United States District Court, District of Columbia
KATHERINE A. CURETON, Plaintiff,
v.
KIRSTJEN M. NIELSEN, [1] Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, et al, Defendants.
MEMORANDUM OPINION [DKT. #9]
RICHARD J. LEON, United States District Judge
Plaintiff,
Katherine Cureton ("Cureton" or "plaintiff),
proceeding pro se, brought this action against
defendants, Kirstjen Nielsen, Rhonda Brooks, Tammy Hudson,
and Allen Blume (collectively referred to as
"defendants"), alleging various instances of
discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e.
Defendants moved to dismiss or, in the alternative, for
summary judgment. Upon review of the pleadings, the relevant
case law, and the entire record herein, defendants'
motion is GRANTED and this case is DISMISSED
with prejudice.
BACKGROUND
A.
Plaintiffs 2013 EEO Activity
Beginning
in October 2012, plaintiff worked at the Department of
Homeland Security ("DHS") as a Student Trainee in
its Pathways Internship Program assigned to the Office of the
Chief Financial Officer ("OCFO"). Defs.' Mot.
to Dismiss, or, in the Alternative, for Summ. J. [Dkt. #9]
("Defs.' Mem.") 3; Compl. [Dkt. #1] 4. Rhonda
Brooks ("Brooks"), OCFO's Director of
Administration & Logistics, was plaintiffs first-line
supervisor. Defs.' Mem. 3. Allen Blume
("Blume") was the Director of OCFO's Budget
Division, and Tammy Hudson ("Hudson") was a Records
Officer in DHS's Office of the Chief Information Officer.
Id.
In
September 2013, plaintiff filed a formal EEO complaint (Case
No. HS-HQ-02174-2013) with DHS's Office of Civil Rights
and Civil Liberties ("CRCL"), alleging
discrimination based on her age. Statement of Material Facts
Not In Dispute ("SOMF") [Dkt. #9] ¶ 1- She
identified Brooks "as a responsible management official
in the administrative complaint." Defs.' Mem. 4.
Plaintiffs
employment ended on January 11, 2014, see SOMF
¶ 2, and plaintiff attributes her termination to
"retaliation by DHS senior management officials within
the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Office of the
Chief Information Officer and the Office of the Chief Human
Capital Officer, " Compl. 4. Specifically, plaintiff
alleges that "Rhonda Brooks ended [her] Pathways
appointment when [p]laintiff refused to resign [on] November
20, 2013." Id. Defendants counter that,
"[b]ased on a review of the entire evidentiary record,
CRCL fully implemented] the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) Administrative Judge's (AJ) decision
finding no discrimination, as the final action in this
matter." Defs.' Mem., Ex. 5 ("Final Order dated
March 3, 2016") 1.
Plaintiffs
2013 EEO activity and termination were the subjects of a
prior lawsuit. See generally Compl., Cureton v.
Johnson, No. 16-cv-1270 (D.D.C. June 23, 2016). In that
case, this Court ruled that plaintiff filed her lawsuit
"on the 92nd day after [her] receipt of
DHS's final action, " such that "the underlying
claims, including the [age discrimination] and related
wrongful termination claims, [were] untimely."
Cureton v. Duke, 272 F.Supp.3d 56, 62 (D.D.C. 2017),
appeal docketed, No. 17-5251 (D.C. Cir. Oct. 31,
2017).
B.
Applications for Budget Analyst, Program Analyst, and FEMA
Positions[2]
1.
Budget Analyst
DHS
issued Vacancy Announcement Number DHSHQ15-1380243-FO for a
Budget Analyst position, and plaintiff submitted her
application on April 21, 2015. See Compl. 4-5;
Defs.' Mem, Ex. 2 ("Copeland Decl.") 280. On
May 13, 2015, plaintiff "received an automated email
from USA Staffing informing her that she had not been
referred for consideration for [the] position[.]" SOMF
¶ 3; see Defs.' Mem, Ex. 3 ("Notice of
Results"). After the announcement had closed, on May 15,
2015, plaintiff contacted Katherine Copeland
("Copeland"), a Human Resources Specialist, to
request consideration for the position under Schedule A
hiring authority. SOMF ¶ 4; Copeland Decl. 280-81;
Defs.' Mem., Ex. 4; Compl. 5. Although plaintiff
submitted the requisite Schedule A documentation, Copeland
determined that plaintiff "would not be considered under
the announcement because the proper documentation had not
been submitted by the closing date of the announcement."
Copeland Decl. 281. Nevertheless, Copeland "forwarded
[plaintiffs application] to the selecting official for
consideration under the Schedule A hiring authority for any
vacancies including ... the budget analyst position."
Id.
2.
Program Analyst
DHS
issued Vacancy Announcement Number DHSHQ15-1391613-FO for a
Program Analyst, and plaintiff applied for the position in
May 2015. Defs.' Mem., Ex. 6 ("Cureton Decl.")
115; see Compl. 5. On June 12, 2015, plaintiff
contacted Donald Jackson, a Program Specialist at the OCFO,
by email asking whether she would be granted an interview.
See Defs.' Mem., Ex. 8 ("Jackson
Decl.") 422-23. Mr. Jackson did not respond. See
id.
3.
FEMA
On June
25, 2015, "[p]laintiff attended a hiring event sponsored
by FEMA, " the Federal Emergency Management
Administration, "for Schedule A applicants." Compl.
5; Defs.' Mem., Ex. 9 ("Addendum to Cureton
Deck") 121; SOMF ¶ 9. Eric Leckey
("Leckey"), FEMA's Acting Chief Administrative
Officer, interviewed plaintiff, who was to be considered for
the position of "Government Information Specialist, GS12
functioning as a Records Management Specialist within the
Privacy Office." SOMF ¶ 10; Addendum to Cureton
Decl. 121. By e-mail dated June 29, 2015, Mr. Leckey
requested plaintiffs references. Defs.' Mem., Ex. 10.
C.
Plaintiffs 2015 EEO Activity
Plaintiffs
initial contact with an EEO Counselor with the CRCL took
place on July 7, 2015, see Compl., Ex. 2
("Final Order dated November 29, 2016") 1, and her
initial interview took place on July 13, 2015,
1yeeDefs.' Mem., Ex. 18 ("EEO
Counselor's Report, HS-HQ-24268-2015") 48. Plaintiff
filed her formal complaint on August 2, 2015, alleging
discrimination based upon physical disability and reprisal
for her 2013 EEO activity. See Defs.' Mem. Ex. 1
("Individual Complaint of Employment Discrimination,
Case No. HS-HQ-24268-2015") 33-34. The first two
discrimination claims pertained to plaintiffs applications
for the Budget Analyst and Program Analyst positions:
1. On June 2, 2015, you were informed that you were not being
considered for selection for the Budget Analyst position,
advertised under Vacancy Announcement Number
DHSHQ15-1380243-FO, and that your application was being
forwarded to the Human Resources liaison for consideration
under "Schedule A" authority. You further stated
that you believe your former supervisor, Rhonda Brooks, ...