MEMORANDUM OPINION
Kallaad W. Cepada sued the Board of Educatiori of Baltimore County (the “Board”) for retaliation and a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”)
I. Background
In 1996, the Board hired Cepada, an African-American male, as a classroom teacher in technical education. ECF Nos. 56-1 at 1, 65-2 at 2. In 1999, Cepada was assigned to Woodlawn High School (“Woodlawn”), where he taught full-time during the day and also taught night school. See ECF Nos. 18 at 4, 56-1 at 6, 20. Cepada performed satisfactorily as a teacher
Cepada did not, however, have a good relationship with the Woodlawn administration. In the 2007-2008 school year, Edward Donald Weglein, a white male, was principal of Woodlawn. ECF No. 65-16 at 2, 4. James Sargent, an African-American male, ECF No. 65-18 at 2, Starr Dimpfel, a white female, ECF No. 65-15 at 48, and Dwayne Williams, DR197, were three assistant principals. Kenneth Miller, a white male, was also an assistant principal and scheduled teachers for classes. ECF No. 65-15 at 34, 48. Manuel Rodriguez, a Hispanic male, served as the area superintendent. ECF Nos. 65-12 at 40, 65-15 at 48. Cepada asserts that, before the 2007-2008 school year, Dimpfel and Weglein offered him a Dean of Students administrator position with a reduced teaching schedule to induce him to stay at Wood-
During the 2007-2008 school year, Cepada had several disagreements with the Woodlawn administration. First, Cepada sent numerous emails to the Woodlawn administrators, teachers, and parents. See, e.g., ECF Nos. 56-1 at 11, 65-11 at 37; DR114. These emails express Cepada’s frustration with Woodlawn’s administration,
Cepada disagreed with the administration about what he considered their lax discipline of students.
Cepada emphasizes two incidents of allegedly inappropriate discipline. First, Cepada had a female student who he alleges threatened three times to kill him and told him she would bring a weapon to assault him. See ECF No. 65-12 at 4-5. Cepada asserts that she was not removed from his class despite his many-requests.
Cepada repeatedly emailed Rodriguez, and other administrators, to complain about these incidents, see, e.g., ECF Nos. 65-11 at 26, 65-12 at 49, and the Wood-lawn administration’s disparate treatment of him and other teachers.
On March 14, 2008, two students accused Cepada of assaulting them. ECF No. 65-12 at 2. Surveillance camera footage quickly revealed that the students had lied. See id. Cepada alleges that Rodriguez told him that the students’ parent called a state agency, and Cepada had to be placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, even though he had not done anything wrong. ECF No. 65-15 at 39-40. Rodriguez did not remember that statement. ECF No. 65-12 at 5. Cepada’s paid administrative leave began on March 14, 2008, ECF No. 65-15 at 41; he returned to Woodlawn a short time later. Cepada Dep. at 108. During his suspension, however, Cepada says he was told not to attend a PTA meeting and lost income from teaching night school. Cepada Dep. at 108; ECF No. 64-2 at 15. After the suspension, Cepada alleges that he called the students’ mother, and she told him she had never complained to the school or an outside agency about Cepada. Cepada Dep. at 99. Cepada suspected that he had
On April 4, 2008, Cepada learned that a student was contemplating suicide. Cepada Dep. at 101; DR194. Cepada went to find an administrator to whom he could disclose the information. Cepada Dep. at 101. He saw Sargent speaking to Robert Holland — an African-American male band director — in the lobby. See DR198. Cepada interrupted their conversation; Sargent told Cepada he would speak to him later, but Cepada insisted that they speak immediately. Id. Sargent and Cepada then began to yell at each other.
On May 20, 2008, Cepada filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Maryland Commission on Human Relations (“MCHR”), alleging race, sex, and age discrimination and retaliation. ECF No. 65-2 at 2-3. On May 23, 2008, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued a Notice of Charge of Discrimination to the Board. ECF No. 7-4. On November 30, 2009, the EEOC issued Cepada a right-to-sue notice. ECF No. 7-5.
On March 4, 2010, Cepada sued the Board for race, sex, and age discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII, § 1981, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”).
The Board filed an interlocutory appeal to the Court’s order to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. ECF No. 32. On March 15, 2012, the Board withdrew its appeal. ECF No. 41. On February 8, 2013, the Board moved for summary judgment. ECF No. 56. On April 8, 2013, Cepada responded in opposition. ECF No. 64. On May 23, 2013, the Board filed its reply. ECF No. 70.
II. Motion for Summary Judgment
A. Standard of Review
The Court “shall grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a).
