Chan v. Children's Nat'l Med. Ctr.

AMOS CHAN CHAN JR., Plaintiff, v. CHILDREN'S NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 18-2102 (CKK)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

January 8, 2021

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Plaintiff Amos Chan Chan brings this action against his former employer Defendant Children's National Medical Center ("CNMC"). Mr. Chan Chan retains two surviving claims in this case: (1) a retaliation claim under the District of Columbia Human Rights Act ("DCHRA") in Count III of his Amended Complaint; and (2) a retaliatory hostile work environment claim under the DCHRA in Count IV of the Amended Complaint. See Am. Compl., at ¶¶ 37-42. The Court previously dismissed, in its September 18, 2019 order, Mr. Chan Chan's wage and hour claims in Counts I and II of the Amended Complaint. See Sept. 18, 2019 Order, ECF No. 27.

CNMC has now filed its Motion for Summary Judgment, seeking the dismissal of Mr. Chan Chan's remaining claims for retaliation in Counts III and IV of the Amended Complaint. Upon consideration of the briefing, the relevant authorities, and the record as a whole,¹ the CourtGRANTS CNMC's Motion for Summary Judgment and DISMISSES Mr. Chan Chan's remaining claims in Counts III and IV of the Amended Complaint.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Mr. Chan Chan's Employment at CNMC

Mr. Chan Chan began his employment with CNMC on November 30, 2009, at CNMC's Sheikh Zayad Hospital Campus, located at 111 Michigan Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20010. See Def.'s Stmt. of Facts, at ¶ 1. CNMC initially hired Mr. Chan Chan to work "as a non-exempt, full-time Cook in the Food and Nutrition Department at Children's Hospital." Id. at ¶ 2. Throughout his CNMC employment, Mr. Chan Chan was a member of the Service Employees International Union, Local 722, AFL-CIO. See id. at ¶¶ 3-4. Additionally, Mr. Chan Chan duly "received a copy of CNMC's employee handbook, which includes an overview of CNMC's personnel policies." Id. at ¶ 5. Mr. Chan Chan also had "access to CNMC's personnel policies via CNMC's employee intranet." Id. at ¶ 6.

In July 2014, Mr. Chan Chan transferred to a position as a "Floor Tech[nician]" within the Environmental Services ("EVS") Department at CNMC. Id. at ¶¶ 7-12; see also Pl.'s Stmt. of Add'l Facts, at ¶ 2. Floor technicians within the EVS Department are responsible for cleaning carpets, disinfecting hard surface floors, and disposing of floor care chemicals. See Pl.'s Stmt. of Add'l Facts, at ¶ 2(a)-(f). Floor technicians are also expected to "perform[] routine cleaning as needed," including removing "trash and soiled linens." Def.'s Mot., Ex. I (Job Description), at 3. As a floor technician, CNMC also required that Mr. Chan Chan arrive to work on time and at the appropriate location for his shift. See id. at 4; Def.'s Stmt. of Fact, at ¶ 18. Mr. Chan Chan "worked the 11:00 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. shift . . . throughout his employment" at CNMC as a floortechnician, Def.'s Stmt. of Fact, at ¶ 12, with the possibility of occasional overtime shifts, where approved, see Pl.'s Stmt. of Add'l Facts, at ¶¶ 8-9.

Over the course of his tenure as a floor technician, Mr. Chan Chan had multiple CNMC supervisors within the EVS Department. Mr. Chan Chan's direct EVS supervisor was Ms. Mavis Appleby. See Def.'s Stmt. of Facts, at ¶ 13. As a CNMC supervisor, Ms. Appleby had the authority to "conduct performance evaluations" and "write-up employees" for disciplinary reasons, but she could not "promote, demote, or fire employees." Pl.'s Stmt. of Add'l Facts, at ¶ 4. While Mr. Chan Chan was working at the EVS Department, Ms. Appleby reported to a supervisor named Ms. Janae Camp. See id. Ms. Appleby also reported to another supervisor in the EVS Department named Ms. Lawanda Pope, who additionally served as Mr. Chan Chan's second-level supervisor. See Def.'s Stmt. of Fact, at ¶ 14. Ms. Pope worked as an office manager for the EVS Department. See Pl.'s Stmt. of Add'l Facts, at ¶ 5. In that role, Ms. Pope was responsible for reviewing time records submitted by EVS Department employees, including Mr. Chan Chan. See Def.'s Mot., Ex. H (Pope Decl.), at ¶ 12. Finally, Ms. Pope reported to Mr. Nikolas Mantasas, the EVS Department Director. Pl.'s Stmt. of Add'l Facts, at ¶ 6.

B. Mr. Chan Chan's Discrimination Complaints

During his time in the EVS Department from 2014 through 2017, Mr. Chan Chan lodged numerous complaints against his EVS Department supervisors. First, Mr. Chan Chan verbally complained to Ms. Janae Camp in August 2014 that Ms. Appleby was treating him in a discriminatory manner and assigning him tasks that he was incapable of finishing on time. See id. at ¶¶ 12-13. For example, Ms. Appleby required Mr. Chan Chan to perform "housekeeping work and clean restrooms," as well as collect blood bags for disposal. Id. at ¶ 37. A few months later, in September 2014, Mr. Chan Chan again complained verbally to Ms. Camp about Ms. Appleby,this time specifying that Ms. Appleby treated Mr. Chan Chan differently "because he was from Africa." Id. at ¶ 14. Ms. Appleby, however, later learned of Mr. Chan Chan's verbal discrimination complaints to Ms. Camp, see id. at ¶ 16, and subsequently assigned Mr. Chan Chan "more jobs than other employees," id. at ¶ 18.

