Golden v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County

263 F. Supp. 3d 684
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Tennessee
DecidedJuly 14, 2017
DocketNO. 3:14-cv-01973
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 263 F. Supp. 3d 684 (Golden v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Golden v. Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County, 263 F. Supp. 3d 684 (M.D. Tenn. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

WAVERLY D. CRENSHAW, JR., CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Plaintiff Darrell L, Golden has sued the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, (“Metro”) [687]*687under Title VII of the Civil Rights1 Act of 1964 (“Title VII”), '42 U.S.C. § 2000-et seq., and the Tennessee Human Rights Act (“THRA”), Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 4-21-101, et seq. (Doc. No. 1.) Metro filed a Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 34), and Golden filed a Response (Doc. No. 40), to which Metro has filed a Reply (Doc. No. 47). For the reasons discussed below, Metro’s motion will be GRANTED as to Golden’s discrimination claim and any claims under the THRA, as.well as his retaliation claim insofar as it applies to allegations other than retaliatory discipline and miscalculation of vacation time on or after October 23, 2012. The motion will otherwise be DENIED as to his claim for retaliation under Title VII,

I. BACKGROUND

Golden worked for Metro in various capacities for several years, most recently as an equipment operator for Water Services (“Metro Water”). (Doc. No. 41 at ¶¶ 1, 6.) He resigned in March of 2015. (Id. at ¶ 2.) At times, Golden, who is African-American, was assigned to work alongside or under the supervision of another Metro employee, Marty Williams, who is white. (Id. at ¶ 20; Doc. No. 42 at ¶8.) Golden attests that, in November of 2011, a dispute arose between Williams, on one hand, and Golden and another African-American employee, Greg Hodges, on the other. The dispute allegedly arose out of Williams’ alleged refusal to perform his share of driving duties. Golden reported Williams’ refusal to the men’s supervisor, Randy Breedlove, which led eventually to Williams becoming belligerent with Golden and Hodges in front of Breedlove at a Taco Bell. During the confrontation, Williams allegedly used a racial slur, combined with the word “stupid,” to refer to Hodges. (Doc. No, 42 at ¶¶ 15-16.) Golden states that it is his understanding that Breedlove reported the incident to two of his own supervisors, Storm Water Supervisor Mickey Jackson and Storm Water Manager Jennifer Hill, who looked briefly into the matter and did not immediately discipline Williams. (Id. at ¶ 17.)

On December 8, 2011, Golden wrote to Metro Water’s manager of human resources to complain about Metro’s handling of the incident. Golden .wrote-that it was “disturbing and insulting .., that the supervisory staff went .to Marty Williams, interviewed him and took his written statement” but no one .had taken statements from Golden or Hodges. (Doc. No. 42-1 at 1.) Golden complained, “It is as [though] they only want to hear the Caucasian employee side of the story.” (Id.) He continued:

Greg is the. employee that, was racially insulted. I felt the hurt, anger, and humiliation for Greg as well when this happened. As an.African American man I felt violated as well witnessing this attack on my co-worker. I am also feeling discriminated against since no one from MWS [has] come to take my statement knowing that I was present the entire time.
[..-..]
We don’t know if Marty was discipline^] for. this or not. No one will talk to us, the two African American men that were insulted. Is this incident being ignored? Are MWS employees allowed to call the African American employees racial[ly] insulting names?
Is Marty Williams going to be discipline[d]? If not, is this going to be the norm [where] Caucasian employees can make racial insults to us?

(Id. at 1-2.) Williams eventually received a five-day suspension that was expanded to a ten-day suspension when he appealed it— although Golden maintains that this discipline was only,meted out after Golden [688]*688bypassed his and Williams’ immediate supervisors and went directly to HR. (Doc. No. 41 at ¶ 10.)

Golden maintains that, prior to’ the November 2011 incident, he was, for the most part, treated “fairly well” by Metro Water. (Doc. No. 42 at ¶ 24.) He describes a series of later events, however, that he attributes to either retaliation for his complaint or discrimination. For example, Golden alleges that he and Hodges were improperly excluded from a list of employees eligible for overtime. (Id. at ¶ 25.) He also claims that he was unfairly subjected to heightened scrutiny and discipline for issues related to the safekeeping and display of his Metro badge. For example, Golden was written up when he briefly lost and later recovered his badge at a job site in late 2012 or early 2013. (Id. at ¶ 27.) White employees, he asserts, either were not punished or had their punishments rescinded for similar infractions. (Id at ¶¶ 27-28.) Golden also claims that, at least once, he directly observed Hill instructing a security guard to make sure Golden had his badge when entering the Metro Water premises. (Id. at ¶29.) Golden provides other examples of instances where he believes that he was improperly singled out for discipline or scrutiny that was not imposed on comparably situated white employees. (Id. at ¶¶ 30, 37-38, 45.)

Golden also claims that Metro Water subjected him to improper calculation and administration of his available vacation time, in particular with regard to whether or not he was credited with thirty minutes of non-vacation time for absences that overlapped with a lunch period. Golden maintains that Metro Water’s miscalculation caused him to exceed his allotted vacation time for one month in 2013, which triggered Metro Water policies causing him to lose significant vacation time in the following months. (Doc. No. 41 at ¶ 18; Doc. No. 42 at ¶¶ 31-34.)

At least twice in 2013 or 2014, Golden was assigned to work with an otherwise “all-white” Metro Water crew, of which Williams was by then a member. On the first instance, Williams was serving as the crew’s leader, because the usual leader was absent. Golden states that he complained of having to work under Williams and was told by a manager to “get over it.” The second time that he was required to work with the all-white crew, Golden was disciplined for causing work to take too long. He maintains that that discipline was unwarranted. Golden asserts that it is generally understood at Metro Water that the all-white crew receives better treatment than other crews and does not like workers from those other crews, in particular African-American workers, to operate its equipment. (Doc. No. 42 at ¶¶ 40-44.)

Golden also complains about Metro’s 2013 handling of an issue involving what was referred to as “volunteer” work. Apparently, it was not uncommon for Metro to request volunteers to come in and work weekends as necessary. In this instance, Metro sought volunteers for Saturday work following a storm. Golden initially volunteered, but says that he developed a sinus infection. Golden claims that he was unable to reach his supervisors by phone but sent them text messages letting them know he was sick and could not attend the Saturday work. Nevertheless, he was written up the following Monday. Golden attests that these actions were inconsistent with Metro’s ordinary treatment of employees, including white employees, who missed volunteer duty. (Id. at ¶¶ 37-38.)

On August 19, 2013, Golden filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). (Doc. No.

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Bluebook (online)
263 F. Supp. 3d 684, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/golden-v-metropolitan-government-of-nashville-davidson-county-tnmd-2017.