Daniel v. City of New York

OPINION & ORDER

PAUL A. ENGELMAYER, District Judge:

Plaintiff Amechi Daniel, sues the City of New York (the "City"), alleging that he experienced discrimination, retaliation, and a hostile work environment due to his national origin, in connection with his employment in the City's Administration for Children's Services ("ACS"). He brings claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C §§ 2000e et seq. ("Title VII"), 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ("Section 1983"), the New York State Human Rights Law, N.Y. Exec. Law §§ 290 et seq. ("NYSHRL"), and the New York City Human Rights Law, N.Y. City Admin. Code §§ 8-101 et seq. ("NYCHRL"). The City has moved to dismiss Daniel's claims under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. Dkt. 20. For the reasons below, the Court grants the motion as to Daniel's claims under federal law, and declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over his remaining claims.

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I. Background^[1]

A. Factual Background

Daniel, who is of Nigerian origin, has worked for the City since October 26, 1998-and for ACS since September 4, 2006, SAC ¶¶ 11, 13. He is currently-and at all relevant times has been-employed as a Child Care Specialist Supervisor II in ACS's Legally Exempt Provider Unit (the "Unit"), a subdivision of the Child Care Operations Unit (which itself is a subdivision of the Child and Family Wellbeing ("CFWB") division). Id. ¶¶ 4, 8-9. The Unit investigates legally exempt childcare providers^[2] and determines whether they are qualified to provide childcare. Id. ¶ 9. As a Child Care Specialist Supervisor II, Daniel is charged with reviewing reports and records in connection with homes' certifications and recertifications to determine whether they are in compliance with program regulations; answering inquiries regarding ongoing investigations into homes; determining and reviewing applicants' eligibility for ACS services under agency criteria and formulae; and "process[ing] providers who have attended training and receive an enhanced rate of compensation from ACS." Id. ¶¶ 18-19.

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Daniel is one of four Child Care Specialist Supervisor IIs in the Unit. His Unit colleagues include a fellow Nigerian national-Olalekan Pedro-and two non-Nigerians- Natalie Barnette and Brigitte Grant. Id. ¶¶ 15, 17. The SAC alleges that all four Child Care Specialist Supervisor IIs took the same civil service examination together, have worked for ACS since September 4, 2006, "have the same evaluation," and, during the relevant time period, performed identical functions. Id. ¶¶ 16, 18. Devon Gayle supervised Daniel and his Unit colleagues during the relevant time period.

On an unspecified date in 2017, the Children's Center (the "Center")-a separate division within ACS-requested volunteers from other divisions to work overtime to compensate for a "massive shortage of workers to take care of children in its care." Id. ¶ 43. Daniel was "one of the initial employees" who responded to the request and began to pick up overtime shifts at the Center. Id. Gayle and Grant also "were granted overtime opportunities by the Children's Center," Id. ¶ 44. At an unspecified later date, Daniel stopped taking on overtime shifts at the Center "because the overtime pool was reduced as the backlog of cases became decongested." Id. ¶ 29. The SAC does not state whether, or if so why, other Unit members stopped taking on overtime shifts at the Center.

The SAC is also unclear on precisely who granted requests to work overtime shifts and when. Construing the SAC liberally, it appears that, at first, the "allocation of overtime at the [Children's [C]enter" was not decided by anyone in Daniel's Unit. Id. ¶ 41, However, after the departure from ACS of a "Dr, Williams," who appears to have been in charge of allocating overtime shifts, "Gayle .. . took over the oversight of the overtime project." Id. ¶ 56, This change occurred on an unspecified date in 2017. Id. And, the SAC alleges, "that was when the favoritism and discrimination started." Id.

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Generally speaking, the SAC alleges that Gayle denied Daniel overtime opportunities on the basis of his national origin, affording them instead to non-Nigerian Grant. Id. ¶¶ 20, 24, 31. Daniel claims that two other Nigerians at ACS, Daniel's Unit colleague Pedro and a "Mr. Karunwi" (whose job title is unclear), were also denied "the expansive overtime opportunities that. .. Gayle approved for .. . Grant." Id. ¶¶ 38-39. "On several occasions," the SAC alleges, "Gayle told [him] not to bother requesting overtime because it would be denied." Id. % 33. These denials allegedly occurred "in 2017, 2018, and 2019," and resulted in Daniel's not obtaining $30, 000 in overtime income, with adverse consequences for his future Social Security earnings and, because his pension plan contributions were lower, his pension. Id. ¶¶ 30-32, 56.

