Puleo v. Texana MHMR Center

187 F. Supp. 3d 769, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90377, 2016 WL 3792746
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedMay 9, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 3:13-cv-00393
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 187 F. Supp. 3d 769 (Puleo v. Texana MHMR Center) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Puleo v. Texana MHMR Center, 187 F. Supp. 3d 769, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90377, 2016 WL 3792746 (S.D. Tex. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

GEORGE C. HANKS, JR., UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE -

Barbara Puleo filed this lawsuit against Texana MHMR Center (“Texana”), alleging that it violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against her on the basis of sex, sexual harassment, and retaliating against her. She also alleges that Texana violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (the “ADEA”) by discriminating against her because of her age.

Texana has now; moved for summary judgment oil all of Puleo’s claims. (Dkt. 21, 48). Essentially,' Texana contends that there is no evidence to support Puleo’s allegations of gender or age discrimination or retaliation, and that Puleo’s discharge was proper because she violated-Texana’s internal policies regarding confidentiality and HIPAA compliance. The Court hereby GRANTS summary judgment in favor of Texana. ■ ■

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Texana is non-profit organization that provides mental health care and services to residents in Austin, Colorado, Fort Bend, Matagorda, Waller, and Wharton Counties. Texana alleges that is a unit of local government under Texas law. Texana has approximately 800 employees.

Puleo was a case manager at Texana’s Bay City clinic from March 2003 until November 2014. A number of Puleo’s fellow case managers were female, and only one was male. Puleo’s supervisors were both males, Willie Welch, the Clinic Manager, and Frank Solis, the Clinical Team Leader.

Puleo alleges that, prior to August 2012, she performed her'duties as a case manager so well that she had earned “the highest productivity points per assigned client.” However, Puleo alleges that she was also at that time being subjected to repeated, but unspecified, “acts of unlawful discrimination which was motivated by her Sex and Gender (female).” According to Puleo, these acts caused her to take an extended medical leave from August 2012 through October 2012.

When she returned from medical leave in October 2012, Puleo alleges that the conditions of her employment had been altered and that she had, in effect, been demoted by being assigned to a group of clients known as “SP-1 clients,” and this change caused her productivity to decline. In contrast, Puleo alleges that her male coworker had been assigned eight new “SP-3” clients during her leave, “which had the effect of enhancing his productivity.” After Puleo filed two internal written complaints in February 2013, she was assigned additional new SP-3 clients, but she also alleges that this male co-worker continued to be assigned new SP-3 clients as well.

According to Puleo, after she formally complained about the re-assignment of [776]*776clients, both Welch and Solis began to retaliate against her and they “directly harassed her.” Specifically, she alleges that, on February 18, 2013, Solis “questioned] [her] in a harsh and degrading manner” about a particular incident, and that this incident was negatively reported on her yearly evaluation on February 20, 2013. Puleo also alleges that, during a subsequent February 20, 2013 meeting, both Welch and Solis “spoke[ ] to [her] in a very harsh and degrading manner,” and that both Solis and Welch “interruptfed] her work,” and they negatively reviewed her work, even though “Welch and Frank Solis knew that this was harassment and that they were intentionally withholding the tools needed to accomplish her expected performance goals.” Puleo also alleges that Welch intentionally miscalculated her hours worked in April 2012 and February 2Q13, and that he refused to correct these mistakes even though Puleo inform him of the correct numbers and requested an adjustment in her performance rating. Puleo also alleges that her male coworker was held to “different standards,” and that he was assigned better work while she was “prevented from doing her job.” According to Puleo, all of these acts were done “to harass her and [were] motivated her sex and Gender and intended to be in retaliation against on account of her complaints about her sex and gender discrimination.”

Further, Puleo alleges that she was discriminated against “on account of her age and protected activity” because she unsuccessfully applied for another position as “MOOT day time screener at the Wharton Clinic” in April 2013. Puleo alleges that she applied “when the position was vacant, that she was the best qualified candidate, that after she applied for the position, [Texana] continued to interview candidates and ultimately hired a much younger person with less experience and qualifications than Plaintiff.” Puleo alleges she was denied this position because Texana improperly discriminated her on the basis of gender, age, and her past protected activity of internally reporting alleged harassment.

Puleo filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on May 10, 2013, complaining of “discrimination which was motivated' by my female gender,” including better work assignments being given to her male coworker, and that Solis and Welch spoke “harshly” to her, negatively reviewed her performance, and erroneously calculated her work hours, while her male co-worker was treated more favorably. She also complained that she had applied for a transfer to a new position, but had been denied that transfer due to age discrimination because she was approximately 52 years old.

Puleo filed this lawsuit on October 29, 2013. In November 2014, Puleo was fired by Texana. Puleo then added an additional cause of action, claiming that she was improperly terminated because she provided confidential documents to her attorney for use and discovery in this lawsuit, an act which Texana contended violated the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”). However, Puleo argues that her termination was improper because “it was also motivated by her sex.” Further, Puleo contends that a male coworker also violated HIPAA during his employment, but he was not terminated or disciplined. Puleo filed a second Charge of Discrimination with, the EEOC on December 29, 2014, alleging that Texa-na employees . Dot Preisler and Lori Marcus had terminated her for violating HI-PAA after she provided documents gained during her employment to her attorney for use in this lawsuit. Puleo alleged that another male employee had also violated HI-PAA by “transporting two patients (who are not related) in the same company vehicle for their medical appointments.”

[777]*777Texana now moves for summary judgment on all of Puleo’s claims. The Court has considered the relevant motions, the briefing, and the record in this case. The Court finds that summary judgment should be GRANTED for Texana.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Texana’s Motion for Summary Judgment is governed by Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Under this rule, a reviewing court “shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). A fact is “material” if its resolution in favor of one party might affect the outcome of the suit under governing law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.,

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Bluebook (online)
187 F. Supp. 3d 769, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 90377, 2016 WL 3792746, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/puleo-v-texana-mhmr-center-txsd-2016.