Fincher v. Depository Trust and Clearing Corp., No. 08-5013 (2d Cir. 2010)
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08-5013-cv Fincher v. Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. 1 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS 2 FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT 3 August Term, 2009 4 (Argued: October 15, 2009 Decided: May 14, 2010) 5 Docket No. 08-5013-cv 6 ------------------------------------- 7 CYNTHIA M. FINCHER, 8 Plaintiff-Appellant, 9 - v. - 10 DEPOSITORY TRUST AND CLEARING CORPORATION, 11 Defendant-Appellee. 12 ------------------------------------- 13 14 Before: SACK, LIVINGSTON, and LYNCH, Circuit Judges. Appeal from the award of summary judgment by the United 15 States District Court for the Southern District of New York 16 (William H. Pauley, Judge) dismissing plaintiff Cynthia Fincher's 17 employment discrimination and related claims against her former 18 employer, the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation. 19 plaintiff alleges, in part, that the defendant retaliated against 20 her for bringing a complaint of discrimination by declining to 21 investigate that complaint. 22 failure to investigate a complaint of discrimination cannot be 23 considered an adverse employment action taken in retaliation for 24 the filing of the same discrimination complaint. The We conclude that an employer's Because the 1 plaintiff's remaining discrimination claims also lack merit, we 2 affirm the judgment of the district court. 3 Affirmed. 4 5 6 STEPHEN T. MITCHELL, Stephen T. Mitchell, P.C., New York, NY, for Plaintiff-Appellant. 7 8 9 FREDERIC C. LEFFLER, Proskauer Rose LLP (Rebecca L. Berkebile, of counsel), New York, NY, for Defendant-Appellee. 10 SACK, Circuit Judge: 11 The plaintiff, Cynthia Fincher, is an African-American 12 woman who was employed by the defendant, Depository Trust and 13 Clearing Corporation ("DTCC"). 14 product manager in the company's International Tax Department. 15 Thereafter, she was a Senior Auditor in the Financial/Operations 16 Division of the company's Audit Department. 17 employment on June 5, 2006. 18 United States District Court for the Southern District of New 19 York alleging that she was the victim of racial discrimination 20 with respect to training opportunities, performance evaluations, 21 and salary decisions during her time in the Audit Department. 22 She also claimed that she was subjected to unlawful retaliation, 23 a hostile work environment, and constructive discharge. 24 to the latter three claims was Fincher's contention that DTCC 25 failed to investigate a complaint of discrimination that she 26 allegedly made to the company's senior director of employee 27 relations. She first held the position of She resigned her She subsequently brought suit in the 2 Central 1 Upon motion for summary judgment by DTCC, the district 2 court (William H. Pauley, Judge) dismissed all of Fincher's 3 claims. 4 investigate her complaint of discrimination was itself an act of 5 retaliation for making the discrimination complaint, and that it 6 also contributed to a hostile work environment and her 7 constructive discharge. 8 her underlying discrimination claims on the ground that the 9 district court improperly disregarded her deposition testimony Fincher appeals, arguing that DTCC's failure to Fincher also challenges the dismissal of 10 that her manager at the defendant's auditing department told her 11 that she had been given inadequate training because of her race. 12 Accepting as we must at this stage of the proceedings 13 that Fincher's testimony to the effect that DTCC failed to 14 investigate her complaint of racial discrimination is true, we 15 nonetheless conclude that such a failure does not constitute an 16 adverse employment action taken in retaliation for the filing of 17 the same discrimination complaint. 18 has failed to raise a triable issue of material fact as to her 19 other claims of retaliation, or her claims of hostile work 20 environment or constructive discharge. 21 has failed to support her underlying discrimination claims with 22 more than a "scintilla of evidence," summary judgment as to those 23 claims was also proper. 24 We also conclude that Fincher And inasmuch as Fincher We therefore affirm the judgment of the district court. 25 3 BACKGROUND 1 2 Fincher was employed by DTCC from February 2001 to June 3 2006. She worked as a product manager for the company's 4 International Tax Department until that position was eliminated 5 in October 2004. 6 Financial/Operations Division of the Audit Department, where she 7 was a Senior Auditor despite a lack of auditing experience. 8 Between October 2004 and May 2006, in order to perform her 9 duties, she relied upon several training courses provided to all She then moved to the company's 10 auditors in her department, an audit manual, and guidance from 11 co-workers. 12 Fincher testified that a co-worker on her first 13 assignment worked with an experienced manager. 14 manager was, by contrast, a consultant unfamiliar with DTCC 15 auditing procedures. 16 workers underwent unspecified training at a session that Fincher 17 was not asked to attend. 18 Fincher's first And on one occasion, two of Fincher's co- In March 2005, Fincher received an official 19 "Performance Appraisal" for her first two months in the Audit 20 Department during 2004. 21 manager, Mark Hudson. 22 to Fincher explaining that she had received "[a] good first 23 review but further audit skill development is needed before more 24 indepth [sic] feedback can be given. 25 Appraisal at 1. It was signed by the Audit Department It contained a handwritten note addressed Keep trying. . . ." 2004 She received a mark of "Fully Competent" in 4 1 every performance category for which she was graded. 