Djitte v. Delta Global Services, 2:19-cv-00480

Plaintiff Massamba Djitte, a former Delta Global Service employee, alleges a coworker directed a racial slur at him on October 20, 2017 and that Delta failed to adequately address it.
Delta investigated promptly, issued the coworker a Corrective Action Notice, assured Djitte he would not need to work with her, and attempted to get him to return to work.
After the October 20 incident Djitte stopped coming to work; Delta terminated him on December 18, 2017 for job abandonment.
Djitte (pro se) sued in King County Superior Court asserting hostile work environment and possibly discrimination and retaliation; defendant removed to federal court.
Delta moved for summary judgment, arguing (inter alia) remedial action was taken, Djitte had attendance issues and abandoned his job, and Djitte offered no admissible evidence of discrimination or pretext.
The Court granted Delta’s motion for summary judgment in full and denied Djitte’s belated discovery requests as insufficient to create a triable issue.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Hostile work environment	October 20 racial slur created an abusive environment	Single incident was addressed and disciplined; not severe or pervasive	Claim fails — single incident insufficient and was remedied
Employment discrimination	Termination was due to race / discriminatory motive	Termination was for job abandonment after unexplained absence; legitimate nondiscriminatory reason	Claim fails — Djitte did not prove prima facie case or pretext
Retaliation	Reporting the slur was protected activity and led to termination	No causal link; Delta repeatedly sought his return before firing	Claim fails — no evidence linking report to termination
Discovery (motion to compel)	Seeks witness testimony and additional discovery to create triable issue	Motion was untimely and requests speculative; defendant complied	Denied — untimely/speculative and would not preclude summary judgment

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (1986) (summary judgment burden-shifting standard)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (1986) (genuine issue for trial standard)
Reeves v. Sanderson Plumbing Prods., Inc., 530 U.S. 133 (2000) (drawing inferences and employer-justification analysis)
Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998) (hostile work environment totality-of-circumstances test)
Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986) (hostile work environment elements)
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973) (burden-shifting framework for discrimination claims)
Univ. of Texas Southwestern Med. Ctr. v. Nassar, 570 U.S. 338 (2013) (but-for causation standard for Title VII retaliation)
Villiarimo v. Aloha Island Air, Inc., 281 F.3d 1054 (9th Cir. 2002) (self-serving statements insufficient to defeat summary judgment)