In Holcomb v. Optumhealth, Inc., 2023 WL 6466352 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 4, 2023), the court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim of race discrimination asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This decision presents a unique fact pattern that is likely to recur as remote-only work becomes the norm – namely, one in which the plaintiff’s sole interactions with the alleged discriminator(s) are not in person.
The court discussed, and applied, the applicable legal standard as follows:
To state a prima facie case of race discrimination or retaliation under Title VII, a plaintiff must proffer evidence that (1) she belongs to a protected group; (2) she was qualified for her position; (3) her employer took an adverse action against her; and (4) the adverse action occurred in circumstances giving rise to an inference of race discrimination. Kirkland v. Cablevision Sys., 760 F.3d 223, 225 (2d Cir. 2014). Once established, a presumption of discrimination or retaliation is created and the burden of production shifts to the employer to articulate some legitimate, nondiscriminatory or nonretaliatory reason for the adverse employment action. See McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802–03 (1973), If the employer satisfies that burden, the presumption drops out of the analysis and the burden shifts back to the employee to show that the employer’s stated explanation is merely “pretext for race discrimination or retaliation.” Kirkland, 760 F.3d at 225.
Defendants came forward with a sound and non-pretextual reason for Plaintiff’s termination. Around January 15, 2020, Plaintiff opened and downloaded proprietary documents attached to her supervisors’ individual work calendars, without authority and without business purpose. Plaintiff’s supervisor, Tara Duncan, became aware of the intrusion and reported her findings to UnitedHealth’s ethics committee. On January 17, 2023, while the investigation of her behavior was ongoing, Plaintiff emailed Senior Vice President Molly Hardy requesting a confidential conversation regarding “some ongoing human resource concerns that have made [their] work environment uncomfortable.” DiNapoli Decl., Ex. E. Hardy and Plaintiff had a call on January 20, 2023, in which she complained about the bias against her “fellow therapists” (without distinguishing between the African American and white therapists on the team). Id.
A decision-making committee of four people, helmed by Plaintiff’s manager Margaret Peterson, terminated Plaintiff’s employment on January 24, 2020. Plaintiff appealed her termination through an internal dispute resolution process. Holcomb Dep. 164:20-165:25. Plaintiff’s termination was upheld after a second investigation conducted by leadership from other departments. Polzin Dep. 19:22–20:8; 29:17-31:23.
Plaintiff’s race discrimination claim fails at the first step of, and within, the McDonnell Douglas framework, Though the first three prongs of the prima facie case are clearly satisfied in her favor, her claim fails on the fourth prong – that the adverse action occurred in circumstances giving rise to an inference of race discrimination. Plaintiff offers no evidence of discrimination, or even that Peterson, her manager, knew that she was African American. All her contacts with Peterson were over voice calls, and Plaintiff failed to show any substance to her assertion that her voice typed her as black. Peterson affirmatively stated in her declaration that she did not know Plaintiff’s race, and her assertion went unchallenged throughout discovery. Plaintiff had not bothered to take Peterson’s deposition. The parties do not dispute that Plaintiff’s entire tenure was through voice-only remote work. Plaintiff failed to offer any counter evidence to support her claim. There is no genuine dispute of any material fact.
the court further granted defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claim of retaliation, noting, among other things, that plaintiff did not offer “any evidence that her termination was a result of her complaints regarding race discrimination.”