2 Competent" was in the middle of the grading scale, which ranged 3 from "Unacceptable" to "Exceptional." 4 "Fully Fincher's Performance Appraisal for 2005, compiled in 5 this instance by Fincher's supervisor Donald Simpson, and then 6 approved by Hudson on January 11, 2006, reflected a grade of 7 "Requires Improvement" for most of the performance categories. 8 For this performance evaluation, managers were instructed to give 9 a grade of "Requires Improvement" only to employees in the bottom 10 5-15% of the company. 11 Competent" evaluations, reserved for employees in the middle 55- 12 65% of the company, but also several "Unacceptable" grades, 13 reserved for the bottom 0-5% of employees. 14 received a grade of "Unacceptable" under "Demonstrates the 15 technical/functional skills to do the job," and under "Can be 16 counted on to complete assignments with minimal follow-up." 17 Appraisal at 2, 3. 18 Comments" asserted that Fincher frequently failed to meet 19 deadlines and indicated that the department's managers had a poor 20 overall impression of Fincher's work. 21 Fincher's review contained several "Fully For example, Fincher 2005 A concluding section labeled "Manager's Id. at 4. On March 1, 2006, Fincher received by email attachment 22 a Project Evaluation for a particular audit that she had 23 completed. 24 every category for which an evaluation was given. 25 26 It reflected the grade of "Requires Improvement" in On March 23, 2006, Fincher received a written "Performance Warning" from Hudson. 5 It purported to document 1 various perceived shortcomings in Fincher's work, including 2 failure to complete tasks "within allotted timeframes." 3 informed Fincher that she was "being placed on written warning 4 for poor performance. . . . 5 sustain an acceptable level of performance, or further 6 performance deficiencies, will result in further disciplinary 7 action, up to and including termination of your employment." 8 Memorandum from Mark Hudson to Cynthia Fincher, "Written 9 Performance Warning," Mar. 23, 2006. 10 It also [F]ailure to immediately improve and In late March 2006, Fincher had a conversation with 11 Charles Smith, the Senior Director of Employee Relations at DTCC, 12 in the lobby of their office building. 13 and social acquaintances who occasionally lunched together. 14 According to Fincher, she complained to Smith that "black people 15 were set up to fail at [the Auditing] department because they 16 were not provided and given the same training opportunities as 17 the white employees." 18 different.1 19 Fincher Dep. 202. They were professional Smith's recollection is About one week later, Fincher and Smith had another 20 conversation as to which their recollections also conflict. 21 According to Fincher, she asked Smith whether he or his manager 22 was planning to take action in response to the complaint of 1 Although we are required to and do credit Fincher's account at this stage of the proceedings, we note that according to Smith, Fincher only made a casual remark that "if you are white they hold your hand and if you are black, they don't." Smith testified that he did not understand Fincher to be lodging a complaint of discrimination. Smith Dep. 124. 6 1 discrimination she had made during their first conversation. 2 Smith told her that the complaint would not be addressed.2 3 Fincher also testified to a conversation she had with 4 her manager, Mark Hudson, in his office in May 2006. 5 "admitted to me," she said, "that he was forced to write me up, 6 and he . . . had informed [Human Resources Employee Elizabeth] 7 Baez that I did not receive proper training, and he admitted that 8 I was discriminated against." 9 said that "[she] was not the only one being discriminated 10 against." 11 subjected to discrimination. Fincher Dep. 125. He She said he 12 He allegedly named one Herb Fray as also having been Id.3 On June 5, 2006, Fincher resigned her employment. In a 13 letter addressed to Baez, she said that her resignation was "due 14 to [] racial discrimination," including "receiving inadequate 15 training." 16 The letter concluded: 17 discrimination and because I am aware of the fact that the 18 company did not act on racial discrimination complaints brought 19 forth by myself and others." 20 21 Resignation Letter to Elizabeth Baez, June 5, 2006. "I was forced out because of racial Id. In a second letter, also dated June 5, addressed to Meriam Murphy-Jones, a Vice President in the Audit Department, 2 According to Smith, Fincher simply repeated her remark that "if you are white they hold your hand and if you are black, they don't." Smith Dep. 125. Smith testified that he asked Fincher whether she was making a serious complaint, and that, when she indicated that she was, Smith "put the wheels in motion to investigate." Id. 3 Hudson, who was not deposed, submitted an affidavit in which he denied that the conversation took place. 7 1 Fincher announced her resignation, explaining that she had been 2 "offered a position as Vice-President at another firm; therefore 3 my last day will be on Friday June 16th." 4 Meriam Murphy-Jones, June 5, 2006. 5 Resignation Letter to Then, without first making a complaint to the Equal 6 Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), Fincher brought this 7 employment discrimination action against DTCC in the United 8 States District Court for the Southern District of New York. 9 alleges violations of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. 10 § 1981, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 11 § 2000e et seq. ("Title VII"), New York State Executive Law 12 § 296, and the New York City Administrative Code § 8-502 (the New 13 York State and New York City Human Rights Laws, or the HRL and 14 CHRL, respectively). 