2008 D e c i sion s O p inion s of the U nit e d S t at e s C our t of Appe al s for the Thir d C ir c uit 7-24-2008 

# Fue ntes v . W atchung P r e c e de nt i al or N on-P r e c e de nt i al : N on-P r e c e de nt i al D ocke t N o . 07-2812

F o llow thi s and a dd it ion al work s at : http://d i git alc ommon s .l a w . vi ll anova . e du/thir dc ir c uit_2008

Thi s de c i sion i s br ou ght t o you for f r e e and ope n a c c e s s b y the O p inion s of the U nit e d S t at e s C our t of Appe al s for the Thir d C ir c uit at V i ll anova U nive r sity S choo l of L a

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w . vi ll anova . e du . Re c omme nde d C it at ion " Fue nt e s v . W at chun g " (2008). 2008 D e cisio n s . P ape r 805. http://d i git alc ommon s .l a

w . vi ll anova . e du/thir dc ir c uit_2008/805NOT P RE CE DE NT I AL UN I TED STATES CO UR T OF A PP EALS F O R T H E T H IR D C IR C U IT N o. 07- 2812 G EO RG E FU EN TES, A ppel l ant

v. BO RO UGH OF WATC HUNG APP EAL F ROM THE UNI TE D ST ATE S DI S TRI CT C OURT

FOR TH E DI STRI CT O F NEW J ERSEY ( D . C . C i vi l N o. 04- cv- 02811) D i s tr i ctJ udge: T he H onor abl e A nne E. T hom ps on Subm i t t ed U nderT hi r d C i r cui tL A R 34. 1( a)

J une 25, 2008 B efor e: SL O V I T E R , B A R R Y and R O T H , C i r cui tJ udges

( O pi ni on Fi l ed: J ul y24, 2008)

OP I NI ON

B A R R Y , C i r cui tJ udge G eor ge Fuent es , an empl oy ee of the Publ i c W or ks D epart m entof the B or ough of W atch u n g , b rou g h t suitag ains t W atch u n g , all eg ing h o sti le w o rk e n v ir o n m en t and fa il u reFuent es conce ded i n hi s depos i t i on thathe l earned ats om e poi ntthatthes e cl as s es 1 w e re a ls o o f

f e re d a f te r w o rk h o u rs . 2 t o p r o m o t e c l a i m s u n d e rT i t l e V I I o f th e C i v i l R i g h t s A c to f 1 9 6 4 . A f

t e rd i s c o v e ry, W at chung moved fors um m aryj udgm entas t o both cl ai m s and the D i s tr i ctC our tgr ant ed th e m o tio n . W e w ill a f f ir m . I . F act ual and P roce dural H i s t ory F u e n tes , w h o is o f

P u e rto R ica n d e sc e n t, be g a n w o rk in g f o r W a tch u n g ’s P u b lic W or ks D epart m entas a l abor eri n 1988. I n N ew J er s ey , a publ i c w or ks empl oy ee c an appl yt o become a ce r t i fi ed publ i c w or ks m anage raft erm eet i ng cert ai n educa t i onal pr ere q u is ite s a n d p a s s in g a s ta te -a d m in is te re d e x a m in a tio n . See N . J. S . A . 4 0 A :9-1 5 4 . 6 b . In 1 9 9 9 , F u e n tes b e g a n a tten d in g p u b lic w o rk s e d u c a tio n a l cla ss e s in o rd e r to q u a lifyto b ec o m e a ce rt ifi ed p u b li c w o rks m an ag er. H e c h o se to att en d classe s d u ri n g the w o rk day , s om ethi ng W at chung perm i t t ed hi m t o do. H e w as r ei m bur s ed forthes e cl as s es 1 underW at chung’ s “Per s onnel Pol i cyand Pr ocedur es , ” w hi ch al l ow s m uni ci pal em ploy ees t o b e rei m bu rs ed fo r cert ai n p re- app roved e du cat i on and trai ning. H e w as al so p a id h is n o rm a l s a la ry f o r a n ytim e s p e n t in c la s s . A notherPubl i c W or ks D epart m entempl oy ee, C har l es G unther , att ended s i m i l ar cl as s es dur i ng r oughl ythe s ame t i m e fr ame as Fuent es . G unther , how ever , att ended cl as s es i n t he eve ni ngs , aft erhi s w or kdayw as compl et ed. Fuent es and G untherboth s at f o r t h e p u b lic w o rk s e x a m in O c to b e r 2 0 0 0 . G u n th e r p a s s e d th e e x a m a n d F u e n te s f a ile d . O n O c to b e r 1 7 , 2 0 0 0 , G u n th e r w a s c e rtifie d a s a p u b lic w o rk s m a n a g e r. F u e n tes a g a inF u e n tes tes tifie d th a t S c o tti sa id , “A n yb o d yk n o w w h a t a P u e rto R ica n a n d a c u e b a ll 2 have i n comm on[?] [T]he har dery ou hi tthem t he more E ngl i s h y ou getoutof them. ” (J. A . 5 8 . ) 3 sa t f o r th e e x a m o n th e n e x t av a ilab le d a te, a n d p a ss e d . H e w a s c e rtifie d a s a p u b lic w o rk s m a n a g e r e f

