Johnson v. Philadelphia Housing Authority

218 F. Supp. 3d 424, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150212, 2016 WL 6432913
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 31, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 15-2343
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 218 F. Supp. 3d 424 (Johnson v. Philadelphia Housing Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. Philadelphia Housing Authority, 218 F. Supp. 3d 424, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150212, 2016 WL 6432913 (E.D. Pa. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

WENDY BEETLESTONE, District Judge

Plaintiff Nathaniel Johnson brings this employment discrimination case against his former employer, Defendant Philadelphia Housing Authority, alleging disparate treatment, retaliation, and a hostile work environment based on his age and race in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (“Title VII”), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq.; and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (“PHRA”), 43 Pa. Stat. § 951 et seq. Defendant has filed a motion for summary judgment on all of Plaintiffs claims. The motion shall be granted in part and denied in part.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Plaintiff’s Employment with the PHA

Plaintiff was hired as a painter by the Philadelphia Housing Authority (“PHA”) in 1998. J.A. 61. He worked without incident under a number of supervisors during [428]*428his first 16 years at PHA until mid-2014, when he began working under Painting Superintendent Richard Andrews (“Andrews”). J.A. 93. By that time, Defendant employed between 50 and 75 painters. J.A. 395.

Almost immediately upon Andrews becoming Plaintiffs supervisor, Plaintiff and Andrews engaged in a series of conflicts over work assignments, transportation, and record keeping. J.A. 114-28. Plaintiff and Andrews’ central point of contention was Plaintiffs completion of time sheets. J.A. 117. Plaintiff described Andrews as “fussy” about paperwork, and contends that he often interrupted Plaintiffs job tasks with administrative concerns in a manner that Plaintiff described as “mean” and “downright nasty.” J.A. 117, 141. Plaintiff believes that Andrews assigned him to less desirable job tasks, often with inferior equipment and inadequate assistance. J.A. 146. For example, Plaintiff claims that he was assigned to PHA’s “raggediest” truck while other painters drove newer vehicles. J.A. 258. He also testified that he was frequently assigned to large tasks with inexperienced or apprentice workers to assist him, while other painters wex-e allowed to work in teams of more experienced workers assigned to more manageable tasks. J.A. 146. On one specific occasion in August 2014, Plaintiff recalls being assigned to go to a job site with a younger worker who, through mis-communication, accidently stranded Plaintiff with no equipment or vehicle. J.A. 162. Plaintiff alleges that Andrews ignored his phone calls reporting the situation, and Plaintiff was eventually forced to take a taxi back to the Abbottsford Homes— which served as the painters’ base office— and then received an oral reprimand for returning late from lunch. J.A, 107, 150.

Plaintiff believes that Andrews’ treatment of him was motivated by Plaintiffs race and age. Plaintiff, who is African-American, turned 52 years old during the time he worked under Andrews. J.A. 46. During this six month period, Plaintiff claims that Andrews, who was 66 years old at the time, would frequently reference Plaintiffs age in association with questions like “Why did you even come in today?” J.A. 112, 731. Plaintiff also alleged that he was told that younger workers could do the work “better and faster,” that he had “been on the job too long,” and that “maybe it’s time for you to move on.” J.A. 331-32. Plaintiff further testified that Andrews, who is also African-American, used a racial epithet in referring to him on more than one occasion. J.A. 92, 112. Although Plaintiff believes that Andrews’ treatment was motivated by race and age, he also indicated that he believed that Andrews was personally biased against him. J.A. 220. For example, he testified that Andrews, “didn’t like me,” and that often “it seemed like his focus was just to mess up my day.” J.A. 117, 220. Plaintiff specifically recalled that Andrews did not treat any other workers the way he treated Plaintiff. J.A. 118.

Plaintiff cited two younger white painters who he believes were treated more favorably, but he was unable to cite specific examples of more favorable treatment. He claimed that the two—Bill McCool and General Simons—were given better work assignments, though he could not provide specific examples of these assignments. J.A. 256. He also claimed that another younger white worker, Ed Cadowski, was given better equipment, which he identified as a “new” truck. J.A. 258. Plaintiff has also alleged that he was expected to train a younger worker, Maurice Green (“Green”), to replace him. J.A. 281. Green, who was 21 years old at the time, was one of several apprentices assigned to work with Plaintiff. J.A. 448. He remained employed by PHA after Plaintiff was terminated, but was himself terminated a few [429]*429months later while still working as an apprentice. J.A. 100-01, 448.1

Plaintiff claims that he attempted to report allegations of workplace bullying and discrimination to PHA, and in particular to Senior Labor and Employment Specialist Stacey Thomas (“Thomas”) via telephone on a number of occasions in both June and August 2014, but was ignored. J.A. 163, 269. Thomas denies speaking with Plaintiff about his conflict with Andrews, and recalls that her only conversations with Plaintiff concerned his return from a work-related injury in June 2014. J.A. 733. Defendant’s flies do not contain the record of any complaints by Plaintiff against Andrews. J.A. 431.

B. October 23, 2014 Incident

Plaintiff and Andrews’ simmering conflict erupted into a major incident at the Abbottsford Homes on October 23, 2014. At the beginning of Plaintiff’s shift, he was presented with a disciplinary notice regarding an oral reprimand for excessive lateness on several previous occasions. J.A. 170. It is undisputed that a confrontation ensued, but Plaintiff and Andrews have offered divergent accounts of the incident, with each accusing the other of being the aggressor.

According to Plaintiffs account, after he refused to sign the reprimand, he went into another room. J.A. 185. Andrews followed him, called him a “black n—-r,” and demanded that he sign the paperwork. J.A. 185. Plaintiff then asked Andrews to “stop talking to [him] as if he were a child,” after Andrews approached him and stood “eye to eye” with him. J.A. 217, 737. Plaintiff denies putting his Anger in Andrews’ face or touching Andrews. J.A. 217. By this point, several co-workers had gathered around, and two of them—Tazhay McJet-ters (“MeJetters”) and William Santee (“Santee”)—separated Plaintiff and Andrews. J.A. 219. Plaintiff denies that MeJetters and Santee had to forcibly push him away from. Andrews; instead, he describes their actions as “hugging” him and walking with him calmly away from the confrontation. J.A. 219, 220.

Andrews reported a starkly different version of the incident. He recalls that he went to find Plaintiff after hearing from Plaintiff’s foreman Thomas Caraballo (“Caraballo”) that Plaintiff had failed to properly complete his “trip sheets” to record job tasks from a prior day. J.A, 737. When Andrews found Plaintiff, he informed him that he needed to complete his trip sheets to get paid. J.A. 737. Plaintiff replied, “Don’t say a fucking thing to me!” and then began to call Andrews “derogatory” names. J.A. 737.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
218 F. Supp. 3d 424, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150212, 2016 WL 6432913, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-philadelphia-housing-authority-paed-2016.