15 She Count I of her complaint alleges that she was subjected 16 to racial discrimination with respect to training opportunities, 17 performance reviews, and salary decisions. 18 she was the victim of retaliation for making a complaint of 19 racial discrimination to Smith, and that she was subjected to a 20 hostile work environment. 21 hostile work environment claim were based on DTCC's alleged 22 failure to investigate Fincher's complaint of racial 23 discrimination to Smith. 24 a claim of constructive discharge based on the allegations of 25 retaliation and hostile work environment made in the same claim 26 for relief. Count II alleges that Both the retaliation claim and the Count II of the complaint also asserted See Compl. ¶ 17 ("[Fincher] was compelled to leave 8 1 the firm for these reasons."). 2 which alleged conduct she was challenging under which of the 3 statutes she invoked. 4 The complaint did not indicate DTCC moved for summary judgment. On September 17, 5 2008, the district court issued a Memorandum and Order granting 6 DTCC's motion and dismissing Fincher's claims in their entirety. 7 Fincher v. Depository Trust & Clearing Corp., No. 06 Civ. 9959, 8 2008 WL 4308126, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70046 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 17, 9 2008). The district court dismissed Fincher's Title VII claims 10 for her failure to satisfy the necessary precondition for such 11 claims of filing a complaint with the EEOC. 12 4308126, at *3, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70046, at *7. Id., 2008 WL 13 As to her discrimination claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, 14 the district court concluded that Fincher had failed to show that 15 the circumstances of her training, performance evaluations, or 16 compensation gave rise to an inference of discrimination, and 17 that she had therefore failed to establish a prima facie case of 18 discrimination. 19 LEXIS 70046, at *7-11. 20 appears to have discredited Fincher's testimony that Hudson told 21 her that he thought she had been discriminated against, noting 22 that Fincher's testimony "is not supported by anything other than 23 [her] ipse dixit." 24 LEXIS 70046, at *10. 25 Fincher has not offered any direct or circumstantial evidence to 26 corroborate her testimony." Id., 2008 WL 4308126, at *3-4, 2008 U.S. Dist. In reaching this conclusion, the court Id., 2008 WL 4308126, at *4, 2008 U.S. Dist. "Hudson denies making such statements and Id. 9 1 Turning next to Fincher's retaliation, hostile work 2 environment, and constructive discharge claims under section 3 1981, the district court concluded that Fincher had failed to 4 show that she suffered any retaliation for complaining of 5 discrimination to Smith because DTCC's failure to investigate 6 that complaint was not an adverse employment action. 7 WL 4308126, at *4-5, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70046, at *11-13. 8 court similarly found that the failure to investigate Fincher's 9 complaint did not create a hostile work environment, and that 10 Fincher had failed otherwise to establish a triable issue of 11 material fact as to the existence of a hostile work environment. 12 Id., 2008 WL 4308126, at *5, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70046, at *13. 13 As a result of the failure of the hostile work environment claim, 14 the court concluded that her constructive discharge claim was 15 also meritless. 16 LEXIS 70046, at *13-14. 17 Id., 2008 The Id., 2008 WL 4308126, at *5, 2008 U.S. Dist. Finally, the district court concluded that Fincher had 18 failed to establish a claim under the New York State and City 19 Human Rights laws, because the court was of the view that 20 discrimination claims under those laws were analyzed under the 21 same standards as those used for claims brought under section 22 1981. 23 at *14. 24 Id., 2008 WL 4308126, at *5, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70046, Fincher argues on appeal that DTCC's failure to 25 investigate her alleged complaint of discrimination constituted 26 retaliation for her bringing that same complaint. 10 She also 1 argues that the failure to investigate her complaint, in light of 2 the "totality of the circumstances," created a hostile work 3 environment, and amounted to a constructive discharge. 4 she argues that the district court did not give sufficient 5 consideration to her testimony about Hudson's alleged admission 6 to her that she was the victim of racial discrimination.4 Finally, DISCUSSION 7 8 I. Standard of Review 9 "We review a district court's grant of summary judgment 10 de novo, construing the evidence in the light most favorable to 11 the non-moving party and drawing all reasonable inferences in its 12 favor." 13 2005). 14 the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any 4 Allianz Ins. Co. v. Lerner, 416 F.3d 109, 113 (2d Cir. Summary judgment "should be rendered if the pleadings, A fourth argument made by Fincher, that summary judgment should not have been granted because Smith allegedly contradicted himself in the course of his deposition, does not warrant extended discussion. The contradiction identified by Fincher is the tension between Smith's initial testimony that he did not learn that Fincher had complained of racial discrimination until she resigned, Smith Dep. 48, and his later testimony that he had heard her complain about discrimination before she resigned but had not thought that she was making a serious complaint, Smith Dep. 124. First, to the extent this tension can be considered an inconsistency, it is immaterial, because the district court accepted, for purposes of summary judgment, Fincher's testimony that her late-March 2006 remarks to Smith constituted an actual complaint that he and the company failed to investigate, and we make the same assumption. Second, Smith's alleged mendacity could not in itself constitute sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case of discrimination. Cf. Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133, 147 (2000) (explaining that defendant's lack of credibility, "together with the elements of the prima facie case," may be used by fact-finder to infer intentional discrimination) (emphasis added). 11 1 affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material 2 fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of 3 law." 4 Waterbury, 542 F.3d 31, 35 (2d Cir. 2008). 5 genuine if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could 6 return a verdict for the nonmoving party." 7 (internal quotation marks omitted). 8 might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." 9 Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(2); see also Roe v. City of 10 11 II. A. "An issue of fact is Roe, 542 F.3d at 35 "A fact is material if it Retaliation Federal Retaliation Claims 12 Retaliation claims made under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, like 13 those made under Title VII, are evaluated using a three-step 14 burden-shifting analysis.5 15 849 F.2d 775, 777 (2d Cir. 1988). 16 establish a prima facie case of retaliation. 17 succeeds, then a presumption of retaliation arises and the 18 employer must articulate a legitimate, non-retaliatory reason for 19 the action that the plaintiff alleges was retaliatory. 20 employer succeeds at the second stage, then the presumption of 21 retaliation dissipates and the plaintiff must show that 5 See, e.g., Taitt v. Chemical Bank, First, the plaintiff must If the plaintiff If the Fincher does not challenge the district court's finding that her Title VII claims are barred because she failed to file an EEOC complaint, and we do not review that finding here. See, e.g., United States v. Joyner, 313 F.3d 40, 44 (2d Cir. 2002) ("It is well established that an argument not raised on appeal is deemed abandoned and lost, and that a court of appeals will not consider the argument unless it has reason to believe that manifest injustice would result otherwise." (internal quotation marks omitted)). 12 1 retaliation was a substantial reason for the complained-of 2 action. 3 Cir. 2005). 4 Jute v. Hamilton Sundstrand Corp., 420 F.3d 166, 173 (2d In this case, the district court granted summary 5 judgment in favor of DTCC based on the court's conclusion that 6 Fincher had failed to establish a prima facie case of unlawful 7 retaliation. In order to establish such a prima facie case, 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 a plaintiff must adduce evidence sufficient to permit a rational trier of fact to find (1) that [s]he engaged in protected [activity] under [the anti-discrimination statutes], (2) that the employer was aware of this activity, (3) that the employer took adverse action against the plaintiff, and (4) that a causal connection exists between the protected activity and the adverse action, i.e., that a retaliatory motive played a part in the adverse employment action. 19 Kessler v. Westchester County Dep't of Soc. Servs., 461 F.3d 199, 20 205-06 (2d Cir. 2006) (alterations incorporated); accord Lizardo 21 v. Denny's, Inc., 270 F.3d 94, 105 (2d Cir. 2001).6 22 The district court concluded that Fincher had failed to 23 establish a prima facie case of retaliation because even 24 accepting, for purposes of summary judgment, her testimony that 6 Although we refer to an "adverse employment action" in applying the test, see also, e.g., Schiano v. Quality Payroll Sys., Inc., 445 F.3d 597, 608 (2d Cir. 2006), such an action need not affect the terms and conditions of a plaintiff's employment for purposes of a retaliation claim, see Burlington N. & Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. White, 548 U.S. 53, 61-67 (2006) (discussing Title VII anti-retaliation provision); cf. Mathirampuzha v. Potter, 548 F.3d 70, 78 (2d Cir. 2008) (noting that for purposes of a Title VII discrimination rather than retaliation case, "[a]n adverse employment action is a materially adverse change in the terms and conditions of employment" (internal quotation marks and emphasis omitted)). 13 1 she complained of discrimination to Smith in late March 2006 and 2 that the company failed to investigate that complaint, such a 3 failure to investigate did not constitute an adverse employment 4 action. 5 from all retaliation, but from retaliation that produces an 6 injury or harm." 7 U.S. 53, 67 (2006). The anti-retaliation law "protects an individual not Burlington N. & Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. White, 548 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Id. at 68 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted, 19 emphasis in original). 20 [A] plaintiff must show that a reasonable employee would have found the challenged action materially adverse, which in this context means it well might have dissuaded a reasonable worker from making or supporting a charge of discrimination. We speak of material adversity because we believe it is important to separate significant from trivial harms. Because we must resolve all factual ambiguities against 21 DTCC, we accept for purposes of this appeal that Fincher made a 22 complaint of discrimination to Smith in late March 2006 and that 23 Smith was aware that Fincher was making a complaint. 24 thus satisfied the first two elements of her prima facie case. 25 We further accept for purposes of this appeal that the company 26 failed to investigate Fincher's complaint. 27 district court, however, that any such failure did not constitute 28 an adverse employment action against Fincher. 