Kirkland v. Duke


UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CHARMAYNE KIRKLAND, Plaintiff, v. Civil Action No. 13-194 (RDM) KEVIN McALEENAN, Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security,1 Defendant. MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Charmayne Kirkland brings this action against the Department of Homeland Security (the “Department”) for allegedly violating the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 791 et seq., Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. § 633a, and the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, 5 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq., by discriminating against her on the basis of race, sex, age, and disabilities; retaliating against her for requesting reasonable accommodations and for her prior Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) activity; and terminating her employment without good cause. After the completion of discovery, Plaintiff filed her third amended complaint. Dkt. 53. Plaintiff then moved for partial summary judgment on “several disability discrimination and failure to accommodate claims,” Dkt. 57 at 1, and the Department cross-moved for summary judgment, Dkt. 61. After seeking and obtaining four extensions of time to respond to the Department’s cross-motion, Plaintiff filed her opposition brief on January 11, 2019, Dkt. 66, 1 Acting Secretary McAleenan is automatically substituted as the defendant pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 25(d). 1 only to amend that submission a month later, Dkt. 70. The Department, in turn, sought and obtained an extension of time, Dkt. 74, and did not file its reply brief until May 3, 2019, Dkt. 77. Because briefing on the Department’s cross-motion was thus delayed by several months, the Court issued a decision on Plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment without waiting for the parties to complete briefing on the Department’s cross-motion. Dkt. 75. Concluding that the “record reveal[ed] several genuine disputes of material fact,” the Court denied Plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment in March 2019. See Kirkland v. Nielsen, No. 13-194, 2019 WL 1428354, at *1 (D.D.C. Mar. 30, 2019) (“Kirkland I”). The Court now turns to the Department’s cross-motion for summary judgment. Dkt. 61. In that motion, the Department argues: (1) that it complied with the Rehabilitation Act by accommodating Plaintiff, at least to the extent is was required to do so; (2) that it had legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons to terminate Plaintiff’s employment and to take the other employment actions that Plaintiff alleges were based on unlawful discrimination or retaliation; (3) that Plaintiff cannot show that any of those rationales were pretextual; and (4) that Plaintiff was not subjected to a hostile work environment. Some of these arguments are persuasive, and others are not. The Court will, accordingly, grant in part and deny in part the Department’s cross-motion for summary judgment. I. BACKGROUND The following facts, except where indicated, are based on evidence either that Plaintiff offered or that the Department offered and that Plaintiff has failed to controvert with her own evidence. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. ...

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