Harvey c. Brooks, III s Fjj-Eo By n.c.

637 ox rth w est 99* Terr.

coral springs, FI- 33071 321-243-6312, hcbrooksgattnet JtJL 2 8 2020

ctlïktltll lytt'E s E5 oh- ,uA . ,,,,,Ji

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT CO URT

FOR TH E SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

W ilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. U . S. C ourthouse

400 N orth M iam i Avenue

M iam i, FL 33128

H ARVEY C. BRO OKS, 111,

@

*

Plaintiff

C ivil A ction N o. TB A

:

Bench Decision Requested

:

Robert W ilkie, Jr, Secretary,

U. S. Departm ent of Veterans M fairs,

D efendant.

CO M PLAINT

PRELIM INA R Y STA TEM EN T

This is an employment-related action for violations of the Plaintiffs civil rights and other

rights granted under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. j 2000e et seq. (tt-ritle

VlI''), Family Medical Leave Act (FM LA), and Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Plaintiff alleges

that he was denied a remsonable accommodation (telework), was not selected to a GS-12

position, was cotmseled, was issued a Letter of Reprimand; and his request for FM LA was

delayed based on his race, disability, and prior protected EEO activities.

JURISDICTION AND VEN UE

1

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This Court has jurisdiction ptlrsllant to 29 U.S.C. j 701, Rehabilitation Act of

1973; 28 U.S.C. jj 1331, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title V1I; and Family M edical Leave Act.

2. The unlawful employment practices alleged below were comm itted and/or

executed by supervisory persolmel of the Department of Veterans Affairs Clthe employer').

The claim s arise from events that took place in 2017 tllrough the present, from where Plaintiff

was employed and wœs discriminated against bmsed on his race, disability, and for his prior EEO

activities. Accordingly, venue lies in the United States District Court for the Southern District

of Florida.

PA RTIES

The pro se Plaintië Harvey C. Brooks, 111, is alz adult individual who has a

th Terr Coral Springs mailing address of 637 North W est 99 . , FL with zip code 33071. His email

is: hcbrooks@att.net.

4. At all relevant time, Plaintiff was an Infonnation Technology Specialist, G S2210-11.

The Defendant, Robert W ilkie, Jr., is Secretary of the Depm m ent of Veterans

Affairs, which is headquartered at 810 Vermont Avenue, N W , Room 1000, W ashingtons DC

20420-0001.

6.

level supenisor at 1201 NW 16 St. M iam , th i yxc gg ja5.

At al1 relevant tim e, David Sargent was Assistnnt Area M anager, Plaintifrs first

At a11 relevant time, Anthony Brooks, no relations to Plaintiff, was Area M anager,

Plaintifrs second level supervisor at the facility cited above.

2

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8.

Rehabilitation Act, Title V1I, and FIM LA and qualifies as an employer within the meaning of the

statute and regulations at issue in this case.

The Departm ent of Veterans AFairs engages in comm erce for the purposes of

STATEM ENT OF FACTS

Since 2007 Plaintiffhas been em ployed by the Department of Veterans Affairs as IT

Specialist, GS-I 1.

Plaintiff is an African-American.

Plaint# 's Disability

13. In 1995 PlaintiF was diagnosed with Arlxiety.

14. In 201 1 Plaintiffwas diagnosed with Adjustment Disorder.

15. In 201 l Plaintiffwas diagnosed with PTSD.

16. Due to impairments identified above, Plaintitrs major life activities are interfered

as follows: tmable to concentrate, overwhelm ed, unable to drive a vehicle in traffk congestion,

unable to be in a room with a large group of people.

Plaint# 's Prior ProtectedActivities

Plaintiffhad filed EEO com plainants in 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016 as follows:

2001-0546-2009103977, 2001-0005-2010101064, 2001-0005-2013103113,2001-0005-

2014103289, 2001-0005-2016100845.

18. David Sargent, Assistant Area M anager, became aw are of Plaintiff's prior EEO

complaints since 2013.

Anthony Brooks, Area M anager, was nam ed as the responsible m anagement

official in Plaintiff's 2016 EEO com plaint.

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20. On February 13, 2018 Plaintiff filed a formal EEO complaint: 20DR-0005-

2018102116.

21. On September 6, 2018 Plaintiff filed a formal EEO complaint (20DR-0005-

2018105587$

22. On June 12, 2019 Plaintifffiled a formal EEO complaint (20DR-0005-

2019103614).

The Plaintiff alleges that based on his race (African-American), disability (PTSD, anxiety)

and his prior proteded EEO activities, he w as discrim inated and retaliated against as

follow s:

Since October 25, 2017 to present, Plaintifps request for reasonable

accommodation (full-time telework) was denied by David Sargenta Assistant Area manager.

24. On August 2, 2018 Anthony Brooks, Area M anager, issued Plaintiff a Letter of

Reprimand for disrupting the work environm ent and im proper use of government equipm ent.

On Novem ber 5, 2018 David Sargent and Anthony Brooks denied Plaintiff s

request to attend the virtual Security Plus training.

26. On M arch 27, 2019 Anthony Brooks (no relations), Area M anager, verbally

counseled

27. On or about April 23, 2019, Plaintiff was not selected for the IT Specialist (GS12) position (vacancy announcement No: CASB-104391 13-19-ALV).

28. Plaintiff's April 29, 2019 request for FM LA leave was delayed and approved in

the last week of M ay 2019.