29 Fincher has We agree with the We have said that "there are no bright-line rules" with 30 respect to what constitutes an adverse employment action for 31 purposes of a retaliation claim, and therefore "courts must pore 14 1 over each case to determine whether the challenged employment 2 action reaches the level of 'adverse.'" 3 Rope Co., 108 F.3d 462, 466 (2d Cir. 1997). 4 nonetheless that, at least in a run-of-the-mine case such as this 5 one, an employer's failure to investigate a complaint of 6 discrimination cannot be considered an adverse employment action 7 taken in retaliation for the filing of the same discrimination 8 complaint. 9 several district courts in this Circuit. Wanamaker v. Columbian We are of the view We thus adopt the position previously taken by See, e.g., Thomlison v. 10 Sharp Elecs. Corp., No. 99 Civ. 9539, 2000 WL 1909774, at *4, 11 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18979, at *12-13 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 18, 2000). 12 "Affirmative efforts to punish a complaining employee 13 are at the heart of any retaliation claim." 14 1909774, at *4, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18979, at *12. 15 whose complaint is not investigated cannot be said to have 16 thereby suffered a punishment for bringing that same complaint: 17 Her situation in the wake of her having made the complaint is the 18 same as it would have been had she not brought the complaint or 19 had the complaint been investigated but denied for good reason or 20 for none at all. 21 her employer has declined to investigate her complaint will not 22 ordinarily constitute a threat of further harm, recognizing, of 23 course, that it would hardly provide a positive incentive to 24 lodge such a further challenge. 25 26 Id., 2000 WL An employee Put another way, an employee's knowledge that We do not mean to suggest that failure to investigate a complaint cannot ever be considered an adverse employment action 15 1 for purposes of a retaliation claim. It can be if the failure is 2 in retaliation for some separate, protected act by the plaintiff. 3 In Rochon v. Gonzales, 438 F.3d 1211 (D.C. Cir. 2006), upon which 4 Fincher relies, for example, the D.C. Circuit concluded that an 5 employer's failure to investigate a complaint of a death threat 6 against an employee that followed a complaint of discrimination 7 by the same employee was sufficient to state a claim of 8 retaliation under Title VII, id. at 1219-20. 9 refusal to respond to the employee's complaint of a death threat But in Rochon, the 10 was allegedly in retaliation for his separate and earlier 11 complaint of discrimination. 12 had never complained of discrimination, his complaint of a death 13 threat against him would have been investigated. 14 the initial complaint allegedly resulted in the separate 15 retaliatory failure to investigate a subsequent complaint. 16 id. at 1220 ("[A] reasonable FBI agent well might be dissuaded 17 from engaging in activity protected by Title VII if he knew that 18 doing so would leave him unprotected by the FBI in the face of 19 threats against him or his family.").7 20 Fincher similarly involve employees who allegedly suffered harms 21 resulting from, but separate from the disposition of, their 7 The employee contended that if he Id. Making See Other cases cited by Of course, in Rochon, the separate complaint that was allegedly ignored as a result of the filing of the initial complaint was of a particularly serious nature. We need not decide here whether an employer's failure to investigate a complaint of discrimination in retaliation for the filing of a separate, earlier complaint of discrimination would rise to the level of an adverse employment action. That question is simply not before us. 16 1 initial complaints of discrimination. 2 at 71 (leaving for jury question of whether unwanted reassignment 3 of employee's duties following complaint of discrimination was 4 adverse employment action for purposes of retaliation claim); 5 Washington v. Ill. Dep't of Revenue, 420 F.3d 658, 659 (7th Cir. 6 2005) (concluding that unwanted alteration of employee's work 7 schedule following complaint of discrimination was adverse 8 employment action for purposes of retaliation claim). 9 See Burlington, 548 U.S. Here, by contrast, a reasonable employee in Fincher's 10 place had nothing to lose by bringing this complaint, or another 11 one following it, because the result of bringing the complaint 12 and not bringing the complaint under the conditions alleged was 13 the same: the complaint would not be investigated. 14 been attributed to the defendant here except for the disposition 15 - or lack thereof - of the same complaint that allegedly 16 provoked the retaliatory response. 17 No action has A contrary rule could have odd consequences. A person 18 not in fact discriminated against could complain of 19 discrimination nonetheless. 20 because of his or her anger, to decline to investigate what was 21 in fact a false claim, the employee might have a viable suit for 22 retaliatory failure to investigate. 23 the law. If the miffed accused employer were, 17 We do not think that to be 1 Summary judgment dismissing Fincher's retaliation 2 claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 was therefore proper.8 3 B. State and City Retaliation Claims 4 The dismissal of Fincher's state- and city-law 5 retaliation claims must also be affirmed, notwithstanding that it 6 was based in part on the court's arguably incorrect view that the 7 city-law claims were to be "analyzed under the same standards as 8 § 1981." 9 70046, at *14 (citing Conway v. Microsoft Corp., 414 F. Supp. 2d Fincher, 2008 WL 4308126, at *5, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10 450, 458 (S.D.N.Y. 2006)). 