The SAC alleges, generally without specifics, ^[3] that Daniel "complained about" the allegedly discriminatory distribution of overtime shifts to Gayle "verbally on more than five occasions in 2017 and 2018, and during one-on-one meeting[s] and general unit meetings." Id. ¶ 56; see also Id. ¶ 35 (alleging generally that Daniel "complained about discriminatory overtime, based on national origin, to Gayle on different occasions" and "telling Gayle that overtime should not be granted to staff in a way that disadvantages Nigerians because of nationality"). Gayle denied Daniel's accusations. Id. ¶ 56.

Sometime in June 2018, the Unit had a meeting with the "Associate Commissioner, Ms. Marie Phillippeaux, to discuss work and issues around it." Id. ¶ 46. There, Daniel questioned the "discriminatory overtime work" and criticized an unrelated job process as not fostering accountability. Id. ¶ 47. The next day, Gayle "denigrate[d]" Daniel's work and stated that he did the least amount of work in the Unit. Id. ¶ 48, Gayle also allegedly stated that Daniel "had

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no right to speak about overtime discrimination and work assignment the way he did and if he continued he would be subject to discipline."^[4] Id. "Not long after this incident," Daniel overheard Gayle "talking to someone about how he wished not to supervise the lazy and troublesome Africans[, ] especially Amechi Daniel." Id. ¶ 51. The SAC alleges, without elaboration, that "[i]n several comments" above, "Gayle referred to [Daniel]'s national origin in remarks casting aspersion[s] on Nigerians and falsely indicting them among the work force for causing trouble." Id. ¶ 52. It further claims that at some point in spring 2019, Grant and Gayle "were talking about how Africans who are backward come to America and lay claim to rights they do not have in their countries of origin." Id. ¶ 55.

Sometime in October 2018, Gayle unveiled a new initiative that involved the monthly tracking of staff work, starting with data from August 2018. Id. ¶ 53. Daniel viewed this start date as "flawed," because he had taken three weeks' worth of vacation in August 2018, and therefore his performance that month would be unrepresentative. Id. When Daniel confronted Gayle with this view, Gayle responded that "only the Nigerians complained and he did not know why it is difficult to satisfy them." Id. ¶ 54.

Daniel continued to complain to Gayle about the allegedly discriminatory distribution of overtime shifts in 2019. That year, he lodged complaints on February 21, on an unspecified date in June, on July 18, on September 24, on an unspecified date in October, and on November 19. Id. ¶ 36. In the June complaint, Daniel "challenged th[e] ethnic distribution of overtime in the

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presence of another co-worker, Mr. Karinwi."^[5] Id. ¶ 20. In the October complaint, Daniel "had a discussion with Gayle regarding" the overtime distribution. Id. ¶ 22. In the November 19 complaint, Daniel took issue not only with overtime shifts, but also with Gayle's instructing the "staff to move to a new location against the[ir] wishes," while allowing "Grant to remain and not move." Id. ¶ 34.

In response to Daniel's June 2019 complaint, Gayle told Daniel "that he does not discriminate and that it was the Nigerians at ACS that always complain about overtime and that the situation will not change to satisfy the Africans." Id. \2l. In response to the October 2019 complaint, Gayle instructed Daniel "to go to the [Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC")] office if he wants" but that doing so "would be a waste of time." Id. ¶ 22. And in response to the November 19, 2019 complaint, Gayle "reluctantly allow[ed] Grant to move" to a new location (apparently the new location to which other staff members had been moved), and told Daniel that "he does not understand why Nigerians are so persistent and causing confusion." Id. ¶ 34.

On December 4, 2019, Daniel filed a complaint with the EEOC for Gayle's allegedly discriminatory distribution of overtime opportunities "specifically for the period [from] January 1, 2019, to October 31, 2019, where . . . Gayle afforded only Ms. Brigitte Grant, for the most part, overtime opportunities for work relating to duties and function of the CFWB division." Id. ¶¶ 23, 40; see also Dkt. 15-1.^[6] During that period, the SAC alleges, Gayle denied 11 requests Daniel made for overtime work (two in February, four in April, three in May, and two in July).

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SAC ¶ 59. "Grant was however allowed to do overtime," Daniel states. Id. The SAC does not specify when or how often Grant received overtime opportunities. Daniel's EEOC charge states that Grant was "given over-time at all times." Dkt. 15-1 at 2.

After Daniel brought the EEOC claim, Gayle allegedly "engaged in talking about him at the workplace in a manner that has diminished his character and professional standing among his co workers as he was portrayed in statements...