The Court must “view the evidence in the light most favorable to ... the nonmovant and draw all reasonable inferences in his favor,” Dennis v. Columbia Colleton Med. Ctr., Inc.,
B. Hostile Work Environment
Title VII prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee because of race or sex. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). Section 1981 guarantees that all citizens shall have the same right to “make and enforce contracts ... as is enjoyed by [Caucasian] citizens.” 42 U.S.C. § 1981. A plaintiff may plead a hostile work environment claim under these statutes. See, e.g., Williams v. Giant Food, Inc.,
To survive an employer’s motion for summary judgment on his hostile work environment claims, the plaintiff must show that the offending conduct was: (1) unwelcome;
Cepada contends that several Woodlawn administrators’ actions contributed to a hostile work environment. First, he alleges that his requests to remove disruptive students from his classroom were routinely ignored, although similar requests by his white peers were honored. See ECF No. 64-2 at 13. Second, he alleges that his white peers, “both male and female, were assigned more favorable teaching schedules compared to their African-American counterparts.”
1. Hostile Work Environment
Based on Sex
Beyond the allegations in his complaint
2. Hostile Work Environment
Based on Race
To establish this claim, the plaintiff must show that “but for” his race, he “would not have been the victim of the alleged discrimination.” See Gilliam v. S.C. Dep’t of Juvenile Justice,
Cepada has offered no evidence, beyond his speculations, that any of the actions he claims contributed to a hostile work environment were motivated by racial animus. See Sonpon v. Grafton Sch., Inc.,
Cepada also alleges that Weglein made “numerous derogatory comments based on race concerning African-American staff.” ECF No. 64-2 at 14. His complaint alleges that Weglein said “ ‘this is not soul train’ ... when addressing African-American staff or students.” ECF No. 18 at 5. None of the evidence provided by the parties refers to this remark, or any other racial comment, made by any Board employee.
With respect to his allegations of differential treatment based on race, Cepada has not substantiated his claims with dates, times, or circumstances. See Carter,
Finally, Cepada alleges that his numerous complaints about the disparate treatment he received were ignored. See ECF No. 64-2 at 14. However, his evidence does not show that his requests were ignored because of his race. There is evidence that many of Cepada’s complaints were acknowledged through emails and meetings. See, e.g., ECF Nos. 65-12 at 7, 65-14 at 45. That the administration did not react to Cepada’s complaints in the exact manner he wanted,
C. Retaliation
Title VII makes it unlawful for an employer to “discriminate against any of [its] employees ... because [the employee] has opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice by [Title VII], or because [the employee] has made a charge ... or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing” under Title VII. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a).
To survive an employer’s motion for summary judgment, a plaintiff must show direct evidence of discrimination, or establish a prima facie case that raises an inference of illegal conduct.
To establish a prima facie retaliation claim under Title VII or § 1981,
Cepada alleges that the Board discriminated against him, because of his complaints to Rodriguez, and because he filed an internal EEO complaint. ECF No. 64-2 at 17. In retaliation for his complaints, Cepada alleges these materially adverse actions: (1) he was placed on administrative leave twice which resulted in lost income from night school and exclusion from a PTA meeting; (2) he was yelled at by Dimpfel;
Cepada has established a prima facie case of discrimination. He engaged in protected activity — filing an EEO complaint and complaining to his supervisors of disparate treatment
III. Conclusion
For the reasons stated above, the defendant’s motion for summary judgment will be GRANTED.
Notes
. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.
. 42 U.S.C. § 1981.
. The facts are taken from the Board’s motion for summary judgment, ECF No. 56, Cepada’s response in opposition, ECF No. 64, and the Board’s reply, ECF No. 70, and their supporting exhibits. Cepada has docketed his exhibits, ECF No. 65, and so his evidence is cited using the "ECF” designation. The Board did not docket its exhibits, see ECF No. 56-2, or use a uniform indexing method. Thus, the Board’s exhibits are designated either by "Dep.” to indicate "Deposition” or by the document number preceded by “DR”.
. ECF No. 65-16 at 6.
. Weglein Dep. at 40.
. DR234 (Sargent Interview) (“Cepada does have a positive effect on some of the students” and "is a good teacher overall”). Cepada occasionally, and admittedly, acts inappropriately while dealing with student misconduct, see, e.g., ECF No. 65-11 at 17-18, but he generally gets along with his students, see DR41.
. Cepada’s disciplinary history reveals several, isolated disagreements with other teachers. See, e.g., DR48-49. However, the record contains several emails in which other Woodlawn teachers support Cepada’s complaints about the Woodlawn administration. See, e.g., 65-11 at 16.
