Opinion ID: 3003137
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Statements by Other City Employees

Text: To support his contention that all of the above actions were perpetrated in retaliation for his 1997 lawsuit and history of discrimination complaints, Stephens proffers 10 No. 08-1416 the statements of several Fleet employees.7 The primary source of these statements was Ruth Figueroa, a coworker who served as a supervisor and service writer for Fleet. Figueroa’s work station was, by her estimate, approximately ten feet from where Stephens worked. First, Figueroa testified that Millie Velazquez, administrative assistant to Commissioner Picardi, told her that Picardi said that he was upset with Stephens for making so many complaints and writing letters to the Mayor. Figueroa also testified that Velazquez said that she considered Stephens to be a problem, that she would make things difficult for him, and that he would never be promoted. Second, Figueroa testified regarding comments by Laura Johnston, the administrative services officer mentioned previously. According to Figueroa, Johnston frequently “vented” about Stephens because she had to add his name to the interview list on occasion. Figueroa quoted Johnston as saying, “That damn Les. I have to change the applications.” Third, Figueroa testified about her own observations of Stephens’s alleged mistreatment. She believed that supervisors at Fleet were treating Stephens differently than other employees in his position, including giving others assignments perceived to be more desirable. It 7 The district court determined that a number of the statements in question were inadmissible hearsay. Stephens claims the district court erred in making this determination. We address Stephens’s arguments below in part II.C. No. 08-1416 11 was her belief that this conduct was because “they just didn’t want to deal with Les Stephens.” She also claimed that the City directed its employees to request work from accident adjusters other than Stephens. Figueroa stated that she never discussed Stephens with Commissioner Picardi or any of the four individual defendants. Figueroa was asked during her deposition: “So if any of [the defendants] had any complaints about Les Stephens, you would have heard about that from what someone else told you; is that correct?” Figueroa responded, “That’s correct.”