Walter L. Hawkins v. John Potter , 316 F. App'x 957 ( 2009 )

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FILED
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
________________________ ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
MAR 3, 2009
No. 08-14873 THOMAS K. KAHN
Non-Argument Calendar CLERK
________________________
D. C. Docket No. 07-02068-CV-CC-1
WALTER L. HAWKINS,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
versus
JOHN POTTER,
Postmaster General, United States
Postal Service Agency,
Defendant-Appellee.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Georgia
_________________________
(March 3, 2009)
Before BLACK, BARKETT and KRAVITCH, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Plaintiff-appellant Walter Hawkins, proceeding pro se, challenges the
district court’s order denying his motion for summary judgment in his employment
discrimination case against John Potter, the Postmaster General of the United
States Postal Service, and granting Defendant-appellee’s cross-motion for
summary judgment. For the following reasons, we affirm.
I.
Hawkins brought this Title VII action against his employer asserting claims
for disparate treatment and hostile work environment on the basis of his sex, and
retaliation for filing a discrimination charge with the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). The magistrate judge reviewing this case
upon the motions of the parties provided a thorough summary of the facts of this
case and the evidence presented by both parties. We specifically adopt the facts as
detailed by the magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation. The following
recitation of relevant facts is not exhaustive, but rather a summary of those
occurrences pertinent to this opinion:
Hawkins started working as a customer service supervisor at the Riverdale
Main Post Office in 2003. He claims that he has been unable to work since
November 16, 2004 because his immediate supervisor, Clarence Coulter,
discriminated against him and created a hostile work environment, which caused
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him to have panic attacks and that his employer refused to transfer him to a
different facility. As evidence of an adverse employment action, required for both
his discrimination and retaliation claims, Hawkins points to three letters – one
entitled “Expectations of Assigned Position as Customer Service
Supervisor/Riverdale Post Office,” and two proposed letters of warning which
were later rescinded – issued by his employer citing his past misconduct. Hawkins
does not deny committing the infractions cited in the letters, but claims that female
employees committing such infractions were not similarly disciplined. Hawkins
also claims that the warning letters and the denial of his request to be transferred to
another location were in retaliation for his filing an EEO charge alleging
discrimination against Coulter.
Adopting the recommendation of the magistrate judge, the district court
found that Hawkins failed to present evidence supporting his discrimination claim
because he had not shown that the letters constituted adverse employment actions
and he had not shown that the female employees who were allegedly treated more
favorably had, in fact, committed infractions similar to his admitted infractions. In
addition, the court found that Hawkins was precluded from bringing a hostile work
environment claim because he did not raise this claim in his EEO charge and
therefore had not exhausted his administrative remedies prior to bringing suit. The
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court also found that Hawkins did not establish that he had suffered an adverse
employment action causally related to his prior EEO activities and that, therefore,
summary judgment was appropriate on the retaliation claim. Finally, although
Hawkins made reference to having a disability in his motion for summary
judgment, the court found that he did not raise a disability discrimination claim or
a claim under the Americans with Disability Act (“ADA”) in his complaint and, to
the extent he did raise one of these claims, such a claim failed for lack of
exhaustion of administrative remedies. For these reasons, the district court granted
Defendant’s motion for summary judgment.
Hawkins appeals.
II.
“We review the district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo,
applying the same legal standards that bound the district court, and viewing all
facts and reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the nonmoving
party.” Cruz v. Publix Super Markets, Inc., 428 F.3d 1379, 1382 (11th Cir. 2005)
(citation and quotation omitted). Summary judgment is appropriate when “there is
no genuine issue as to any material fact and . . . the moving party is entitled to a
judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). Ultimately, “[w]e can affirm
a judgment on any legal ground, regardless of the grounds addressed and relied
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upon by the district court.” Cuddeback v. Fla. Bd. of Educ., 381 F.3d 1230, 1235-
36 (11th Cir. 2004).
Where, as in this case, the plaintiff is proceeding pro se, we will construe his
pleadings more leniently than we would formal pleadings drafted by a lawyer.
Hughes v. Rowe, 449 U.S. 5, 9 (1980). A pro se plaintiff, however, must still meet
the essential burden of establishing that there is a genuine issue as to a fact material
to his case. Brown v. Crawford, 906 F.2d 667, 669-70 (11th Cir. 1990).
III.
(1) Hostile Work Environment and ADA Claims
On appeal, Hawkins does not expressly challenge the district court’s finding
that he failed to exhaust his hostile work environment claim and, although he
generally references the ADA in his appellate brief, he fails to develop any
arguments relating to his alleged disability. “[T]he law is by now well settled in
this Circuit that a legal claim or argument that has not been briefed before the court
is deemed abandoned and its merits will not be addressed.” Access Now, Inc. v.
Southwest Airlines Co., 385 F.3d 1324, 1330 (11th Cir. 2004). Further, we have
deemed an issue waived where a party failed to include substantive argument and
only made passing references to the order appealed from. Greenbriar, Ltd. v. City
of Alabaster, 881 F.2d 1570, 1573 n.6 (11th Cir. 1989). Accordingly, while we are
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cognizant of the liberal construction afforded pro se briefs, we must conclude that
Hawkins has abandoned any claims or issues he may have had relating to hostile
work environment, disability discrimination or the ADA.
