Garnett v. Bank of America

243 F. Supp. 3d 499, 2017 WL 1074358, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40214
CourtDistrict Court, D. Delaware
DecidedMarch 21, 2017
DocketCiv. No. 14-921-RGA
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 243 F. Supp. 3d 499 (Garnett v. Bank of America) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Delaware primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Garnett v. Bank of America, 243 F. Supp. 3d 499, 2017 WL 1074358, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40214 (D. Del. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ANDREWS, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Ursala A. Garnett appears pro se and has been granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis. She commenced this employment discrimination action against Defendant Bank of America on July 14, 2014. (D.I. 2). The complaint alleges employment discrimination pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e, et seq. The Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Defendant moves for summary judgment. (D.I. 26). Plaintiff opposes and asks the Court to find in her favor.1 (D.I. 29). Briefing on the matter has been completed.

[504]*504I. LEGAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Garnett alleges employment discrimination by reason of race in the forms of harassment, failure to promote, and retaliation that resulted in discipline and termination of her. employment. (D.I. 2). On December 10, 2007, Garnett was hired by Bank of America as .an Auditor II with its corporate audit team in Wilmington, Delaware. (D.I. 27 at Ex. 1 at p.18). In July 2011, Garnett was promoted to Senior Auditor I. (Id, at pp.23-24). When Garnett moved to a new area within corporate audit in January 2012, she began reporting to Catherine Kulp. (Id. at pp.24-25). Kulp reported to Carol Apel. (Id. at p.26). Gar-nett testified that the audit job was “really not what [shé] want[ed] to do,” and she told Kulp the job was “not really [her] thing.” (Id. at p.92). Garnett testified that the position was not what she wanted because of the stress involved and that she “actually hated the job.” (Id. at pp.92-93).

Kulp met with Garnett on August 2, 2012 for her mid-year performance review. (Id. at Ex. 1 at p.30; Ex. 2 at ¶ 4). Kulp gave Garnett overall ratings of “meets expectations” in the two categories of performance ratings. (Id. at Ex. 1 at pp.69-74; Ex. 2 at ¶ 4). Garnett had received the same ratings in her 2011 year-end performance review. (Id. at Ex. 2 at ¶ 5). The review addressed areas that needed improvement and concerns raised by Gar-nett’s co-workers regarding Garnett’s distracting humming and' singing out loud in the office. (Id. at Ex. 1 at pp.30-31, 74-76; Ex. 2 at ¶¶ 4, 6). Garnett’s previous manager, Susan Young, had spoken to Garnett about the same thing. (Id. at Ex. 1 at pp.31-32; Ex. 2 at ¶ 6). Garnett told Kulp she thought a lot of the things that were happening were based upon her race. (Id. at Ex. 1 at p.33; Ex. 2 at ¶ 6).

On or about August 6, 2012, Garnett used the services of Bank of America’s Advice and Counsel, which was a group of human resources professionals available to associates .for consultation. (D.I. 27 at Ex. 1 at pp.48-51, 57-58; Ex. 1 at Dep. Ex. 1; D.I. 33 at Ex. 9). Garnett called Advice and Counsel’s phone center and stated that she believed' complaints about her singing were racially motivated. (D.I. 27 at Ex. 1 at p.49).- Advice and Counsel asked for the bases of' Garnett’s belief. She provided it with a “List of Concerns,” which claimed she was denied a promotion based upon accusations that her humming disrupted the work environment; Garnett did not believe the humming had anything to do with her overall performance. (D.I. 27 at Ex. 1 at pp.48-51, 57-58; Ex. 1 at Dep. Ex. 1; D.I. 33 at Ex. 9). The “List .of Concerns” speaks to unfair treatment and, “being singled out,” -but does not mention race. (D.I. 27 . at Ex. 1 at Dép. Ex. 1).

Garnett also believed race-was a factor when (1) she was not included on the list of individuals moving with her team to another building, and (2) immediate action was not taken after she complained of the theft of items from her desk. (Id. at Ex. 1 at pp.49-50; Ex. 1 at Dep. Ex. 1 at ¶¶ 4, 5). Lisa DiStefano coordinated the move. (Id. at Ex. 1 at p.50). Garnett was approved to work from home and,' at the time, was working remotely. (Id. at Ex. 1 at pp. 40, 51). When Garnett discovered that her name was not on the -actual- move list, she called DiStefano. (Id. at p.51). DiStefano told Garnett that she did not realize that Garnett was not on the list. (Id.). Garnett’s “List of Concerns” explains that DiStefano’s information was not accurate; when Garnett expressed her concern, a “rush order” was placed to have her assigned to an area. (D.I. 27 at Ex. 1 at Dep. Ex 1 at ¶ 4). Garnett complained thát she was placed in a space that was not comparable to those assigned to her teammates. (Id.).

[505]*505Garnett testified that in preparation for the move to another building, she packed up her things only to discover upon her return from vacation that some items were stolen. (Id. at Ex. 1 at pp. 33-34). Garnett complained to DiStefano, but she took no action. (D.I. 27 at Ex. 1 at Dep. Ex 1 at ¶ 5). Garnett’s “List of Concerns” explains that when another associate complained of stolen items, “all of a sudden” DiStefano completed a report and contacted security. (Id.). Garnett was not reimbursed for her stolen items, and testified that a white person “got their money back.” (Id. at Ex. 1 at pp. 36-38).

Garnett testified that she thought she deserved in mid-2012 to be promoted to Senior Auditor II but, at the time of her deposition, she was not fully aware of that position’s job requirements, (Id. at Ex. 1 at p.60). Garnett did not know how the decision was made to promote an employee from Senior Auditor I to Senior Auditor II, and assumed the decision was made by the manager and the audit director. (Id. at Ex. 1 at p.60). She believed that she should have been promoted based upon the level of what she had performed, the additional tasks she accepted, and her coaching of other senior auditors. (Id. at Ex. 1 at p.61).

According to Kulp, a Senior Auditor II is expected to perform excellent individual audit work, work independently, and lead others performing audit work. (Id. at Ex. 2 at ¶8). Generally, Bank of America does not promote an associate from Senior Auditor I to Senior Auditor II until the associate has been rated “exceeds expectations” in both overall performance categories on their year-end performance review for at least a year, if not two. (Id.). As of mid-2012, Kulp believed that Garnett’s performance was not at the level of a Senior Auditor II. (Id.).

On January 23, 2013, Kulp met with Garnett for her 2012 year-end performance review. (Id. at Ex. 2 at ¶9). Kulp rated Garnett’s job performance as “meets expectations” in both categories overall, and identified areas for Garnett to improve her performance. (Id. at Ex. 1 at pp.96-98; Ex. 1 at Dep. Ex. 4; Ex. 2 at ¶ 9). During the review, Kulp addressed additional complaints that she had received about Gar-nett singing and humming in the office and Garnett’s interactions with her co-workers. (Id. at Ex. 1 at pp.100-01; Ex. 2 at ¶ 10). According to Kulp, Garnett became upset, claimed that what was reported were lies, and indicated that she did not wish to discuss the issues any further. (Id. at Ex. 1 at pp. 101-03; Ex. 2 at ¶ 10). Garnett told Kulp that she believed there was a vendetta against her and a racial issue in the group, but, according to Kulp, Garnett did not provide her with information that indicated race had anything to do with it. (Id.

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243 F. Supp. 3d 499, 2017 WL 1074358, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40214, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garnett-v-bank-of-america-ded-2017.