Elzeneiny v. Dist. of Columbia

125 F.Supp.3d 18

Amina Elzeneiny, Plaintiff,

v.District of Columbia, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 09–889 (JEB)

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Signed August 19, 2015

Kathy C. Potter, Benton, Potter & Murdock, P.C., Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

David A. Jackson, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

JAMES E. BOASBERG, United States District Judge

Starting in January 2003, Plaintiff Amina Elzeneiny worked as a Budget Analyst for the District of Columbia's Office of Budget and Planning in its Office of the Chief Financial Officer. Shortly after she began, she informed the Office that she suffered from fibromyalgia, a condition that causes muscle and joint pain, as well as chronic fatigue. In the years that followed, she requested a variety of accommodations from her employer, such as the ability to work on a flexible schedule. The District agreed to nearly all of her requests.

Plaintiff nonetheless complains that months (and, in one instance, even years) often passed before it did so. She also alleges that she was harassed and retaliated against by, inter alia, being accused of wrongdoing despite a lack of evidence and being given negative and unsubstantiated feedback in her performance evaluations.

In the last few years of her tenure with OBP, Plaintiff's condition worsened, and she sought to take extended medical leave on two occasions. She maintains that she was wrongly denied such leave the second time around, and that she was retaliated against for taking this time off. Indeed, she claims that she was wrongfully terminated because she took leave, and, when she was reinstated to her position after she appealed, she was transferred to a different office where she had fewer responsibilities. She ultimately tendered her resignation approximately six months later in 2011 and now claims that she was constructively discharged.

Citing this history, Plaintiff brought this suit against the District of Columbia under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the D.C. Human Rights Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act. Following years of extended proceedings in this case, the District now moves for summary judgment. In doing so, it first argues that the three counts added in her First and Second Amended Complaints—i.e., for interference with her rights under the FMLA (Count III), retaliation under the ADA (Count IV), and retaliation under the FMLA (Count V)—should be dismissed because she did not make herself available for a deposition after including those causes of action. Although further extending pretrial proceedings is hardly a salubrious outcome, the Court believes that rescheduling her deposition is more justifiable than dismissing Counts III–V now.

The District also contends that much of the conduct Plaintiff complains of in the remaining two counts cannot be pursued in this Court. With respect to her DCHRA claim (Count II), for instance, the city notes that she elected to pursue administrative remedies, instead of filing suit, for conduct that took place prior to March 10, 2008. As to her other ADA claim (Count I), it asserts that she did not timely file an EEOC charge for much of the activity, which is a prerequisite to bringing such a claim. Considering what remains of these two counts, the District believes it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law because it acted in good faith, granted nearly every accommodation that she requested, did not subject her to a hostile work environment, and did not create an environment so severe as to justify her resignation. Given its commendable conduct in addressing Elzeneiny's litany of complaints, the Court largely agrees; as a result, it will grant Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment on Counts I–II as to almost every allegation.

I. Background

A. Factual Background

Piecing together the facts in this case is no easy task; the parties' submissions are often sparse on details, including the timing of particular events. The Court has nonetheless done its best to provide a coherent narrative. In doing so, it has credited Plaintiff's evidence and drawn all justifiable inferences in her favor, as she is the nonmoving party.

Plaintiff joined OBP as a Budget Analyst on January 6, 2003. See Opp., Exh. 2 (Declaration of Amina Elzeneiny), ¶ 2. Shortly after, she informed Gary Ayers, the Branch Chief for Administration, that she suffered from fibromyalgia, which causes muscle and joint pain, as well as chronic fatigue. See id., ¶ 3; Mot., Exh. 2 (Deposition of Amina Elzeneiny) at 15:7–20; Mot., Exh. 3 (Interrogatory Responses of Gary Ayers), Ans. No. 3. At the same time, she requested that she be allowed some flexibility in reporting to work in the morning because she sometimes had "problem[s] with coming in, in the morning, at eight o'clock every day, for example." Elzeneiny Depo. at 17:5–18:4.

Six months later, Plaintiff provided Ayers with two letters from her rheumatologist, Richard A. Wilson, Jr., both of which were dated August 7, 2003. See Mot., Exh. 5 (Letter from Richard A. Wilson, Jr., M.D., August 7, 2003) (Wilson Letter 1); Exh. 6 (Letter from Richard A. Wilson, Jr., M.D., August 7, 2003) (Wilson Letter 2). The letters indicated that Dr. Wilson's office had been treating Elzeneiny for some time and that she had been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. See Wilson Letter 1; Wilson Letter 2. They further stated that, "based on her medical condition, [she] should be allowed some flexibility in her work schedule" and "should ... be given access to a ‘handicapped access card.’ " Wilson Letter 1. The latter request was made because the building entrance she normally used had "some big stairs" and was farther away. Elzeneiny Depo. at 90:1–19.