(2) Title VII Discrimination
Hawkins argues on appeal that he presented sufficient evidence to support a
prima facie Title VII gender discrimination claim. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 provides that it is unlawful for an employer “to discriminate against any
individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of
employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national
origin.” 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1) (1988). In cases such as this, where there is no
direct evidence of discrimination, the plaintiff must rely on circumstantial evidence
to prove discriminatory intent using the framework established in McDonnell
Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802-04 (1973). Under McDonnell
Douglas, a plaintiff establishes a prima facie case of gender discrimination under
Title VII by showing: (1) he was subjected to adverse employment action; (2) his
employer treated similarly situated employees outside his gender classification
more favorably; and (3) he was qualified to do the job. McDonnell Douglas Corp.,
411 U.S. at 802; Maniccia v. Brown, 171 F.3d 1364, 1369 (11th Cir. 1999). “In
determining whether employees are similarly situated for purposes of establishing
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a prima facie case, it is necessary to consider whether the employees are involved
in or accused of the same or similar conduct and are disciplined in different ways.”
Holifield v. Reno, 115 F.3d 1555, 1562 (11th Cir. 1997)). “We require that the
quantity and quality of the comparator’s misconduct be nearly identical to prevent
courts from second-guessing employers’ reasonable decisions and confusing
apples with oranges.” Maniccia, 171 F.3d at 1368.
As evidence that he suffered an adverse employment action, Hawkins relies
upon the three letters from his employer citing his past performance problems.
Hawkins fails, however, to establish that these letters had any adverse impact upon
the “terms, conditions, or privileges” of his employment in a real and demonstrable
way. Davis v. Town of Lake Park, Fla., 245 F.3d 1232, 1239 (11th Cir. 2001). We
therefore agree with the district court that Hawkins did not suffer an adverse
employment action. Furthermore, although he claims that two female supervisors
did not receive similar letters in response to their misconduct, Hawkins presents no
evidence establishing that the “quantity and quality” of any misconduct committed
by the female supervisors was “nearly identical” to his admitted misconduct. See
Maniccia, 171 F.3d at 1368. Accordingly, the district court properly concluded
that Hawkins failed to present evidence supporting required elements of a prima
facie claim of gender discrimination. We affirm the district court’s grant of
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summary judgment on this claim.
(3) Retaliation
Hawkins also argues on appeal that he presented sufficient evidence of
retaliation to survive summary judgment. To establish a prima facie case of
retaliation, a plaintiff must show: (1) that he engaged in statutorily protected
expression; (2) that he suffered an adverse employment action; and (3) that there is
some causal relationship between the two events. Meeks v. Computer Associates
Int’l, 15 F.3d 1013, 1021 (11th Cir. 1994). To meet the causal link requirement,
the plaintiff “merely has to prove that the protected activity and the negative
employment action are not completely unrelated.” E.E.O.C. v. Reichhold
Chemicals, Inc., 988 F.2d 1564, 1571-72 (11th Cir. 1993). Once the plaintiff
establishes his prima facie case, the employer must proffer a legitimate, non-
discriminatory reason for the adverse employment action. Reichhold Chemicals,
988 F.2d at 1571-72. If the employer offers legitimate reasons for the employment
action, the plaintiff must then demonstrate that the employer’s proffered
explanation is a pretext for retaliation. Meeks, 15 F.3d at 1021.
Here, Hawkins engaged in statutorily protected expression: he filed EEO
complaints alleging that his supervisor discriminated against him based on his sex.
This form of expression is protected under Section 704(a). Rollins v. State of
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Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement, 868 F.2d 397, 400 (11th Cir. 1989). Hawkins
asserts that after he filed these EEO complaints alleging sex discrimination, his
employer retaliated against him by requiring him to sign a document entitled
“Expectations of Assigned Position as Customer Service Supervisor/Riverdale Post
Office,” by then giving him the proposed letter of warning which was later
rescinded, and by refusing to accommodate his request for a reassignment to
another post office.1 Based on these alleged employment actions, Hawkins argues
that he has established a prima facie case of retaliation.
In order to establish a “materially adverse” employment action as required
for a retaliation claim, however, Hawkins must show that “a reasonable employee
would have found the challenged action materially adverse, which . . . means it
well might have dissuaded a reasonable worker from making or supporting a
charge of discrimination.” Burlington N. & Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. White, 548 U.S.
53, 60 (2006). In this case, we agree with the district court that the employment
actions relied upon by Hawkins do not constitute actionable adverse conduct.
Furthermore, to the extent the alleged employment actions could be considered
“materially adverse,” we conclude that Hawkins has not demonstrated that his
1
Construing his brief liberally, Hawkins also argues that a “Proposed Separation Notice”
issued by his employer in 2007 was in retaliation for the EEO charge. We agree with the district
court’s finding, however, that Hawkins has not exhausted his administrative remedies relating to
this allegedly adverse action and is therefore precluded from raising any claims based on it.
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employer’s stated reasons for its actions – Hawkins’ admitted misconduct – were
pretext for retaliation. See Sullivan v. Nat’l R.R. Passenger Corp., 170 F.3d 1056,
1059 (11th Cir. 1999) (explaining that if an employer offers legitimate reasons for
an adverse employment action causally related to a protected activity, the plaintiff
must then show that the employer’s proffered reasons were actually pretext for
prohibited retaliatory conduct). Accordingly, even if the district court erred in
finding that he had not established a prima facie case, we conclude that Hawkins
has not satisfied his essential burden of establishing that there is a genuine issue as
to a fact material to his retaliation claim. For these reasons, we conclude that
summary judgment for defendant is appropriate on Hawkins’s retaliation claim.
IV.
We have reviewed the record and the parties’ briefs and find no reversible
error. Accordingly, we affirm.
AFFIRMED.
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