. Cepada contends that he was about to interview for positions at other schools but decided to remain at Woodlawn after he was offered the Dean position. ECF No. 65-12 at 50.
. Dimpfel and Weglein assert that all three Dean of Students positions were then filled by three African-American males and deny offering Cepada the position. See ECF No. 65-17 at 3; Weglein Dep. at 37-38, 40, 85, 95; Dimpfel Dep. at 138. Cepada alleges that the administration assigned another African-American male teacher, Mike Sye, to take over some Dean of Students responsibilities instead of Cepada. ECF No. 65-15 at 42.
. Cepada states that he was initially asked to take on this assignment temporarily, because the original Science teacher was asked to leave. ECF No. 65-12 at 50. Cepada alleges that his placement became permanent against his wishes, even though Woodlawn hired a new Science teacher several weeks into the school year. Id. He also asserts that no other teachers were forced to teach classes for which they were not certified. ECF No. 65-15 at 46.
. See, e.g., ECF No. 65-11 at 37 ("In fact, my haters, it should be known that your opinion about me would always be much higher than my opinion about you. However, I will continue to work with you to bring about constructive changes.... I just think that being fake is a waste of breath. Your phoniness is quite apparent to[ ] many.”). The emails also accuse administrators of racial insensitivity, see, e.g., ECF No. 65-11 at 29, discrimination against minorities in hiring and promotion, see, e.g., ECF No. 65-12 at 24, and include other racial references, see, e.g., ECF No. 65-11 at 37 ("Sorry, I missed the inferiority complex ‘thingy.’ I am not driving Ms. Daisy (freely) and she better not expect me to do so.”).
. Woodlawn had the worst test scores of all the schools in Baltimore County, and experienced many incidents of violence and substance abuse among its students. See, e.g., 65-11 at 17; DR111. During the 2007-2008 school year, it was going through a federally-mandated restructuring. ECF No. 65-13 at 4.
. Cepada accused Dimpfel of being racist, because she yelled at him at a staff meeting. ECF No. 65-13 at 33; see also DR154 ("You are very menacing and a significant number of minority folks speak[] ill of your alleged intent.”). In an email he states, inter alia, that her yelling "[had] racial overtone[s] of your historic past” and asks her if he ”look[s] like your 'butler' or someone to run your errands.” Id.
. "I believe that had I have been a White staff member, I would have received [Weglein's] undivided attention and his assistance.” ECF No. 65-13 at 15.
. One of Cepada’s emails contained questions about the administration’s experiences working in a diverse environment. See ECF No. 65-12 at 54. Some of the questions were fairly innocuous, (e.g., "Were you trained to deal effectively with a diverse population of professionals?”), but others were thinly veiled accusations of racism (e.g., "Why do you secretly target various folks of color to chastise
.On January 15, 2008, for example, Cepada sent an email to the administration asserting that a student had used profanities toward him and threatened his life during the lunch period. See ECF No. 65-6 at 2-3. Cepada complained that the administration had taken over 24 hours' to suspend her, whereas if "one of the administrators received the same threats, an immediate suspension or expulsion would have been enacted.” Id. In another email, Cepada reports that a student, on whom he had detected the scent of marijuana smoke, ran away from him. ECF No. 65-11 at 6. He asked Miller to let him know what consequence the student received. Id. Miller responded and said "I could not use him running away as a positive assessment,” id., apparently referring to the requirement that the school nurse verify a student’s drug or alcohol impairment. ECF Nos. 65-12 at 23, 65-15 at 24; Cepada Dep. at 147. Cepada claims that these and similar incidents contributed to a hostile work environment. See, e.g., Cepada Dep. at 147.
. No contemporaneous evidence provided by the parties substantiates this incident, which is reported in Cepada’s formal grievance complaints and his statements to Rodriguez in a meeting with his union representative after he was put on administrative leave. See ECF Nos. 65-1 at 5, 65-2 at 2, 65-12 at 4-5.
. Cepada does not offer any evidence, other than his statements, that the student's mother suggested that Cepada had an inappropriate' relationship with her daughter, even though the mother's statements were made over email. ECF Nos. 65-12 at 5, 65-13 at 11. In Cepada’s emails with the mother, she demanded that Cepada keep her fully apprised of her daughter's work in Cepada’s class; Cepada resisted this demand because her daughter was an excellent student. See ECF Nos. 65-12 at 42, 65-13 at 12-14. The school
. Cepada’s emails to the administration do not include this accusation of discrimination; instead he states that transfers are common (he had over 50 from his class during the school year) and that the administration should accommodate his requests to remove students. ECF Nos. 65-12 at 45, 65-13 at 16. In his Deposition he identified several white teachers whose requests were accommodated-he says that he "know[s] specific incidents” when this occurred but did not provide any details. See ECF No. 65-15 at 45.
