Mayorga v. Ayers

281 F.Supp.3d 182

Javier A. MAYORGA, Plaintiff,

v.Stephen T. AYERS, Architect of the Capitol, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 15–cv–1604 (BAH)

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Signed December 7, 2017

Ellen K. Renaud, Swick & Shapiro, P.C., Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

Johnny Hillary Walker, III, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

BERYL A. HOWELL, Chief Judge

The plaintiff, Javier A. Mayorga, a Hispanic man of Nicaraguan origin currently employed as an Electronic Industrial Controls Mechanic in the Office of the Architect of the Capitol ("AOC"), initiated this action against defendant Stephen T. Ayers, the Architect of the Capitol, in his official capacity, alleging "employment discrimination based on his race and national origin" in violation of Title IV of the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 ("CAA"), 2 U.S.C. § 1311, 1317(a)(1), and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq. Complaint, ECF No. 1 ("Compl.") ¶ 1.¹ In the summer of 2014, the plaintiff applied for a promotion within AOC, but two Caucasian individuals were selected instead of him. The plaintiff claims that although he was the most qualified applicant for this position, he was not selected because of his race and national origin. Compl. ¶ 8. After the plaintiff's request for counseling with AOC's Office of Compliance and his subsequent request for mediation ended without resolution, he filed this lawsuit. Pending before the Court is the defendant's motion for summary judgment, contending that AOC had legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for selecting two individuals instead of the plaintiff and that the plaintiff cannot show that AOC's reasons for this selection were pretext for discrimination. For the reasons explained below, the defendant's motion is granted.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The plaintiff moved to the United States from Nicaragua at age twenty-five to avoid political turmoil. Def.'s Mot. Summ. J. ("Def.'s Mot."), Ex. 2, Deposition of Javier Mayorga ("Pl.'s Dep.") at 7–8, ECF No. 16–3.² In Nicaragua, he completed high school and some university coursework in electrical engineering and also worked for a refrigeration company. Id. at 6–8. After coming to the United States, the plaintiff worked in heating and air conditioning services for nearly nine years at Permanent Solutions Industries before leaving his job to attend Stratford University, where he earned an associate's degree in "Network." Pl.'s Dep. at 10–13, ECF No. 18–2; Def.'s Mot., Ex. 21, Resume of Javier A. Mayorga ("Pl.'s Resume") at 4, ECF No. 16–23. While taking classes at Stratford, the plaintiff worked for the appliance company Maytag, first as a service technician and then as a store manager. Pl.'s Dep. at 13, ECF No. 18–2; Pl.'s Resume at 3. After finishing his degree in 2003, he worked as a service technician for TK Services, Inc., for five months, where he was responsible for installing and troubleshooting the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning ("HVAC") equipment. Pl.'s Dep. at 17, ECF No. 18–2; Pl.'s Resume at 5. He then took a job at Advanced Power Control, where he worked for two and a half years as a service technician installing and troubleshooting HVAC equipment, communications equipment, transformers, and pressure sensors, among other responsibilities. Pl.'s Resume at 3.

In late 2007 the plaintiff joined AOC, an independent agency within the legislative branch responsible for maintaining and operating government buildings and landmarks including the United States Capitol, the Capitol Visitor Center, the Supreme Court, and the United States Botanic Garden. Def.'s Mot., Ex. 2, Vacancy Announcement ("Vacancy Announcement") at 2, ECF No. 16–4. The plaintiff was hired as an Electronic Industrial Controls Mechanic at the Wage Grade ("WG") 12 level, earning approximately $32 per hour. Compl. ¶¶ 3, 6; Pl.'s Dep. at 26, ECF No. 18–2. In this position, the plaintiff primarily works at the Capitol Visitor Center and is responsible for working on and maintaining the building's network operations and building automation system (BAS), which includes HVAC, plumbing, lighting, elevators, electrical monitoring, generators, utility metering, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide monitoring, and water fountains. Pl.'s Dep. at 30–32, ECF No. 18–2; Def.'s Reply Supp. Mot. Summ. J. ("Def.'s Reply"), Ex. 26, Declaration of Scott Bieber ("Bieber Decl.") ¶ 3, ECF No. 20–2. The plaintiff's supervisors rated his performance as "Outstanding" on his two prior performance reviews, and he has received numerous awards over the past several years. Compl. ¶ 6.

In 2014, the plaintiff responded to a vacancy announcement advertising multiple openings for an Electronics Technician in the Energy Management Control Systems ("EMCS") Branch of the Planning and Project Management Office within AOC, listed at the GS–10 and GS–11 salary levels. Def.'s Mot., Ex. 1, Def.'s Statement of Material Facts ("Def.'s SMF") ¶ 4 (undisputed); Vacancy Announcement at 2–3.³ The EMCS Branch is a central office that performs maintenance and operations services for the various jurisdictions within the AOC's purview, including the House Superintendent's Office, the Senate Superintendent's Office, and the Capitol Superintendent's Office. Def.'s SMF ¶ 4 (undisputed). The people hired for the vacancies would be responsible for installing, maintaining, troubleshooting, diagnosing, programming, and operating the AOC's building automation system network ("BASnet"), direct digital control ("DDC") systems, new networks in the buildings, Ethernet routers, network switches, and fiber-optic cabling in the buildings, among other responsibilities. Vacancy Announcement at 3.