Roughly three months later, on October 30, 2003, Ayers sent an e-mail to the security office indicating that Elzeneiny should be granted handicapped access to the building. See Mot., Exh. 11 (E-mail from Ayers to PSD Access Control (Oct. 30, 2003, 3:38 PM)). About three weeks after that, he wrote to Plaintiff indicating that "pending further medical/legal review and decision," she would be given "a special exception to the standard OBP flextime policy." Mot., Exh. 7 (E-mail from Ayers to Elzeneiny (Nov. 21, 2003, 12:33 PM)). Specifically, she would "be allowed to attach [her] doctor's letter to a signed flextime form as the only required proof of [her] compliance with [the office's] flextime policy." Id. He also informed her that she would "be allowed to sign-in on a liberal, non-predetermined flextime basis, as long as [she] maintain[ed] a standard 40–hour work week," that she would "be allowed to perform some work at home," and that she would also be given a notebook computer for "work-at-home purposes." Id.

In December of that year, Plaintiff was asked to move to a cubicle closer to the Branch Chief's office. See Mot., Exh. 9 (E-mail from Ayers to OBP—All Staff (Dec. 4, 2003, 4:47 PM)). The parties dispute whether she was the only staff member asked to relocate, compare Elzeneiny Depo. at 48:15–17 with Ayers Interrogs., Ans. No. 9; in any event, she felt that she could not do so because it would require her to reorganize her desk during a very busy time, and she was fatigued and in pain as a result of her condition. See Elzeneiny Depo. at 51:8–52:4. She thus promptly contacted her internist, Dr. Mahmoud Mustafa, to discuss the move. See id. at 46:4–17. She claims that while she was on the phone, Ayers "stood behind [her] right at the cubicle ... for 45 minutes." Id. at 46:18–21. He did so despite the fact that she told him she was on a personal call. See id. at 46:1–18.

Afterwards, Dr. Mustafa sent Dallas Allen, the Director of Budget Formulation, a letter indicating that he was "concerned" that Elzeneiny's medical issues had not been "fully taken into consideration regarding the proposed re-location of her work station" and "requesting that [the office's] decision to relocate Ms. Elzenieny [sic ] be re-evaluated after an in depth review of her disability." Mot., Exh. 10 (Letter from Mustafa to Allen, Dec. 10, 2003). Although the agency's EEO Officer, Teresa Wilson, concluded that "management's request for [Plaintiff] to relocate was ‘reasonable,’ and did not present an undue burden on [her]," "OBP ultimately granted her request" to remain at her work station. See Ayers Interrogs., Ans. No. 9.; see also Elzeneiny Depo. at 49:17–20.

Over the next several months, in the Spring of 2004, C. Ayo Bryant, the Special Assistant to the Director, indicated in two separate memoranda that Elzeneiny had been approved for a variety of accommodations. The first memo, dated February 26, 2004, stated that Elzeneiny was approved for: 1) "an ergonomic chair with specifications designed to meet the particular needs of [her] disability"; 2) a "flexible arrival time" and permission to "work as many or as few hours each workday ... so long as [she] complete[d] eighty hours in a two-week tour of duty"; 3) "a desktop printer ... located in [her] workspace"; 4) "Handicap Access to the Wilson Building Worksite"; 5) "approval to travel by Taxi rather than Metro rail for work-related local travel"; and 6) permission to remain at her workstation "until and unless an adjustment is indicated as the result of a significant business operation change." Mot., Exh. 12 (Memorandum from Bryant to Elzeneiny, Feb. 26, 2004).

The second memo, dated May 7, 2004, reiterated these accommodations and stated that she was also approved to use "a laptop on an as needed basis upon [her] request," even though OBP had generally "limited the regular use of laptop computers to ... Branch chiefs and above." Mot., Exh. 13 (Memorandum from Bryant to Elzeneiny, May 7, 2004). This later memo also stated that any of "[t]he accommodations ... that ha[d] not already been provided [would] become effective on Monday May 10, 2004," and that the office would "schedule a follow-up meeting at the end of ninety days ... to review...