. Cepada alleges that the administration scheduled classes in a way that discriminated against minority teachers. See ECF Nos. 65-11 at 14, 65-12 at 29. He tells Rodriguez that he "can’t point a finger at any specific individual” to blame for the disparities. ECF No. 65-11 at 14. To support his suspicions, he asserts that he often sees large groups of white teachers having coffee breaks during first and last period. ECF Nos. 65-12 at 39, 65-15 at 48-49. He claims that the schedule was intentionally set to allow white teachers to socialize at convenient times of the day. ECF No. 65-15 at 48-49. Although in his Deposition, he alleges that he did not “have those opportunities,” id. at 49, in an email he informs Rodriguez that he has "not personally experienced any racially motivated directives” in the context of the schedule, see ECF No. 65-11 at 14.
. In his Deposition Cepada asserts that he was reprimanded by Rodriguez for speaking to a "state delegate” about problems at Woodlawn. ECF No. 65-15 at 31.
. Cepada alleges that he also filed an EEOC charge on April 7, 2008, the day he was placed on administrative leave. Cepada Dep. at 103. There is no evidence of this in the record.
. The parties dispute what was said during this argument. Three people not involved in the argument gave the following accounts, - viewing the facts in the light most favorable to Cepada, it appears that Sargent initially said: "get off my nuts,” Cepada responded "your wife’s on mine,” Sargent replied "I don’t have a wife,” and Cepada said "fuck you, bitch.” DR197 (Williams Interview), DR251 (Student Statement). Cepada also gestured at Sargent with his middle finger. DR194 (Holland Letter). Cepada admits he acted inappropriately, but contends the argument was instigated by Sargent's initial offensive remark. See ECF No. 65-12 at 2.
. The union representative also stated that Cepada "may be able to return to evening school” during his administrative leave, and that he had requested Board officials to award Cepada retroactive pay for the time he missed. ECF No. 65-9 at 2. The parties have offered no evidence, beyond Cepada's statements, whether Cepada returned to evening school or received back compensation. Id.; see also ECF No. 65-13 at 3, DR333, Cepada Dep. at 97.
. Cepada asserts that his transfer "delayed the completion of his dissertation, because his research involved statistical analysis of the Woodlawn students. See ECF No. 65-15 at 11, 55.
. 29U.S.C. §621 et seq.
. Rule 56(a), which "carries forward the summary-judgment standard expressed in former subdivision (c),” changed “genuine ‘issue’ [to] genuine ‘dispute,’ ” and restored the word " ‘shall’ ... to express the direction to grant summary judgment.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 advisory committee’s note.
. An employee’s complaint about the offending conduct indicates that he found it unwelcome. See EEOC v. Sunbelt Rentals, Inc.,
. For example, he asserts that a disproportionate number of. minority teachers were assigned to "mobile carts” instead of given their own classrooms. ECF No. 65-12 at 4.
. In the complaint, Cepada alleges that "the requests of his female peers for the removal or reassignment of disruptive students are honored” and that the administration is "responsive to [his female peers’] concerns about safety.” ECF No. 18 at 10-11. His later submissions do not document these allegations, and his response only alleges that administrators honored the student transfer requests of his white peers, while ignoring his. See ECF No. 64-2 at 13.
."[T]he evidence supports the existence of both a pattern and practice of a hostile work environment that Plaintiff was subjected to because of his ... sex (male).” ECF No. 64-2 at 2.
. See id.; Hawkins,
. See Carter v. Ball,
. See Simmington v. Gates, CIVA DKC OS-3169,
.The evidence is that Cepada was disciplined for labeling Dimpfel a racist, after she yelled at him in a staff meeting. See ECF No. 65-13 at 30-32. Although Cepada contends that Dimpfel yelled at him because of his race, id. at 33, he offers no evidence beyond his own speculations to support this claim. See Dawson v. United States,
.Cepada relies on the different treatment of himself and Sargent following their argument to support his hostile work environment claim. ECF No. 64-2 at 16. However, he offers no evidence that the decision to discipline him, and not Sargent, was based on his race. That he and Sargent are both African-Americans, ECF No. 65-18 at 2, is evidence that the decision was not race-based. Similarly, he provides no evidence that the administration’s decision to place him on leave following the students’ accusations of assault, ECF No. 65-12 at 2, was based on race. Even if, as Cepada claims, Rodriguez lied about the parent’s complaint, ECF No. 65-15 at 39-40, this objectively offensive conduct cannot support an actionable claim of hostile work environment unless Cepada offers evidence that Rodriguez lied because of Cepada’s race. See Carson v. Giant Food, Inc.,
. Cepada alleges that he was unfairly excluded from a PTA meeting while he was on administrative leave. See ECF No. 64-2 at 15. He offers no evidence that this exclusion was based on his race, or that similarly situated individuals outside of his protected class were not excluded from PTA meetings while on administrative leave-thus, his exclusion does not support Cepada’s hostile work environment claim. See Gilliam,
. Although Cepada alleges that Sargent made several offensive remarks during their argument, none of these statements related to race. See supra note 23. Vulgar or discourteous statements, unrelated to race, are not actionable under Title VII. See Karim v. Staples, Inc.,
. See Jaclcson,
. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(l) (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin”).
