Harriott v. Success Acad. Charter Sch.

African American Plaintiff Fails to Plead Prima Facie Case of Discrimination, Retaliation

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OPINION & ORDER Tyrell Harriott brings this employment discrimination action against his former employer Success Academy Charter Schools (“Success Academy”). Before the Court is Success Academy’s motion for summary judgment on all claims. Doc. 19. For the reasons set forth below, the motion is granted. I. BACKGROUND A. Factual Background The following facts are undisputed except where otherwise noted. Success Academy is a network of 47 charter schools in the New York metropolitan area. Doc. 31 (Def.’s Statement of Uncontested Facts and Response to Pl.’s Counter-Statement of Material Facts)¹ 1. Teachers and staff in the Success Academy network report directly to the leadership at their school (i.e., the principal and assistant principal), who in turn report to “Network” personnel. Id. 3. As part of the Network structure, teachers and leadership are frequently asked to transfer between school locations within the Network, depending on the needs of particular schools, although Harriott asserts that chess teachers generally had the option to choose whether to transfer. Id. 2. Success Academy asserts that the school leadership make employment decisions regarding, for instance, coaching and transfer of teachers; but Harriott disputes the contention and asserts that chess directors, in addition to school leadership, were generally heavily involved in the decision to transfer chess teachers. Id. 4. Success Academy hired Harriott, an African American man, on August 31, 2015 as a part-time chess instructor² at Bedford-Stuyvesant Middle School (“BSMS”), working approximately 60 percent of a full-time schedule. Id.

5-6. At the time, Harriott was 37 years old. Doc. 29-1 (Harriott Dep. Tr.) at 28:22-24. Harriott reported directly to the BSMS principal (until August 2018, Rishabh Agarwal, and thereafter Michael Battle, who is African American) and assistant principal Rachel Mills, and he was also supervised by chess program leadership and the Network’s experiential learning department. Doc. 31

Harriott v. Success Acad. Charter Sch.

African American Plaintiff Fails to Plead Prima Facie Case of Discrimination, Retaliation

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