Scott v. Health Net Federal Services, LLC

807 F. Supp. 2d 527, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88038, 2011 WL 3489612
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedAugust 9, 2011
DocketCase No. 1:10-cv-930 (AJT/TCB)
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 807 F. Supp. 2d 527 (Scott v. Health Net Federal Services, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Scott v. Health Net Federal Services, LLC, 807 F. Supp. 2d 527, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88038, 2011 WL 3489612 (E.D. Va. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

ANTHONY J. TRENGA, District Judge.

In this employment discrimination action brought pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., plaintiff alleges (1) that she was unlawfully harassed and treated differently on the basis of her race and sex, and (2) that she was unlawfully terminated on the basis of her race and sex and in retaliation for her complaints about her harassment and disparate treatment. Presently pending are defendant Health Net Federal Services, LLC’s (“Health Net’s”) Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. No. 88] (the “Motion”) and Motion to Strike Plaintiffs Unauthorized Supplemental Pleadings [Doc. No. 122] (the “Motion to Strike”). Upon consideration of the Motion, the memoranda and exhibits in support thereof filed by Health Net, and the memorandum and exhibits filed in opposition thereto by plaintiff Gail Scott on June 17, 2011, in compliance with this Court’s Order dated June 6, 2011, the Court finds that there are no triable issues of material fact and that Health Net is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. For the reasons stated below, the Court also finds that the Motion to Strike is meritorious and will be granted.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Facts

The facts, viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiff, are as follow. Plaintiff is an African-American female. Her direct supervisor during the events at issue in this case was a white female, Roxana Worden. Worden, in turn, reported to Eileen Yaeger, who was also a white female. Throughout plaintiffs employment, all or substantially all of the employees in her department were female.

[529]*529Plaintiff is a registered nurse (“RN”). Beginning in August 2006, plaintiff worked for Health Net as a Transition Care Manager. In this capacity, plaintiff conducted pre-admission counseling and prospective discharge planning activities. According to Health Net, by June 2008, plaintiff began to have performance problems, which resulted in the issuance of Performance Improvement Documents (“PIDs”) in June 2008 and April 2009. In subsequent meetings and correspondence, plaintiff complained about Worden’s attitude and demeanor toward plaintiff, the accuracy of information that Worden included in the April 2009 PID, and Health Net’s response to her complaints. In a statement disputing the April 2009 PID, plaintiff stated:

None of the statements supplied by [Worden] about me are true ... Is this also about the evil twins [who] many have fought to leave behind?[’] I hope not, but like the old man’s lament, T married 8 times, this one is the 9th marriage, and I have not once seen mistreatment such as this! I guess it is still so, women are often assigned the blame that is due their entire household. [Senior Organizational Effectiveness Consultant Rita Siegl] said she is not diminishing my complaint of harassment, but what about a company that does not guard against it?
None of the statements written by [Worden] about me are true, and even if they were, which I can assure that they are not, she went about addressing herself to me the wrong way ...

Statement of the Problem, Siegl Dec, Ex. 6 [Doc. No. 89-1, at 35], When asked what she meant by a reference to the “evil twins,” plaintiff responded that she mean racism and sexism.

In June 2009, after a meeting with Worden, plaintiff complained to Phil Davis, a Corporate Vice-President, that she felt Worden had harassed her by staring at her with her hands on her hips and legs astride while plaintiff spoke to a provider on the phone.

In September 2009, plaintiff was summoned to a meeting to discuss provider complaints about plaintiff, and these issues culminated in an additional written warning on October 1,2009.

On September 23, 2009, plaintiff met with Worden to review her 2009 mid-year performance review, in which she was rated as “Not on Track.” The review also stated that plaintiff was “still not meeting key performance standards.” In response, plaintiff commented that “concerns of harassment have persisted” and otherwise complained that the evaluation was “subjective.” 2009 Mid Year Performance Review Form, Scott Dep., Ex. 13, at 6 [Doc. No. 89-3, at 65].

On October 1, 2009, Worden, Yaeger and Siegl met with plaintiff to deliver a PID, identified as a “Written Notice (Final).” This document included complaints from health care providers in August and September, including complaints that plaintiff was “rude” and “mean,” failed to help complete authorization requests, failed to use the resources available to her to obtain necessary clinical information, and failed to provide assistance or refer an inquiry to an appropriate Health Net,employee because plaintiff did not view responding to the inquiry as part of her responsibilities. In response, plaintiff filed a statement that stated:

There are those whose purpose is to destroy the works of those more skillful, such an attitude compounded with racism and sexism ... Who gets wrote up for ‘he-said, she-said’ stuff or for what could have happened? Customers complain, but what kind of a person escalates that? The write up process feels like the Middle Passage, what my anees[530]*530tors (of the Middle Passage) went through ... Beyond that Health Net wants to be the best of its brand; 1) Stop mixing honey with rotten meat, and 2) Take care of your employees, some of whom are suffering from mental and emotional issues. EAP is a start, but for me I dance, practice yoga, write to cope, and stay in balance.

Associate’s Comments, Siegl Dec., Ex. 22 [Doc. No. 89-1, at 85].

The events that directly resulted in plaintiffs termination began in late October, 2009 in connection with what has been referred to in this action as the “Baby Girl” incident. On October 27, 2009, plaintiff met with Worden and Yaeger to ask if Health Net could execute a letter agreement with a non-certified home health agency to provide care for an infant, referred to in this litigation as “Baby Girl,” whose discharge plan included home health care. Plaintiff was directed to contact the hospital and tell them that Health Net could not authorize a non-certified provider and to work with the hospital to secure a TRICARE-certified home health agency.

On October 28, 2009, plaintiff informed Worden that the hospital could not find a home health agency for Baby Girl and requested assistance. Worden and other Health Net employees gave plaintiff resources to check in order to locate a home health agency for Baby Girl. Plaintiff was aware that Baby Girl had been discharged from the hospital, but did not inform Worden of this fact or that home health had been ordered but not secured by the hospital. At 3:30 p.m., plaintiff informed Yaeger that she could not locate a home health agency that could provide the needed services. Yaeger then contacted the hospital discharge planner who informed Yaeger that she had received a voicemail from plaintiff that morning stating that the non-certified provider could not be authorized, but did not mention any assistance with locating an alternative provider.

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807 F. Supp. 2d 527, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88038, 2011 WL 3489612, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/scott-v-health-net-federal-services-llc-vaed-2011.