Others Similar Situatedlndividuals F/ltp wcrc Treated M ore Favorably

4

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29. Dennis Rennock, IT Specialist, G S-2210-1 1, Black with no prior EEO activity,

sent em ail on Feb. 26, 201 8 regarding ûtGo Fund M e Page'' for farewell luncheon in honor of

Adrienne's retirem ent. He was not counseled or reprimanded.

30. Dennis Rennock, did not directly apply, was not named on the Certitication, was

interviewed and also selected for the GS-l2 IT Specialist position, to which Plaintiff (with better

qualification) was not selected.

Jarler R. M artinez, Hispanic, with no prior EEO activity, was selected to the GS12 IT Specialist position, to which Plaintiff (with better qualification) was not selected.

32. Danny A. Tenorio, Caucasian with no prior EEO activity, was selected to the GS12 IT Specialist position, to which Plaintiff (with betler qualification) was not selected.

33. Erik J. Arroyo, Hispanic with no prior EEO activity, was selected to the GS-12 IT

Specialist position, to which Plaintiff (with better qualification) was not selected.

Daniel Lemasters, Caucasian with no prior EEO activity, was unqualitied to apply

for the GS-12 IT Specialist position in question. However, he was interviewed, was actively

couched by David Sargent and selected for the GS-12 IT Specialist position.

EXHAUSTION OF ADM m ISTRATIVE REM EDIES

35. On January 25, 2018 PlaintiF initiated contact with an EEO counselor. On

February 13, 2018 Plaintiff tiled a formal EEO complaint: 2017R-0005-20181021 16.

5, 2018 VACO Diskict M anager, L. M arie Anderson accepted Plaintiff claim involving the

January 26, 2018 denial of re% onable accom modation.

On M arch

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36. On August 7, 2018 Plaintiff initiated contact with an EEO counselor. On

September 6, 2018 he filed a formal EEO complaint (2017R-0005-2018105587) regarding the

August 2, 2018 Letter of Reprim and issued by David Sargent, A ssistant O ea M anager.

37. On Novem ber 7, 2018 L. M arie Anderson, VACO District M anager, accepted the

amended complaint involving the Nov. 5, 2018 denial of Plaintitrs request to attend the virtual

Security Plus training.

On September 1 1, 2019 EEOC Administrative Judge (AJ) Kimberly Greenleaf,

M iam i District Oftk e, issued a scheduling order for an initial conference on the two above

docketed matter: 2017R-0005-20181021 16, -2018105587; EEOC docket numbers 510-2018-

00402X and 510-2019-00205X . These matters were currently pending at the EEOC, awaiting

AJ's ruling on the Defendant's motion for sllmmary judgment, but was transferred on July 02 ,

2020 to OEDCA for a Final Agency Decision.

39. On April 23, 2019 Plaintiff initiated contact with an EEO counselor. On June 12,

2019 he filed a formal EEO complaint (2017R-0005-2019103614) regarding, nmong others, nonselection to the GS-12 IT Specialist position in April 2019, delayed FM LA approval in April and

M ay 2019. On July 7, 2020 the Defendant was issued the Final Agency Decision determining

that Plaintiff was subjected to retaliation when he was issued a verbal counseling and a Letter of

Expectations, while finding no discrim ination or retaliation on a11 other issues alleged as

discriminatory and/or retaliatory, including non selection to the GS-12 IT Specialist position and

the denial of reasonable accommodation (telework).

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40. On a11 three matters m ore than 180 days have lapsed since the time of filing their

respective formal EEO com plaints.

federal District Court.

The m atters are ripe for filing the instant complaint with the

REM EDIES and RELIEF

41. Plaintiff seek appropriate remedies, pecuniary and non-pecuniary, including but

not limited to imm ediate reinstatement to the GS-12 IT Specialist position he sought to be

awarded with telework, 5 days a week, as reasonable accom modation based on his disability.

Plaintiff also seeks lost wages in salary diFerential between his current wages and the w ages he

could have earned had he been selected to the GS-12 IT Specialist position. Plaintiff also seek

non-pectmiary dam ages related to deterioration of his mental conditions and pain and suffering

he's enduring throughout the cotzrse of events alleged in this com plaint as discrim inatory and

retaliation.

NO JURY DEM AND

42. The Plaintiff herein hereby a bench decision on a11 issues in this action.

W HEREFORE, the Plaintiffrespectfully requests that the Court enterjudgment in his

favor and against the Defendant.

Respectfully Subm itted,

g. /z/ (j;. .--

H arvey C. Brooks, l1l

637 N orth W est 99 err th 'r .

Coral Springs, FL 33071

321-243-6312, hcbrooks@ att.net

Case 1:20-cv-23114-BB Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 07/28/2020 Page 7 of 8
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

1, the tmdersigned, hereby certify that the above was served on the entity identified below on the

date of the signature below by means indicated below:

THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

W ilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. U. S. Courthouse

400 North M iami Avenue

M iami, FL 33128

Via Hand Delivery.

Robert W ilkie, Jr., Secretary of Veterans Affairs

Office of the Secretary, US Department of Veterans Affairs

810 Verm ont Avenue, NW , Room 1000

W ashington, DC 20420-0001

Via Priority M ail

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney

U.S. Attorney Oftsce, Dept. of Justice

99 N .E. 4th street

M iam i, FL 33132

Via Priority M ail

July 28, 2020

' 

a r, / - r zzg'Z

-7 . Harvey C. Brooks, I1l

637 North W est 99 en' th ,I, .

Coral Springs, FL

321-243-6312,

hcbrooks@ att.net

33071

9

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