Diaz v. Florida

219 F. Supp. 3d 1207, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153424, 2016 WL 6565935
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedNovember 4, 2016
DocketCase No. 15-cv-62670-BLOOM/Valle
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 219 F. Supp. 3d 1207 (Diaz v. Florida) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Diaz v. Florida, 219 F. Supp. 3d 1207, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153424, 2016 WL 6565935 (S.D. Fla. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER

BETH BLOOM, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This cause is .before the Court upon Defendant State of Florida, 17th Judicial Circuit, in and for Broward County, Florida’s (“Defendant”) Motion for Summary Judgment, ECF No. [29] (“Motion”). The Court has reviewed the Motion, all supporting and opposing filings, and the record in this case. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is granted.

I. Relevant Facts

In September of 2012, Plaintiff Marissa Diaz (“Diaz”), began working as an administrative assistant in the probate unit of the 17th Judicial Circuit. See Defendant’s Statement of Material Facts, ECF No. [28] (“Def. SOF”), ¶ l.1 After interviewing with Linda Brooks (“Brooks”), a supervisor in the mental health unit, and Diana Sobel (“Sobel”), the Chief of Personnel for the 17th Circuit, Diaz was promoted to a ease manager position in the mental health unit in March, 2013. Id. ¶¶ 3-5. Diaz’s job duties in the mental health unit included responding to “beeps” from courtrooms, also known as “running,” writing up competency orders, processing reports, making copies, and delivering reports to courtrooms. Id. ¶ 7. Diaz covered twenty-two (22) courtrooms, and processed evaluations from judges by entering pertinent information into a database. See Plaintiffs Statement of Disputed Facts (“Pl. SOF”), ECF No. [35], ¶7. After making copies, Diaz delivered any evaluations or reports needed to the courtrooms. Id. Diaz responded immediately if beeped by a courtroom, and her duties required that she travel up and down between courtrooms [1211]*1211and her office. Id. Diaz was aware of the position’s requirements when she applied for the job. Def. SOF ¶ 9.

Diaz testified that she had a heavier workload than some of her co-workers from the beginning of her employment in the mental health unit. Id. ¶ 12. The intensity of her job was a concern for Diaz, as she told her supervisors that her co-workers who worked at their desks could “step up”, and work more efficiently for the judges and the court. Id. ¶ 10. Diaz emailed Sobel in May, 2014 to complain that her duties were “quite grueling” and “quite overwhelming,” and noted that she was “confused as to why it has been this way only for the runner case manager position.” Id.

On August 13, 2014, Diaz informed Brooks that she was pregnant, and shortly thereafter, told Brooks that she wanted to “slow down.” Id. ¶¶ 13-14. Brooks informed Diaz that she would need to obtain a doctor’s note in order to adjust her duties. Id. ¶ 14. Thereafter, when Diaz spoke to Sobel about the request, Sobel told Diaz to slow down, and emailed Diaz a medical certification form to complete. Id. ¶ 15. Brooks later became aware that Diaz had spoken to Sobel about her pregnancy and request to “slow down,” but the parties dispute whether Brooks was aware that Diaz complained to Sobel about the manner in which Brooks treated her after announcing her pregnancy. See Def. SOF ¶ 16; Pl. SOF ¶ 16. When Sobel subsequently spoke to Brooks about the meeting with Diaz, Sobel told Brooks that Diaz did not think that she could perform the functions of her job the way she was. Def. SOF ¶ 17; see also Deposition of Linda Brooks, EOF No. [27-3] (“Brooks Dep.”), at 48. The medical certification that Diaz returned to Sobel on October 10, 2014 stated, “patient is unable to move as fast as before,”. but aside from “walking at a fast pace,” the certification did not list any specific job duties affected by Diaz’s pregnancy, and the only accommodation requested was that Diaz be allowed “to perform [her] job slower.” Id. ¶ 18. As a result of the medical certification form, Sobel told Diaz to “slow down and take breaks if she need[ed] to”; Diaz could, and did on occasion, use the benches in the courthouse to rest; Diaz would remain near the courtrooms between pages instead of rushing back and forth from her office to the courtrooms; and Brooks sometimes helped Diaz conduct her runs. Id. ¶ 19.

According to Diaz, despite, having made past complaints of unfair treatment prior to her pregnancy, Brooks treated her differently and worse after she notified Brooks of her pregnancy. Id. ¶¶ 44-45 Pl. SOF ¶¶ 44-45. Even though Diaz complained about being asked about her “personal business,” she has no recollection of reporting pregnancy discrimination, even though she believes she implied to Sobel that she was “very uncomfortable” with Brooks. Def. SOF ¶ 46; Pl. SOF ¶ 46.

Events leading to Diaz’s termination

The mental health unit has its own two-drawer cabinet located outside of Diaz’s cubicle, containing office supplies for the use of mental health unit employees. Id. ¶ 21. In addition, the 17th Circuit Court Administration, of which the mental health unit is a part, has a supply room located down the hall from Diaz’s cubicle. Id. ¶¶ 6, 20. Despite an office policy requiring employees to submit office supply requests in writing to a supervisor, employees obtained supplies without strict adherence to office policy. Id. ¶ 23-24; Pl. SOF ¶24. Bert Rodriguez (“Rodriguez”) is a purchasing technician, whose job duties included assisting employees to obtain office supplies. Def. SOF ¶ 24. According to Rodriguez, he frequently provided “odds and ends” to employees .in the mental health [1212]*1212unit but did not provide items in bulk to individual employees. See Deposition of Alberto Rodriguez, ECF No. [27-4] (“Rod. Dep”), at 14-15.

On October 21, 2014, Diaz went to the supply room and asked Rodriguez for supplies. Def. SOF ¶ 25. Diaz took the following items from the supply room: 24 mechanical pencils, 2 refill packs for mechanical pencils, 72 pencils, 144 eraser caps, 36 Post-It note pads, 12 highlighters, 4 dry erase markers, 24 Sharpies, 10 rolls of tape, and 12 glue sticks. Id. ¶ 26. Rodriguez offered to take the box containing the supplies to Diaz’s cubicle for her. However, Diaz declined and instead put them in an empty cubicle. Id. ¶ 27. The parties disagree on the proper characterization of the location in which Diaz left the box and specifically whether it could be considered a secluded area. See Def. SOF ¶ 27; Pl. SOF ¶27. Nevertheless, Rodriguez later took the box of supplies to Diaz’s cubicle because she was pregnant and he did not want her to carry it. Def. SOF ¶ 27; see also Rod. Dep. at 29.

Brooks observed Rodriguez deliver the box of supplies to Diaz’s cubicle, and that most of the supplies in the box were available in the mental health unit’s supply cabinet. Def. SOF ¶¶ 28, 30. When Brooks asked him what the box was, Rodriguez responded that Diaz had requested it and that he was leaving it there. Rod. Dep., at 30. Based upon the quantities of supplies contained in the box, Brooks believed that there could be an issue. Brooks Dep. at 62-63. Brooks told Sobel about her observations and Rodriguez’s statement. Def. SOF ¶ 31. Later that day, Sobel and Brooks met with Diaz and asked her about the supplies and why she needed them. Def. SOF ¶ 32. Diaz responded that she needed the box of supplies “to use.” Deposition of Marissa Diaz, EOF No. [27-1] (“Diaz Dep.”), at 136. Brooks and Sobel were not satisfied with Diaz’s response, which Sobel thought to be evasive. Def. SOF ¶ 33; see Sobel Dep. at 19.

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219 F. Supp. 3d 1207, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153424, 2016 WL 6565935, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/diaz-v-florida-flsd-2016.