during the glove bag procedure, the vacuum is used to “clean ... up” any spilled asbestos materials. Dkt. 20-1 at 96 (Ingram Dep. 96); see also Dkt. 20-10 at 139 (Williams Dep. 139) (“What if a bag splits open and drops? Then you vacuum it up.”).

From start to finish, an asbestos abatement procedure performed by a pair of insulators takes approximately three hours to complete. Dkt. 20-1 at 46 (Ingram Dep. 46). Moreover, because most asbestos abatement projects are performed “in areas where either the public or [Cjongress or their staff is in circulation,” Dkt. 20-10 at 32 (Williams Dep. 32), unless there is an emergency, glove bag procedures are ordinarily performed overnight when the buildings are empty, typically wrapping up between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., Dkt. 20-13 at 17 (Green Dep. 63-64); see also Dkt. 20-7 at 23-24 (McGinnis Dep. 23-24) (“No way you can [perform an abatement procedure] in the hallways or, you know, congressmen’s offices [during the day.] ... 7:00’s about the limit.”).

In mid-2013, the vacuum Plaintiffs had been using to perform abatement procedures for the past several years was “thrown away,” Dkt. 20-1 at 89 (Ingram Dep. 89); Dkt. 20-4 at 83 (Clendenny Dep. 83), and Plaintiffs were provided a Nikro-brand replacement vacuum, Dkt. 20-17 at 1; Dkt. 20-38 at 19 (Pls.’ SMF ¶¶ 73-74). By August 6, 2013, however, they concluded that the replacement vacuum was not suitable for “wet” pickups because the la[15]*15bel affixed to the vacuum read: “USE FOR TOXIC DUST RECOVERY ONLY[.] WET PICK-UP WILL CAUSE SERIOUS DAMAGE TO FILTERS.” Dkt. 20-17 at 2; see also Dkt. 20-19 at 2; Dkt. 20-1 at 87-90 (Ingram Dep. 87-90); Dkt. 20-4 at 82-85 (Clendenny Dep. 82-85). Clendenny informed Daryl Williams, the AOC insulation team leader, about Plaintiffs’ concerns with the replacement vacuum, Dkt. 20-1 at 90 (Ingram Dep. 90), and on August 8, 2013, Plaintiffs were asked to attend a meeting to address the issue, Dkt. 20-19 at 2. That meeting was attended by a number of their supervisors, including Assistant Superintendent Dan Murphy, General Supervisor Greg Green, and, Assistant Supervisor Brian Bradley. Id. at 2-3; Dkt. 20-38 at 20 (Pls.’ SMF ¶ 78).

At the meeting, Plaintiffs informed their supervisors that they “absolutely” could not “use [the Nikro] vacuum cleaner[ ]” for glove bag abatement procedures because it was “not a wet vac.” Dkt. 20-4 at 84-87 (Clendenny Dep.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
236 F. Supp. 3d 11, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21298, 2017 WL 627367, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/clendenny-v-architect-of-the-capitol-dcd-2017.