Between August 20, 2014, and September 10, 2014, candidates applied for the advertised positions by submitting their resumes and answering an online questionnaire about their knowledge, skills, and abilities. Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 5–6 (¶ 5 disputed as to other facts; ¶ 6 undisputed). A Human Resources Specialist in AOC's Employment and Classifications Branch reviewed the applications and compiled a list of thirty-five candidates, including the plaintiff, who had applied and were eligible for the GS–11 level position and another list of thirty-four candidates, not including the plaintiff, who had applied and were eligible for the GS–10 level position. Id. ¶ 6. The two lists had a substantial overlap of candidates. Def.'s Mot., Ex. 3, Certificates of Eligible Candidates ("Candidate List") at 2–4, ECF No. 16–5. These lists were forwarded to the selecting official, Scott Bieber, a Caucasian man who is a Supervisory Electronics Technician overseeing the EMCS Branch of the AOC. Def.'s SMF ¶ 7 (undisputed); Def.'s Mot., Ex. 4, Deposition of Scott Lynn Bieber ("Bieber Dep.") at 4, ECF No. 16–6. Bieber reviewed the candidates and selected six, including the plaintiff, to be interviewed by a three-member selection panel. Def.'s SMF ¶ 9 (disputed as to other facts). In reviewing the candidates' applications, Bieber created a spreadsheet in which he marked each candidate's experience, including whether the candidate was employed by AOC; whether the candidate had experience with BAS, automated logic controls, network, and HVAC; and whether the candidate had worked with contractors including Alerton and Reliable. Pl.'s Opp'n Def.'s Mot. Summ. J. ("Pl.'s Opp'n), Ex. 3, Bieber Preinterview Spreadsheet ("Bieber Spreadsheet") at 1–2, ECF No. 18–3. Bieber testified that he looked only at the candidates' resumes to compile this spreadsheet. Bieber Dep. at 19, ECF No. 16–6.

Bieber asked Clifford Wallace, a Caucasian man who is a GS–12 Electronic Equipment Controls Mechanic in the EMCS Branch, and Terry Watson, a Caucasian woman who is a GS–14 Energy Program Manager within the Planning and Project Management Division, to serve with him on the selection committee. Def.'s SMF ¶¶ 10–11 (undisputed); Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 5, Deposition of Clifford Martin Wallace ("Wallace Dep.") at 4–5, ECF No. 18–5; Def.'s Mot., Ex. 6, Deposition of Terry Watson ("Watson Dep.") at 5–7, ECF No. 16–8. The plaintiff claims that "[t]ypically, an impartial member from a department outside the vacancy is included on such a selection panel, but Bieber did not include such a person." Pl.'s Opp'n, Ex. 10, Pl.'s Responses to Def.'s Statement of Material Facts ("Pl.'s SMF") ¶ 9, ECF 18–10. Bieber compiled a list of interview questions and provided that list in advance to each of the interviewers. Wallace Dep. at 16–18, ECF No. 16–7. Some of the questions were general, asking the candidates to describe their "applicable education, training, and experience," their "areas/systems of expertise," and why they wanted to join EMCS, while other questions were more specific, asking about the candidates' knowledge of and experience with "DDC systems and equipment," "BACnet systems and equipment," "DDC networks and network equipment," and "Fiber Optic and Ethernet Cable/Networks." Def.'s Mot., Ex. 7, Bieber Notes re: Mayorga Interview ("Bieber Notes") at 2–3, ECF No. 16–9. Watson also asked Bieber to add a question about project management experience, which Bieber agreed to do. Watson Dep. at 34–35, ECF No. 16–8.

Bieber took the lead in questioning the candidates and read the same questions, verbatim, to each candidate. Bieber Dep. at 37–38, ECF No. 16–6; Wallace Dep. at 16–21, ECF No. 16–7; Watson Dep. at 17, ECF No. 16–8. Watson then asked her question about project management. Watson Dep. at 34–35, ECF No. 16–8. The panelists would occasionally ask follow-up questions to clarify a candidate's answer, although the plaintiff avers that none of the interviewers asked him any follow-up questions. Id. at 17; Pl.'s SMF at ¶ 13. According to the plaintiff, Wallace did not ask him any questions during his interview. Pl.'s Dep. at 82–83, ECF No. 18–2. When the plaintiff asked Wallace why he had not asked any questions, Wallace told the plaintiff that h...