f e c tiv e A p ri l 1 7 , 2 0 0 1 . D onal d Scot t i w as W at chung’ s D i r ect orof Publ i c W or ks betw een 1988, the y ear Fuent es began w or ki ng forW at chung, and 2003, w hen Scott i r et i r ed. I n 2002, W at chung’ s B or ough A dm i ni s tr at oras ked Scott i t o r ecomm end s om eone t o become t he S u p erv isor o f P u b li c W o rks. Itw as u n d erstoo d that the n ex t Su p erv isor, w h o w o u ld w o rk di r ect l ybel ow Scot t i , w oul d r epl ace Scot t i w hen he r et i r ed. Scot t i r ecomm ended G unt her and notFuent es beca us e he be l i eved G unthert o be a be t t erempl oy ee; G untherhad pr i or exper i ence i n t he l ands capi ng and pr opertym ai nt enanc e fi el d; and G untherw as l i cens ed as a comm er ci al pes t i ci de appl i cat or . Scot t i found G unthert o be “mor e r el i abl e, [t o have] s how ed more i ni t i at i ve, [t o have] per form ed t as ks w i thi n the B or ough even s epar at e and apartfr om hi s j ob w i th t he Publ i c W or ks D epart m ent , [and] s eemed t o have be t t er under s t ood the i s s ues thatw enti nt o the C PW M exami nat i on and w as s i m pl ythe bett er candi dat e. ” ( J . A . 79- 80. ) G untheral s o l i ved l ocal l y , unl i ke Fuent es , w ho l i ved more t han 7 0 m il es a w ay , a f

ac t th at w o u ld m ak e itea sier fo r G u n ther to re sp o n d ti m elyto an yw o rk emer genci es . G untherbeca m e W at chung’ s Super vi s orof Publ i c W or ks on M ay1, 2002. Fuent es cl ai m s , and W at chung does notdeny , thati n hi s pr es ence i n M ar ch of 1998, Scot t i t ol d a j oke der ogat oryt o Puer t o R i cans “atl eas ttw o t i m es . ” Fuent es di d not 24

c o m p lain to S c o tti a b o u t th e jo k e ; in d e e d , h e a d m its th a t h e , too , told jo k e s w ith “ e th n ic ref ere n ce s” in the w o rkp lace . W h en ask ed w h o the jo k es w ere ab o u t, h e a n sw ere d : “It coul d be C hi nes e. A fr i can A m er i can[ ; ] i tcoul d be an I r i s h j oke. I tcoul d be anybody w ho i s I r i s h. ” ( J . A . 60. ) Fuent es does notbel i eve he offe nded any one “be caus e eve ry one w as i nv olved i n tel l i ng j ok es there. S o if one p ers on t el l s a j ok e and the o ther guyt el l s a j oke and ther e [a r e] fourguy s and fourguy s t el l j okes , then nobodycan f eel offe nded beca us e theyar e t el l i ng the j oke and w e ar e i n cl os ed quart er s . ” (Id . ) F u e n t e s a l s o c l a i ms thatScot t i m ade a pej or at i ve comm entaboutPuer t o R i cans and s ever al pej or at i ve com m ents abo ut A fri can-A m eri cans. A s for the fa i l ure t o p rom ote cl ai m , i ti s Fu entes ’ pos i t i on thatthi s cas e i s al l aboutScot t i bei ng “a r aci s tbi got ” w ho favor ed G untherover F u e n te s “ b e c a u s e o f

