Fisher v. Town of Orange

964 F. Supp. 2d 103, 2013 WL 4056196, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112540
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedAugust 9, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 10-30172-FDS
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 964 F. Supp. 2d 103 (Fisher v. Town of Orange) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fisher v. Town of Orange, 964 F. Supp. 2d 103, 2013 WL 4056196, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112540 (D. Mass. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

SAYLOR, District Judge.

This is an action for gender discrimination in the workplace in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of Í964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151B, § 4. Plaintiff Rebecca Fisher was hired as a full-time firefighter by the Town of Orange, Massachusetts, in October 2007. She alleges that she was discriminated against on the basis of her gender both during the hiring process and while she worked at the Orange Fire Department, and that this discrimination resulted in her constructive discharge in May 2008.

Defendants have moved for summary judgment on all of plaintiffs claims. For the following reasons, the motions will be granted in part and denied in part.

I. Background

A. Factual Background1

As of 2007, defendant Dennis M. Annear was chief of the fire department in Orange, [107]*107Massachusetts. (Def. SMF ¶4). Among other things, Annear was responsible for hiring personnel, including full-time firefighters. (Def. SMF ¶ 5). Defendants Mark T. Vitale and James R. Young were both full-time firefighters in the same department. (Def. SMF ¶ 6, 8). The Orange Fire Department (“OFD”) had at least three other full-time firefighters on staff: Phillip Sheridan, Christopher Bisceglia, and Justin Gale. (Def. SMF ¶ 14,17, 21). The department also employed a number of call firefighters.

In 2007 and 2008, Young, Sheridan, and Bisceglia all occupied leadership roles in the OFD. Sheridan was the training officer, Bisceglia was the president of the OFD’s union, and Young was vice-president of the union. (Def. SMF ¶¶ 10, 14, 19).

Plaintiff Rebecca Fisher resides in Orange. Fisher first joined the OFD as a call firefighter/EMT in October 2001. (Def. SMF ¶ 42). Between 2003 and 2007, she occasionally filled in for part-time and full-time staff. (Def. SMF ¶ 43).

1. Interview and Hiring Process

In August 2007, the Town of Orange posted a notice at the fire station indicating that it sought to hire a full-time firefighter. (Def. SMF ¶ 65). Up to that point, all OFD full-time firefighters were (and had always been) male. On August 20, Fisher applied for the position. (Def. SMF ¶ 67). She was one of eight OFD call firefighters who applied for the position; two external candidates also applied. (Def. SMF ¶ 67).

Fisher alleges that there was “chatter in the fire department” about her application. (PL SMF ¶ 3; Sheridan Dep., Pl. SMF Ex. B at 40).2 Specifically, she alleges that there was discussion to the effect that Chief Annear did not know “what to do because of Rebecca’s application.” (Pl. SMF ¶¶ 4-6; Sheridan Dep., PL SMF Ex. B at 43). During this time, both James Young and Mark Vitale expressed con[108]*108cerns about her application. (Pl. SMF ¶ 6; Pl. SMF, Ex. B at 47-48).

As part of the hiring process, OFD hired an independent assessment company, Municipal Resources Inc., to evaluate the qualifications of the applicant pool. (Def. SMF ¶ 72). OFD had never used an outside company to evaluate candidates before, and has not done so in any subsequent hiring process. (Pl. SMF ¶¶ 12-13). Chief Annear indicated that the company was hired because of the “many preconceived opinions of' the members of the department.” (Pl. SMF ¶ ll).3 Five candidates, all OFD call firefighters, were chosen to participate in the assessment. (Def. SMF ¶ 79). Fisher was one of the selected candidates.

The assessment was conducted on October 4, 2007. (Def. SMF ¶ 86). The OFD hiring panel was not involved in the assessment. (Def. SMF ¶ 89). The candidates were interviewed individually, and then completed a series of presentations and simulations. (Def. SMF ¶87). Following the assessment, MRI provided the results to Chief Annear. (Def. SMF ¶ 92). Fisher received the highest score. (Id.).

On October 15, 2007, three of the candidates from the assessment — Fisher, Thomas Martin, and Timothy Matthews — were interviewed by Chief Annear and Deputy Chiefs Blackmer and Gale. (Def. SMF ¶ 94). Fisher was the last candidate to be interviewed. The parties dispute exactly what took place during those interviews. Fisher contends that the interviewers asked her only three questions, including a question about whether she felt she would be accepted by the- other firefighters. (Pl. SMF ¶ 17). She asserts that, during her interview, she was told by Deputy Chief Blackmer that “he didn’t think the town was ready for [] a female firefighter.” (Pl. SMF Ex. C at 56). Defendants dispute those assertions. (Def. SMF ¶¶ 111— 13).

The parties also dispute the subsequent events. Defendants contend that Chief Annear, Blackmer, and Gale discussed the qualifications of all three candidates at the completion of the interviews, but did not choose a final candidate. (Def. SMF ¶¶ 118-19). Defendants acknowledge that Gale, at least, preferred a candidate other than Fisher. (Def. SMF 121). However, defendants contend that Chief Annear wanted to hire Fisher; that he spoke to the Town Administrator, Richard Kwiatkowski, about doing so on October 16, 2007; and that the two agreed that they would hire Fisher. (Def. SMF ¶¶ 124-26).

Fisher contends that Chief Annear, Blackmer, and Gale made a tentative decision to offer the job to Timothy Matthews. (Pl. SMF ¶ 23; Pl. SMF, Ex. I at 97-98; Pl. SMF, Ex. J at 11). However, when Chief Annear spoke to Kwiatkowski the next day, he was told that “there was no way around” hiring Fisher. (Pl. SMF ¶ 29).

Both sides agree that on October 16, 2007, Chief Annear called Fisher to offer her the full-time position, and that she accepted the offer. (Def. SMF ¶ 129). At the time, he told her that it was not a unanimous decision. (Pl. SMF, Ex. G at 126). Fisher alleges that, in that telephone call, Chief Annear also informed her of his conversation with Kwiatkowski. (Pl. SMF ¶ 29). She further alleges that Chief Annear told her in the same call “that many people were unhappy and did not feel [Fisher] should get [the job],” that “he didn’t think it would go well,” and that “he [109]*109felt [Fisher] would not be accepted.” (PI. SMF, Ex. C at 52-57). According to Fisher, Chief Annear also told her in that call that he did not want to hire her. (PI. SMF, Ex. C at 57).

Defendants contend that although Chief Annear informed Fisher that the decision was not a unanimous one and warned her that it was not going to be easy, he never gave her any indication that she was not his first choice. (Def. SMF ¶ 133).

It appeared to both Fisher and Sheridan that the hiring process “took a lot longer than previous hires.” (PI. SMF ¶ 7; PI. SMF, Ex. B at 51).

2. Events During Employment

Fisher began her full-time appointment on November 2, 2007. (Def. SMF ¶ 140). She was assigned to Group 2, along with Phillip Sheridan. (Def. SMF ¶ 140).

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964 F. Supp. 2d 103, 2013 WL 4056196, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112540, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fisher-v-town-of-orange-mad-2013.