Green v. Johnson, 208 F. Supp. 3d 307

Billy R. Green, a Black ICE deportation officer, got into a February 2011 incident at a liquor store where he flashed his ICE badge and questioned Hispanic employees; a store employee complained about intimidation.
ICE’s Office of Professional Responsibility found Green misused his government ID and engaged in "conduct unbecoming," but did not substantiate an intimidation charge.
A disciplinary panel recommended a five-day suspension; the deciding official reduced this to a letter of reprimand, which was never placed in Green’s personnel file.
Green sued DHS under Title VII alleging race discrimination (reprimand harmed promotions), retaliation (for supporting a coworker’s EEO claim), and a prior hostile work environment in Newark (swastika, noose, racial insults).
Discovery closed; DHS moved for summary judgment. The Court treated defendant’s facts as uncontested where Green failed to dispute them under Local Rule 7(h).
The Court granted summary judgment for DHS, finding no evidence of discriminatory motive, retaliation, or substantiation for the Newark hostile-work-environment allegations.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the reprimand is an adverse employment action under Title VII	Reprimand damaged Green's promotion prospects and thus is adverse	Reprimand was never placed in personnel file and is not materially adverse	Not adverse; summary judgment for DHS
Whether reprimand was motivated by racial discrimination	Reprimand was pretext for race-based discipline	Reprimand based on misuse of ICE ID; no evidence of discriminatory motive	No evidence of pretext; summary judgment for DHS
Whether reprimand was retaliation for EEO activity	Green argued he supported a coworker and was disciplined in retaliation	Disciplining officials were unaware of Green's prior EEO participation	No evidence linking discipline to EEO activity; summary judgment for DHS
Whether prior Newark incidents establish a hostile work environment	Alleged swastika, noose, and racial insults created hostile environment	Plaintiff produced no evidence these incidents occurred or that management knew	No evidentiary support; summary judgment for DHS

Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (1986) (summary judgment purpose and standards)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (1986) (view facts and inferences for summary judgment in light most favorable to nonmoving party)
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973) (burden-shifting framework for circumstantial discrimination)
Dunaway v. Int’l Bd. of Teamsters, 310 F.3d 758 (D.C. Cir. 2002) (direct or circumstantial evidence suffices to survive summary judgment)
Forkkio v. Powell, 306 F.3d 1127 (D.C. Cir. 2002) (definition of adverse action under Title VII)
Brady v. Office of Sergeant at Arms, 520 F.3d 490 (D.C. Cir. 2008) (applying McDonnell Douglas framework)
Herbert v. Architect of the Capitol, 839 F. Supp. 2d 284 (D.D.C. 2012) (letters of reprimand rarely constitute adverse action)
Hyson v. Architect of Capitol, 802 F. Supp. 2d 84 (D.D.C. 2011) (similar guidance on written reprimands)