In 2015, Mr. Chan Chan raised additional employment complaints, most of which materialized through emails. In August 2015, Mr. Chan Chan emailed Ms. Camp a complaint regarding "race/color, discrimination, and harassment," stating that "there should be no harassment on the job because of the color of a person." Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 3 (Aug. 25, 2015 Email), at 1. Then, on September 17, 2015, Mr. Chan Chan sent another email to Ms. Camp, again complaining of Ms. Appleby's behavior and alleging discrimination on the basis of "who [he was]." Pl.'s Stmt. of Add'l Facts, at ¶ 23. Mr. Chan Chan also sent three emails to Mr. Mantasas, the EVS Department Director, further complaining of Ms. Appleby's supervisory conduct. See id. at ¶ 25. And on September 30, 2015, Mr. Chan Chan emailed Ms. Denise Cooper, the HR Program Director of Labor & Compliance at CNMC, complaining of harassment from his supervisors. See id. at ¶ 26.

Mr. Chan Chan also filed two formal administrative complaints in 2015. First, Mr. Chan Chan filed a complaint against CNMC on September 11, 2015 with the U.S Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration ("OSHA"). See Pl.'s Stmt. of Add'l Facts, at ¶ 31. In this OSHA complaint, Mr. Chan Chan lamented the fact that he needed to use a "floor finishing chemical" on the job, and that CNMC failed to provide the appropriate "personal protecti[ve] equipment" needed for this type of work. Id. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Chan Chan also submitted an Intake Questionnaire form to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") on September 30, 2015. See id. at ¶ 29; Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 8 (EEOC Intake Form), at 1.In this EEOC intake document, Mr. Chan Chan again complained that his CNMC supervisors had called him "African," specifically referencing Ms. Appleby and another CNMC supervisor named Mr. Rodney Hunter. Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 8 (EEOC Intake Form), at 2. On November 13, 2015, however, the EEOC issued Mr. Chan Chan a Dismissal and Notice of Right to Sue Letter, indicating that the agency could not conclude that Mr. Chan Chan's allegations established a violation of law. See Def.'s Stmt. of Facts, at ¶ 66; Def.'s Mot, Ex. A (Chan Chan Dep.), at 182:17-22.

Finally, Mr. Chan Chan's pattern of employment complaints continued into the 2017 work year. On April 24, 2017, Mr. Chan Chan sent another email to the EVS Department Director, Mr. Mantasas, complaining about "supervisor treatment" at CNMC. Pl.'s Stmt. of Add'l Facts, at ¶ 35; see also Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 11 (Apr. 24, 2017 Email), at 1. Therein, Mr. Chan Chan again cited to "several years" of disrespectful treatment from Ms. Appleby, noting that Ms. Appleby acted as a "mother" to her supervisees. See id. In his April 24, 2017 email, however, Mr. Chan Chan made no mention of his African heritage or any specific reference to race-based discrimination by any CNMC supervisor. See id. Mr. Chan Chan also testified that, in August 2017, a CNMC supervisor named "Mr. Karenja" denied Mr. Chan Chan an overtime assignment, which Mr. Chan Chan had requested. See Def.'s Mot., Ex. A (Chan Chan Dep.), at 263.

C. Mr. Chan Chan's Attendance Violations

While Mr. Chan Chan was raising complaints about his CNMC supervisors, he was also incurring a number of attendance violations on the job. As a matter of policy, all CNMC "[e]mployees are expected to be on time, appropriately dressed and ready for work at the assigned location, as scheduled." Def.'s Stmt. of Facts, at ¶ 18. To document employee attendance and punctuality, CNMC requires employees to "scan in" and "scan out" with their identification cardson time clocks at the beginning and end of their shifts. See id. at ¶¶ 20-23. CNMC issues "corrective actions" to employees who fail to scan in for their shifts, or otherwise exhibit attendance problems such as tardiness or absenteeism. See id. at ¶¶ 28-30.

Between May 15, 2015 and April 11, 2016, Mr. Chan Chan received thirteen "corrective actions." See Pl.'s Stmt. of Add'l Facts, at ¶ 43(a)-(m). Mr. Chan Chan received these corrective actions for a variety of disciplinary reasons, including missed scans, absenteeism, tardiness, and insubordination. See id. Moreover, Mr. Chan Chan received these corrective actions from four different EVS Department supervisors: Ms. Appleby, Mr. Rodney Hunter, Ms. Melissa Sutton, and Ms. Pope. See id. Notably, these corrective actions also included five separate suspensions: (1) on May 26, 2015, Mr. Hunter suspended Mr. Chan Chan for multiple missed scans, (2) on August 24, 2015, Ms. Sutton suspended Mr. Chan Chan for tardiness, (3) on October 21, 2015, Ms. Appleby suspended Mr. Chan Chan for insubordination, (4) on January 7, 2016, Ms. Appleby suspended Mr. Chan Chan for absenteeism and tardiness, and (5) on April 11, 2016, Ms....