11 courts in this Circuit have concluded, to the contrary, that the 12 retaliation inquiry under the CHRL is "broader" than its federal 13 counterpart. 14 62, 71, 872 N.Y.S.2d 27, 34 (1st Dep't 2009). 15 retaliation "in any manner" is prohibited, and "[t]he retaliation 16 . . . need not result in an ultimate action with respect to 17 employment . . . or in a materially adverse change in the terms 18 and conditions of employment." 19 see also Williams, 61 A.D.3d at 69-72, 872 N.Y.S.2d at 33-35; 20 Sorrenti v. City of New York, 17 Misc. 3d 1102(A), 851 N.Y.S.2d 8 New York State courts and district See Williams v. N.Y. City Hous. Auth., 61 A.D.3d Under the CHRL, N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-107(7); Because we conclude that the failure to investigate a complaint cannot be considered an adverse employment action taken in retaliation for the filing of that same complaint, we do not address DTCC's argument in the alternative, which the district court also did not reach, that even if the failure to investigate Fincher's complaint could be considered an adverse employment action, she could not and did not demonstrate the requisite causal connection between her filing the complaint and DTCC's failure to investigate it to make a prima facie case of retaliation. 18 1 61 (Table) (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cty. 2007) (unreported decision) 2 ("[T]he City Council enacted a less restrictive standard [than 3 the federal and state standard] to trigger a [CHRL] violation in 4 that it is now illegal to retaliate in any manner."); Pilgrim v. 5 McGraw-Hill Cos., Inc., 599 F. Supp. 2d 462, 469 (S.D.N.Y. 2009) 6 ("The prima facie standard for retaliation claims under the CHRL 7 is different [from the federal and state standard], in that there 8 is no requirement that the employee suffer a materially adverse 9 action. 10 Instead, the CHRL makes clear that it is illegal for an employer to retaliate in 'any manner.'").9 11 The functional difference, if any, between the CHRL 12 standard and that used for federal and state retaliation claims 13 has never been fully articulated. 14 Department, has said that the CHRL "rejects a materiality 15 requirement," while under Burlington, federal retaliation claims 16 must involve an action by the employer that is "materially 17 adverse." 18 34 & n.12, with Burlington, 548 U.S. at 68. 19 under the CHRL is whether a jury could "reasonably conclude from 20 the evidence that [the complained-of] conduct [by the employer] 21 was, in the words of the [CHRL], reasonably likely to deter a 22 person from engaging in protected activity," without taking 23 account of whether the employer's conduct was sufficiently 9 The Appellate Division, First Compare Williams, 61 A.D.3d at 71 & n.12, 872 N.Y.S.2d The proper inquiry The New York Court of Appeals has not yet ruled on the issue. 19 1 deterrent so as to be "material[]." 2 872 N.Y.S.2d 34 (internal quotation marks omitted). 3 Williams, 61 A.D.3d at 71, It is unnecessary for us to determine on this appeal 4 whether or to what extent the "reasonably likely to deter" 5 standard of the CHRL differs from Burlington's "well might have 6 dissuaded" test. 7 the CHRL in her brief or at oral argument. 8 that she might have made to the effect that her retaliation claim 9 should survive the arguably broader CHRL inquiry has been 10 abandoned. 11 Fincher has not made any argument touching on Thus any assertion See United States v. Joyner, 313 F.3d 40, 44 (2d Cir. 2002). 12 13 III. Hostile Work Environment and Constructive Discharge 14 In order to establish a hostile work environment claim 15 under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, a plaintiff "must show that the workplace 16 was so severely permeated with discriminatory intimidation, 17 ridicule, and insult that the terms and conditions of her 18 employment were thereby altered." 19 365, 373-74 (2d Cir. 2002); see also Meritor Sav. Bank, FSB v. 20 Vinson, 477 U.S. 57, 67 (1986) (plaintiff must demonstrate an 21 "abusive working environment" (internal quotation marks 22 omitted)). 23 incidents of harassment occur either in concert or with a 24 regularity that can reasonably be termed pervasive." 25 S.B. Thomas, Inc., 831 F.2d 1184, 1189 (2d Cir. 1987); accord 26 Whidbee v. Garzarelli Food Specialties, Inc., 223 F.3d 62, 69 (2d 27 Cir. 2000). Alfano v. Costello, 294 F.3d "A hostile working environment is shown when the Lopez v. "[T]he plaintiff must show more than a few isolated 20 1 incidents of racial enmity," Williams v. County of Westchester, 2 171 F.3d 98, 100-01 (2d Cir. 1999) (per curiam) (internal 3 quotation marks omitted), although a hostile work environment can 4 also be established through evidence of a single incident of 5 harassment that is "extraordinarily severe," Cruz v. Coach 6 Stores, Inc., 202 F.3d 560, 570 (2d Cir. 2000); Alfano, 294 F.3d 7 at 374. 8 9 Fincher argues that DTCC's failure to investigate her discrimination complaint, considered in light of "the totality of 10 the circumstances," created a hostile work environment for her. 11 But the failure to investigate did not by itself alter the terms 12 and conditions of Fincher's employment; rather, it preserved the 13 very circumstances that were the subject of the complaint. 14 Therefore the failure to investigate Fincher's complaint could 15 not itself have contributed to or constituted a hostile work 16 environment. 17 Civ. 5553, 2009 WL 3320858 at *8, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96949, at 18 *27-28 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 9, 2009) ("A hostile work environment claim 19 can succeed only if plaintiff demonstrates that the workplace was 20 so severely permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, 21 and insult that the terms and conditions of his employment were 22 thereby altered") (citing Leibovitz v. N.Y. City Transit Auth., 23 252 F.3d 179, 188 (2d Cir. 2001)). 