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Gladys SOTOMAYOR, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITY OF NEW YORK, New York City Department of Education, Fred Walsh, Jeanette Smith, Defendants-Appellees

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit2013-04-11No. Docket No. 12-2319-cv
713 F.3d 163

Summary

Holding. The court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment dismissing all of Sotomayor's discrimination and retaliation claims, finding no genuine dispute of material fact and that defendants were entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Gladys Sotomayor, a Hispanic female schoolteacher employed by the New York City Department of Education since 1999, sued her employer alleging discrimination and retaliation based on her age, race, and national origin. Beginning in the 2007-2008 school year, she claimed defendants unfairly increased classroom observations, gave her negative evaluations, reassigned her duties, and subjected her to unwarranted discipline. The defendants acknowledged increased supervision but attributed it to legitimate performance and behavioral concerns.

Sotomayor pursued claims under multiple federal and state statutes, including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the New York State Human Rights Law, the New York City Human Rights Law, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. The district court granted summary judgment in defendants' favor, concluding no genuine dispute of material fact existed and defendants were entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The appellate court conducted independent review of the record and found that even construing all evidence in Sotomayor's favor, no reasonable jury could conclude the defendants' actions were motivated by discriminatory or retaliatory intent.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether employer's increased supervision and negative evaluations were motivated by age, race, or national origin discrimination
  • Whether retaliation claims could proceed based on plaintiff's protected activity (filing notice of claim, EEO charge, and lawsuit)
  • Whether adverse employment actions were supported by legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons

Procedural posture

Sotomayor appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment dismissing her employment discrimination and retaliation claims under federal, state, and local law.

Authorities cited

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Opinion

majority opinion

PER CURIAM:

Plaintiff-appellant Gladys Sotomayor appeals from the district court’s judgment dismissing her claims of employment discrimination and retaliation under federal, state, and New York City law. We hold that the district court properly granted summary judgment dismissing her claims. Accordingly, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

Sotomayor, a schoolteacher, is a fifty-six year old woman of Hispanic descent. She has been employed by the New York City Department of Education since 1999. So-tomayor claims that, beginning in the 2007-2008 school year, defendants unfairly reprimanded her, observed her classroom with unusual frequency, evaluated her classroom performance negatively, and gave her less desirable classroom assignments and duties. She argues that these actions were unwarranted and motivated by discriminatory and retaliatory animus. Defendants acknowledge that they increased their supervision of and attention toward Sotomayor, but they contend they did so to address her performance and behavioral issues.

Sotomayor filed a complaint against defendants raising claims pursuant to the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq.; Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.; the Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. § 1988; the New York State Human Rights Law, N.Y. Exec. Law § 290 et seq.; and the New York City Human Rights Law, N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-101 et seq., claiming that she was discriminated and retaliated against on the basis of her age, race, and national origin. In addition, she asserts that defendants violated the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.

After discovery, defendants moved for summary judgment. On May 24, 2012, the district court issued a Memorandum, Order & Judgment granting the motion in favor of defendants and dismissing all of plaintiffs claims. Sotomayor v. City of N.Y., 862 F.Supp.2d 226 (E.D.N.Y.2012). This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

We review de novo a district court’s grant of summary judgment after construing all evidence, and drawing all reasonable inferences, in favor of the non-moving party. McBride v. BIC Consumer Prods. Mfg. Co., 583 F.Sd 92, 96 (2d Cir.2009). Summary judgment is appropriate only when “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).

We have conducted a de novo review of the record, and we conclude that the district court properly granted summary judgment in favor of defendants for substantially the reasons articulated by the district court in its thorough and well-reasoned Memorandum, Order & Judgment. See Sotomayor, 862 F.Supp.2d 226.

With respect to Sotomayor’s retaliation claims, however, the district court discussed retaliation only in the context of the FMLA. See id. at 261-62 (declining to otherwise address allegations of retaliation because plaintiff never alleged that she had participated in other “protected activity” under federal, state, or city laws). We note that Sotomayor asserted a broader claim of retaliation; her Amended Complaint contends that defendants retaliated against her after she filed a notice of claim, filed a discrimination charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and began this action. SDNY ECF No. 13. Nonetheless, we have independently reviewed the record and conclude that, even if we assumed defendants’ actions resulted in an adverse employment action, no reasonable jury could find that such actions were motivated by a retaliatory animus. See, e.g., N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-107(7) (prohibiting retaliation “in any manner,” even absent an adverse employment action); Terry v. Ashcroft, 336 F.3d 128, 140-41 (2d Cir.2003) (Title VII & ADEA); Torres v. Pisano, 116 F.3d 625, 629 n. 1 (2d Cir.1997) (claims brought under New York state law are “analytically identical” to those raised under Title VII).

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.