h is ra c e /e th n ic ity.” A p p e lla n t’ s B r. a t 1 7 . F u e n tes f

iled a C h a rg e o f

D isc rim in a tio n w ith th e E q u a l E m p lo ym e n t O p p o rtu n ity Co mm i s s i o n ( “ E E OC ” ) o n J u l y9 , 2 0 0 2 . I n a l e t t e rd a t e d Au g u s t2 8 , 2 0 0 3 , th e E E OC advi s ed Fuent es thati thad forw ar ded hi s r eques tt o the D epart m entof J us t i ce, the age ncy r es pons i bl e forhandl i ng compl ai nt s agai ns tgovernm ent al bodi es . O n M ar ch 17, 2004, the D epart m entof J us t i ce i s s ued a r i ghtt o s ue l ett er . Fuent es fi l ed hi s compl ai nton J une 1 5 , 2 0 0 4 . I I . D i s cus s i on W e h av e jurisdicti o n u n d er 2 8 U . S . C . § 1 2 9 1 . O u r rev iew o f a g ran t of su m m ary ju d g m e n t is d e n o v o . H ol enderv. Mut . I

ndus . N . I nc. , 5 2 7 F . 3 d 3 5 2 , 3 5 4 n . 1 (3d C ir .5

20 08 ). T o est abli sh a ho st i l e w ork env i ronm ent cl ai m un der T i t l e V II , an em ploy ee m ust d em o n str ate tha t “(1) [ h e] su ff ere d inten ti o n al discrim ination b ec au se o f [ h is eth n ici ty ], (2 ) th e d isc rim in a tio n w a s p e rv a siv e a n d re g u lar , (3 ) th e d isc rim in a tio n d e trim e n tally a f f e c ted th e [ e m p lo y e e ], (4 ) th e d isc rim in a tio n w o u ld d e trim e n tallya f f e c t a r e a so n a b le per s on of the s ame [ethni ci ty ] i n t hatpos i t i on, and ( 5) the exi s t ence of r es pondeat s uper i orl i abi l i ty . ” A ndr eol iv. G at es , 482 F. 3d 641, 643 ( 3d C i r . 2007) ( i nt ernal quot at i on m arks and ci t at i on om i t t ed; s econd br acke t s i n or i gi nal ) . W e have hel d that “off handed c om m ent s , and i s ol at ed i nci dent s ( unl es s extr emel ys er i ous ) ar e nots uffi ci ent t o s us t ai n a hos t i l e w or k envi r onm entcl ai m . ” C averv. C i t y of Tre nt on , 420 F. 3d 243, 262 ( 3d C i r . 2005) ( i nt ernal quot at i on m arks and ci t at i on om i t t ed) . I ns t ead, the “c onduct m us tbe extr eme t o amount t o a cha nge i n the t erm s and condi t i ons of empl oym ent . ” I d. (in ter n a l q u o tatio n m a rk s a n d c itatio n o m itt e d ). W e d o n o t re v iew in d iv id u a l in c id e n ts in i s ol at i on; r ather , w e l ook atthe t ot al i tyof the ci r cumst ance s , i ncl udi ng the fr equenc yof the di s cr i m i nat oryconduct , i t s s ever i ty , w hetheri ti nvol ves phy s i cal thr eat s or h u m ilia tio n , a n d w h e th e r i t in te rf e re s w ith th e e m p lo y e e ’s w o rk p e rf o rm a n c e . I

d. at262- 6 3 . W e agr ee w i th t he D i s tr i ctC our t ’ s det erm i nat i on that , w hen the conduc t compl ai ned of byFuent es i s vi ew ed noti n i s ol at i on butunderthe t ot al i tyof the ci r cumst ance s , Fuent es has fai l ed t o r ai s e a mat er i al i s s ue of f actas t o w hetherhe s uffe r ed i nt ent i onal di s cr i m i nat i on beca us e he w as Puer t o R i can. T he onl yr el evant , non-6

hear s ayevi dence Fuent es has pr oduced i s a der ogat oryj oke t ol d m or e than once and a pej or at i ve comm entaboutPuer t o R i cans . W hi l e unfortunat e, w hen vi ew ed i n the cont ext o f 1 5 y e a r s o f