24 Cf. Robles v. Argonaut Rest. & Diner, Inc., No. 05 Indeed, although this Circuit has not ruled on the 25 question, in the analogous context of hostile work environment 26 claims based on allegations of sexual harassment, "[federal] 21 1 courts (including district courts in this circuit) appear to have 2 uniformly rejected the notion that a failure adequately to 3 remediate sexual harassment itself constitutes an act that may 4 contribute to a hostile work environment claim." 5 City Transit Auth., No. 03 Civ. 6239, 2004 WL 1812818, at *5, 6 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16370, at *15 (E.D.N.Y. July 19, 2004). 7 Chan v. N.Y. Fincher does not identify the facts to which her 8 phrase, "the totality of the circumstances," refers. The 9 evidence that she presented to the district court was to the 10 effect that on at least one occasion, two of her co-workers were 11 invited, without her, for unspecified training, and that on at 12 least one occasion, one of her co-workers was assigned to work 13 with a supervisor who was better qualified than Fincher s 14 supervisor. 15 which was personally abusive, as a matter of law do not amount to 16 a series of abusive and pervasive incidents of discrimination, 17 nor do they include a single extraordinary one. 18 environment claim fails.10 10 We conclude that these sporadic events, none of The hostile work Several federal district courts, as well as the New York Appellate Division, First Department, but not the New York Court of Appeals, have concluded that "less egregious conduct than that required under Title VII [or § 1981] may support a hostile work environment claim under the []CHRL." Panzarino v. Deloitte & Touche LLP, No. 05 Civ. 8502, 2009 WL 3539685, at *9, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 101209, at *29 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 29, 2009); accord Williams, 61 A.D.3d at 79-80, 872 N.Y.S.2d at 40-41; but see Gallo v. Alitalia-Linee Aeree Italiane-Societa per Azioni, 585 F. Supp. 2d 520, 537 (S.D.N.Y. 2008) ("If New York City wanted to remove the 'severe and pervasive' requirement [from hostile work environment claims], it could have done so when it amended the CHRL. It did not."). Even assuming that a hostile work environment claim under the CHRL does not require a showing of severe and pervasive incidents of discrimination, Fincher has 22 1 The district court also correctly granted summary 2 judgment dismissing Fincher's constructive discharge claim. 3 Fincher's complaint, which does not raise constructive discharge 4 as a separate allegation, makes clear that the acts which she 5 alleges gave rise to a hostile work environment were the same as 6 those upon which her constructive discharge claim was based. 7 Where an alleged constructive discharge stems from an alleged 8 hostile work environment, a plaintiff "must show working 9 conditions so intolerable that a reasonable person would have 10 felt compelled to resign." 11 129, 147 (2004). 12 establishing a hostile work environment. 13 failed to establish a hostile work environment, her claim of 14 constructive discharge also fails. 15 16 17 IV. Pa. State Police v. Suders, 542 U.S. This standard is higher than the standard for Id. Because Fincher Underlying Section 1981 Discrimination Claims The district court granted summary judgment dismissing 18 Fincher's underlying section 1981 discrimination claims because 19 it concluded that Fincher had presented no evidence giving rise 20 to an inference of discrimination with respect to her training, 21 salary, or performance evaluations. 22 only one argument challenging this conclusion: that the district 23 court gave insufficient consideration to her testimony about 24 Hudson's alleged admission that she had been the victim of On appeal, Fincher makes failed to establish a hostile work environment claim under the CHRL because she has failed even to present evidence giving rise to an inference of any discrimination at all. 23 1 discrimination with respect to training.11 2 that Hudson's alleged statements were not hearsay, although the 3 district court gave no indication that it regarded the statements 4 as being such and did not rule them inadmissible. 5 district court appeared to disbelieve Fincher's assertion that 6 Hudson had made the statements attributed to him: "Fincher's 7 testimony that Hudson believed she and another co-worker had been 8 discriminated against is not supported by anything other than 9 Fincher's ipse dixit." Fincher emphasizes Rather, the Fincher, 2008 WL 4308126, at *4, 2008 10 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 70046, at *10. 11 that Hudson denied making the statements. 12 rule, a district court may not discredit a witness's deposition 13 testimony on a motion for summary judgment, because the 14 assessment of a witness's credibility is a function reserved for 15 the jury. 16 (2d Cir. 2001). 17 The district court explained Id. But as a general See, e.g., Scholastic, Inc. v. Harris, 259 F.3d 73, 87 To be sure, there is an exception for "the rare 18 circumstance where the plaintiff relies almost exclusively on his 19 own testimony, much of which is contradictory and incomplete." 20 Jeffreys v. City of N.Y., 426 F.3d 549, 554 (2d Cir. 2005); see 21 also id. at 555 (affirming grant of summary judgment dismissing 22 excessive force suit brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 where the 23 plaintiff relied exclusively on his own testimony, which was 24 "replete with inconsistencies and improbabilities") (internal 11 Fincher drew the connection between her argument about Hudson's alleged admission and her underlying discrimination claims at oral argument, although that connection was not drawn, at least explicitly, in her brief. 