. Cf. Lucero v. Nettle Creek Sch. Corp., 1:05-CV-0266-RLY-WTL,
. Although Cepada alleges knowledge of specific incidents of differential treatment of removal requests, see ECF No. 65-15 at 45, he has not provided “dates, times or circumstances,” Carter,
. The record contains only minimal references to the incident of the student’s threats to kill Cepada, see supra note 17, and he provides no evidence of the removal requests and denials that he alleges occurred by email, ECF No. 64-2 at 13. Cepada’s requests to remove the student whose mother allegedly implied that Cepada had an inappropriate relationship axe thoroughly documented. See, e.g., ECF No. 65-12 at 40-45. However, this correspondence suggests that the administration had several reasons, all unrelated to race, for denying Cepada’s removal requests, including that Cepada could not provide any support for his claim that the student’s mother had insinuated that he had an inappropriate relationship with her daughter. See ECF Nos. 65-12 at 40-41, 65-13 at 11, 65-14 at 57.
. In his deposition, Cepada alleges that he was denied "opportunities” for group socialization afforded to white teachers, see ECF No. 65-15 at 48-49, but in an email sent in September 2007, he notes that he has "not personally experienced any racially motivated directives” in the context of the schedule, see ECF No. 65-11 at 14. He offers no evidence or allegations that his teaching schedule was less favorable than other teachers. See ECF No. 64 — 2 at 14 ("Plaintiff believes his Caucasian peers ... were assigned more favorable teaching schedules compared to their African-American counterparts.”).
. Cepada states that more minority teachers than white teachers were assigned to "floating carts” rather than their own classrooms. See ECF No. 65-1 at 5. However, he never asserts that he did not have his own classroom. See, e.g., id.
. See, e.g., ECF No. 65-15 at 49-50 (stating that Rodriguez would not meet with him about his complaints about the schedule, but Rodriguez did "listen[] and sen[d] [an] email”).
. See ECF No. 65-15 at 50 (Cepada made “at least 20 requests to meet with [Rodriguez]”).
. Cepada also alleges that Rodriguez criticized him for complaining to “his State Delegate about disparate treatment directed toward him.” ECF No. 64-2. However, he offers no evidence that this incident occurred, or that it was related to Cepada's race.
. Coleman v. Md. Court of Appeals,
. Smith v. First Union Nat'l Bank,
. As this Court held previously, ECF No. 30 at 25, Dimpfel yelling at Cepada is not a materially adverse employment action. Burlington,
. Even assuming these actions were "materially adverse,” they occurred at the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year. ECF No. 65-15 at 12-13. Cepada testified that all the actions he complained about occurred during the 2007-2008 year. ECF No. 65-15 at 8. Accordingly, Cepada has failed to establish a "causal connection” between any protected activity and these actions. See Burlington,
.An involuntary transfer to a new school without loss of pay or status is generally not considered a materially adverse employment action. See, e.g., Holleman v. Colonial Heights Sch. Bd.,
. Cepada also alleges that actions taken by Sargent concerning student discipline were retaliatory, but Cepada’s brief does not explain how Sargent’s discipline choices related to any action that Cepada took or constituted discrimination against Cepada. ECF No. 64— 2 at 10-11. Moreover, Cepada asserts that Sargent's discipline choices “depend on who the kid was,” not on Cepada's actions. See id.
. See, e.g., Ali v. Energy Enter. Solutions, LLC, No. DKC-09-1628,
. See, e.g., ECF No. 65-12 at 53 (email to Rodriguez that copies Woodlawn administrators); ECF No. 65-13 at 30-31 (Cepada emails administration to inform them of his intent to file a complaint with the Board’s EEO office).
. Suspension with pay, "pending a prompt investigation into allegations of wrongdoing,” is not generally considered a materially adverse employment action. See, e.g., Jarvis v. Enter. Fleet Servs. & leasing Co., CIV.A. DKC 07-3385,
.See Price,