e mp l o yme n t , th o s e two c o mp l a i n t s s u r e l yd o n o tr i s e t o th e typ e o f e x tr e me h a ra s s m e n t th a t c h a n g e d th e te rm s a n d c o n d itio n s o f h is e m p lo ym e n t. C aver , 420 F. 3d at 2 6 2 . A n empl oy ee a l l egi ng a fa i l ur e t o pr om ot e cl ai m underT i t l e V I I pr ocee ds under the bur den- s hi ft i ng fr amew or k es t abl i s hed i n McD onnel lD ouglas C or p. v. G r een , 411 U .S . 7 9 2 , 8 0 2 -0 3 (1 9 7 3 ). T h e f irst ste p re q u ire s th e e m p lo y e e to e sta b lish a p rim a f a c ie cas e of di s cr i m i nat i on, thati s , he mustes t abl i s h ( 1) thathe w as a mem berof a pr ot ect ed cl as s , ( 2) thathe w as qual i fi ed forthe j ob t o w hi ch he appl i ed, and ( 3) thatanother in d iv id u a l, w h o w a s n o t a m e m b e r o f th e p ro te c te d c la s s , w a s tr e a te d m o re f a v o ra b ly. Schei dem ant l e v. Sl i

pper y Rock U

ni v. Stat e Sys . of

HigherE duc. , 470 F. 3d 535, 539 ( 3d C ir. 2 0 0 6 ). If

th e e m p lo y e e m a k e s o u t a p rim a f a c ie c a se , the b u rd e n o f p ro d u c tio n sh if

ts to th e e m p lo y e r t o e s ta b lis h a le g itim a te , n o n d is c ri m in a to ry re a s o n f o r i ts a c tio n s . I

d. If the empl oy erdoes s o, the bur den of pr oduct i on s hi ft s back t o the empl oy ee t o s how that th e e m p lo y e r’ s p ro f

f e re d re a s o n w a s a p re te x t f o r a c tu a l d is c ri m in a tio n . I d. W e agr ee w i th t he D i s tr i ctC our tthatFuent es m ade outa pr i m a fa ci e ca s e: ( 1) he es t abl i s hed thathe w as of Puer t o R i can de s centand w as thus a mem berof a pr ot ect ed c l a s s , ( 2 ) h e p a s s e d th e q u a l i f y i n g e x a m , a n d ( 3 ) G u n th e r , w h o i s w h i t e , g o tth e j o b . We al s o agr ee thatW at chung pr offe r ed evi dence of a l egi t i m at e, nondi s cr i m i nat oryr eas on for7

choos i ng G untheroverFuent es — namel y , thatG untherw as a bett ercandi dat e bas ed on hi s j ob per form ance , the fa cthe pas s ed the qual i fy i ng exam on hi s fi r s tatt empt , hi s pr i or w or k exper i ence , hi s var i ous l i cens es , and hi s pr oxi m i tyt o W at chung. Fi nal l y , w e agr ee w ith th e D istric t C o u rt th a t F u e n tes f a iled to ra ise a m a ter ial iss u e o f f a c t as to h is c laim that W atch u n g ’s pro ff

ere d legiti m ate rea so n s fo r hiri n g G u n ther o v er h im w ere pr et extual . I ndeed, Fuent es conce des thatatthe t i m e Scott i r ecomm ended G untherfor the pos i t i on of Supervi s orof Publ i c W or ks , “G untherw as a C ert i fi ed Publ i c W or ks M anage r , [he] hel d a C om m er ci al Pes t i ci de A ppl i cat or ’ s L i cens e, [he] w as a l i cens ed N ew [J ] er s eySt at e Fi r e I ns pect orand [he ] had var i ous otherqual i fi cat i on[s ] , educa t i on and j ob per form ance r ecor ds w hi ch w er e cons i der ed bythe M ay orand C ounci l t o m ake G un ther m ostsui t ed fo r the p osi t i on . ” (A pp el l ant’ s B r. 17 . ) D espi t e t hese co ncessi on s, Fuent es ar gues thatG untherw as chos en overhi m beca us e of hi s ethni ci ty , but , agai n, onl yi dent i fi es i n s uppor tof thatar gum entthe j oke and c om m entw hi ch w e ea r l i erfound w a n tin g . T h e re sim p lyis n o t a m a ter ial iss u e o f f a c t f ro m w h ich a f

a c tf in d e r c o u ld d e te rm in e th a t W a tc h u n g f a ile d to p ro m o te F u e n te s b e c a u s e h e w a s P u e rt o R ic a n .

I I I . C oncl usi on F o r t h e f o re g o in g re a s o n s , w e w ill a f f ir m th e ju d g m e n t o f

th e D is tr ic t C o u rt .