24 1 quotation marks omitted); see also Shabazz v. Pico, 994 F. Supp. 2 460, 470 (S.D.N.Y. 1998) (Sotomayor, Judge) ("[W]hen the facts 3 alleged are so contradictory that doubt is cast upon their 4 plausibility, [the court may] pierce the veil of the complaint's 5 factual allegations, dispose of some improbable allegations, and 6 dismiss the claim.") (internal quotation marks omitted; 7 alterations incorporated). 8 9 That exception is not applicable in this case, however. Fincher relies exclusively upon her own testimony for the 10 assertion that Hudson made the disputed statements, but her 11 testimony was not contradictory or rife with inconsistencies such 12 that it was facially implausible. 13 to be particularly ill-suited to the assessment of a plaintiff's 14 credibility at the summary judgment stage, because in such cases 15 "the only direct evidence available very often centers on what 16 the defendant allegedly said or did," and "the defendant will 17 rarely admit to having said or done what is alleged, and . . . 18 third-party witnesses are by no means always available." 19 v. Norden Sys., Inc., 151 F.3d 50, 57 (2d Cir. 1998). 20 Fincher and Hudson had a private conversation in which Hudson 21 made the remarks that Fincher imputes to him is a question of "he 22 said, she said," on which the court cannot, in the context of 23 this case, take a side at the summary judgment stage. 24 City of N.Y., No. 00 Civ. 6712, 2003 WL 23095554, at *8, 2003 25 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23266, at *26 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 30, 2003); see 26 also, e.g., EEOC v. Liberal R-II Sch. Dist., 314 F.3d 920, 924 25 Discrimination cases also tend Danzer Whether Simpri v. 1 (8th Cir. 2002) ("Although a jury might believe [the defendants] 2 and disbelieve [the plaintiff], we cannot wholly dismiss [one of 3 the defendant's] alleged [age-based comments] at the summary 4 judgment stage."). 5 remarks is not conclusory or speculative,12 as was the 6 plaintiff's testimony in the case relied upon by the district 7 court in disregarding the remarks, see Gonzalez v. Beth Israel 8 Med. Ctr., 262 F. Supp. 2d 342, 353 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) ("Gonzalez's 9 conclusory and speculative assertions that [her time records were Fincher's testimony that Hudson made the 10 tampered with] are not enough to withstand summary judgment."), 11 because Fincher was testifying to the content of a conversation 12 at which she was allegedly present. 13 rule that when the defendant moves for summary judgment, we 14 construe the evidence in the light most favorable to the 15 plaintiff and draw all reasonable inferences in her favor, 16 Allianz Ins. Co., 416 F.3d at 113, we decline to conclude at this 17 stage of the proceedings that Fincher's testimony may be deemed 18 discredited. 19 Adhering to the ordinary Although we thus accept for purposes of this appeal 20 that Fincher s account of her conversation with Hudson is 21 accurate, we conclude that his remarks do not provide an adequate 22 evidentiary basis for the denial of the motion for summary 23 judgment. 24 presentation by the plaintiff of but a "scintilla of evidence" 25 supporting her claim. 12 Summary judgment cannot be defeated by the Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. That is not to say that Hudson's alleged remarks themselves were not conclusory. See infra. 26 1 242, 252 (1986). "[The] preliminary question for the judge [is] 2 not whether there is literally no evidence, but whether there is 3 any upon which a jury could properly proceed to find a verdict 4 for the party producing it, upon whom the onus of proof is 5 imposed." Id. at 251 (internal quotation marks and emphasis 6 omitted). Hudson's alleged remarks are at best just such a 7 "scintilla" in light of their offhand, conclusory nature and the 8 lack of further support in the record for Fincher's claim. 9 The disputed remarks were, moreover, a purported 10 concession that Fincher was discriminated against; they were not 11 themselves discriminatory.13 12 been justified were Hudson's alleged remarks themselves imbued 13 with discriminatory animus, rather than a report of purportedly 14 discriminatory action. 15 293 (D.C. Cir. 2001) (concluding that plaintiff satisfied prima 16 facie burden in age discrimination case by, among other things, 17 presenting evidence of alleged statements by decision makers that 18 he was "over the hill" or "in the twilight of his career," and 19 explaining that "when decision makers, or those who have input 20 into the decision, express such discriminatory feelings around 21 the relevant time in regard to the adverse employment action 13 Summary judgment might not have See, e.g., Forman v. Small, 271 F.3d 285, Moreover, even as a purported concession the disputed remarks were indirect, with Hudson referring vaguely to the discriminatory motives of others at the company, not his own, as compelling his actions toward Fincher. Cf. Lewis v. City of Chicago, 496 F.3d 645, 651 (7th Cir. 2007) (reversing grant of summary judgment where, among other things, plaintiff's supervisor allegedly admitted to her that he had denied her a certain employment opportunity on the basis of his own prejudices). 27 1 complained of, then it may be possible to infer that the decision 2 makers were influenced by those feelings in making their 3 decisions" (internal quotation marks omitted)). 4 court correctly concluded that there was insufficient evidence of 5 discrimination to permit the action to go to trial. CONCLUSION 6 7 8 The district For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the district court. 28
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