Nasra M. Arafat v. School Board of Broward County

549 F. App'x 872
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedDecember 4, 2013
Docket13-10726
StatusUnpublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 549 F. App'x 872 (Nasra M. Arafat v. School Board of Broward County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Nasra M. Arafat v. School Board of Broward County, 549 F. App'x 872 (11th Cir. 2013).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Nasra M. Arafat, proceeding pro se, appeals the district court’s dismissal of her second amended complaint against the School Board of Broward County (Board). Arafat alleged that the Board (1) sexually harassed her, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(l) (Title VII); (2) displayed disparate treatment on the basis of race, national origin, and religion, in violation of Title VII, § 2000e-2(a)(l); (3) retaliated against her, in violation of Title VII, § 2000e-3(a); (4) discriminated against her on the basis of age, in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), 29 U.S.C. § 623(a)(1); and (5) paid her less than equally situated male counterparts, in violation of the Equal Pay Act (EPA), 29 U.S.C. § 206(d).

On appeal, Arafat maintains that she pleaded sufficient facts to support each of her five substantive claims. We review de novo the district court’s grant of a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Mills v. Foremost Ins. Co., 511 F.3d 1300, 1303 (11th Cir.2008). To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter to make a claim for relief that is plausible on its face. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). A complaint that merely provides “a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action” is inadequate. Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).

After careful review of Arafat’s complaint, we conclude that the district court properly dismissed all claims with prejudice and accordingly affirm.

I. Title VII Claims

A. Hostile Work Environment

Title VII prohibits employers from sexually harassing employees and thereby creating a hostile work environment. Reeves v. C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc., 594 F.3d 798, 807 (11th Cir.2010) (en banc). To plead a prima facie case, a plaintiff must allege that (1) she belongs to a protected group, (2) she has been subject to unwelcome harassment, (3) the harassment was based on her gender, (4) the harassment was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the terms and conditions of employment and create a discriminatorily abusive working environment, and (5) there is a basis for holding the employer *874 liable. See Mendoza v. Borden, Inc., 195 F.3d 1238, 1245 (11th Cir.1999) (en banc).

At a minimum, Arafat’s complaint fails to satisfy the fourth element of this test. The fourth element includes both a subjective and objective aspect. Id. at 1246. Even if an employee perceives that harassment is severe and pervasive, her claim must fail if that perception it not objectively reasonable. Id. We apply a four factor test to determine objective reasonableness: (1) the frequency of the conduct; (2) the severity of the conduct; (3) whether the conduct is physically threatening or humiliating; and (4) whether the conduct unreasonably interferes with the employee’s job performance. Id. Generally, “isolated incidents (unless extremely serious) will not amount to discriminatory changes in the terms and conditions of employment.” Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775, 788, 118 S.Ct. 2275, 2283, 141 L.Ed.2d 662 (1998) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Arafat alleged a single incident of misconduct, in which a high school employee touched her shoulder while escorting her to a different location in the school. Such fleeting contact, unaccompanied by sexual suggestiveness or aggression, is insufficient to make Arafat’s perception of severe and pervasive harassment objectively reasonable. Id.

B. Disparate Treatment

To state a claim for disparate treatment under Title VII a plaintiff must show that: (1) she is a member of a protected class; (2) she was qualified for the position; (3) she suffered an adverse employment action; and (4) she was treated less favorably than a similarly-situated individual outside her protected class. Maynard v. Bd. of Regents, 342 F.3d 1281, 1289 (11th Cir.2003). When comparing her treatment to a non-protected employee under the fourth element, the plaintiff must show that she and the other employee were similarly situated in “all relevant respects.” Holifield v. Reno, 115 F.3d 1555, 1562 (11th Cir.1997) (per curiam). If a plaintiff fails to show the existence of a similarly-situated employee, judgment as a matter of law is appropriate where no other plausible allegation of discrimination is present. See id.

Arafat alleged that the Board discriminated against her by paying her too little, reducing her work hours, issuing negative evaluations, terminating her employment, and refusing to let her attend a public job fair. The district court properly determined that her allegations were too “tenuous” and “conclusory” to support her claims. Arafat generically referenced younger males, but nowhere in her complaint does she identify any valid comparators to undergird her disparate treatment claims. Her allegations, therefore, do not plausibly suggest intentional discrimination, and her disparate treatment claims fail as a result.

C. Retaliation

To state a claim for retaliation under Title VII, a plaintiff must allege the following elements: (1) she participated in an activity protected by Title VII; (2) she suffered an adverse employment action; and (3) there is a causal connection between the participation in the protected activity and the adverse action. Pipkins v. City of Temple Terrace, 267 F.3d 1197, 1201 (11th Cir.2001). Under the first element of this test, filing a complaint as Arafat did is protected. A Title VII retaliation claim cannot be established, however, if plaintiff was objectively unreasonable in believing that the conduct she complained of was illegal. See Dixon v. The Hallmark Cos., 627 F.3d 849, 857 (11th Cir.2010).

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Bluebook (online)
549 F. App'x 872, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nasra-m-arafat-v-school-board-of-broward-county-ca11-2013.