21-001491 Ronald Jones vs. Florida Department Of Education Status: Closed Recommended Order on Tuesday, July 13, 2021.

Summary: Petitioner failed to state facts that would establish that the Department of Education was his employer or took any discriminatory employment actions against him.

S TATE OF F LORIDA

D IVISION OF A DMINISTRATIVE H EARINGS

R ONALD J ONES ,

Petitioner ,

vs. Case No. 21 - 1491

F LORIDA D EPARTMENT OF E DUCATION ,

Respondent .

/

R ECOMMENDED O RDER O F D ISMISSAL

This matter was presented for decision by RespondentÔs Motion for

Summary Recommended Order, filed on June 2, 2021.

A PPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Ronald D avid Jones, pro se

1821 McKelvy Street

Quincy, Florida 32351

For Respondent: Paula Harri gan, Esquire

Department of Education

325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1544

Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 0400

S TATEMENT OF T HE I SSUE

The issue is whether PetitionerÔs Petition for Relief should be dismissed

for failure to allege facts sufficient to invoke the jurisdiction of the Florida

Commission on Human Relations ( the ÑFCHRÒ) under section 760.10, Florida

Statutes. 1

1 Citations sh all be to Florida Statutes (2020) unless otherwise specified. Section 760.10 has

been unchanged since 1992, save for a 2015 amendment adding pregnancy to the list of

classifications protected from discri minatory employment practices. Ch. 2015 - 6 8, § 6, Laws of

Fla.

P RELIMINARY S TATEMENT

On January 19, 2021, Petitioner, Ronald D. Jones (ÑPetitionerÒ or

ÑMr. JonesÒ), filed with the FCHR an Employment Compla int of

Discrimination against the Department of Education (ÑRespondentÒ or Ñthe

DepartmentÒ). Mr. Jones alleged that he had been discriminated against

pursuant to chapter 760, Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act based upon

his age, race, and/or sex. Mr. Jones also alleged that the Department had

retaliated against him for the exercise of protected rights under chapter 760.

The FCHR investigated Mr. JonesÔ s allegations. On April 19, 2021, the

FCHR issued its notice and determination that it found no reasonable cause

to believe that unlawful discrimination had occurred in this case. The notice

informed Mr. Jones that he could file a Petition for Relief to obtain a hearing

at the Division of Administrative Hearings (ÑDOAHÒ) within 35 days of the

date th e determination of no reasonable cause had been signed by the

Executive Director of the FCHR.

On April 29, 2021, Mr. Jones filed a Petition for Relief with the FCHR. On

May 5, 2021, the FCHR referred the case to DOAH for the assignment of an

Administrativ e Law Judge and the conduct of a formal hearing. The final

hearing was scheduled for July 15, 2021.

On June 2, 2021, the Department filed a Motion for Summary

Recommended Order (ÑMotionÒ), requesting a summary disposition of the

Petition for Relief filed in this case. Mr. Jones did not timely respond to the

Motion. In light of the fact that Mr. Jones is a non - lawyer representing

himself in this proceeding, the undersigned on June 16, 2021, issued an

Order to Show Cause to afford Mr. Jones every opportunity to respond to the

Motion. On June 28, 2021, Mr. Jones filed his response to the Motion. The

following Findings of Fact are based on the partiesÔ filings in this case,

including affidavits submitted by the Department in support of the Motion.

F INDINGS OF F ACT

1. The Department is an employer as that term is defined in section

760.02(7).

2. The Petition for Relief alleges the following ultimate facts, which are

accepted as true for purposes of ruling on the Motion:

I believe I have been discriminated again st based

on my race (Black), sex (male), and age (over 40). I

also believe I am being retaliated against for filing

a complaint with Florida Commission on Human

Relations and in Federal Court. I have been

working within the Gadsden County School system

sin ce January 2008 as a substitute teacher and

have teaching experience. Around or on October

2020, I applied for a Social Studies position and

was not offered an interview by the principal

because DOE deliberately and maliciously held

clearance letter to den y employment.

3. Section 760.10 titled ÑUnlawful employment practices,Ò is the statute

under which the FCHR exercises jurisdiction of the Petition for Relief.

Section 760.10(1)(a) states that it is an unlawful employment practice for an

employer to discri minate against any individual Ñwith respect to

compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such

individualÔs race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age,

handicap, or marital status.Ò

4. The Motion states that P etitioner is not, and never has been, an

employee of the Department. RespondentÔs Chief of Human Resource

Management, David Dawkins, conducted a system - wide search and verified

that Petitioner has never been employed by the Department. Mr. DawkinsÔ s

affida vit to that effect was attached to the Motion. Mr. Jones did not contest

the contents of Mr. DawkinsÔ s affidavit.

5. The Motion also references section 760.10(5) as a possible avenue under

which Mr. Jones might seek relief against the Department. Section 760.10(5)

provides:

Whenever, in order to engage in a profession,

occupation, or trade, it is required that a person

receive a license, certification, or other credential,

become a member or an associate of any club,

association, or other organization, or pass any

examination, it is an unlawful employment practice

for any person to discriminate against any other

person seeking such license, certification, or other

credential, seeking to become a member or

associate of such club, association, or other

organi zation, or seeking to take or pass such

examination, because of such other personÔs race,

color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age,

handicap, or marital status.

6. In theory, the DepartmentÔs alleged Ñdeliberate and maliciousÒ

withholding of Mr. JonesÔs Ñclearance letter,Ò i.e., a Temporary Certificate to

teach, could constitute a violation of section 760.10(5). However, the

Department pointed out that after Mr. Jones applied for a Florida Educator

Certificate, the Department sent him an ÑOffi cial Statement of Status of

EligibilityÒ on October 12, 2017. A copy of the DepartmentÔs letter to

Mr. Jones was attached to the Motion. The letter informed Mr. Jones that he

was eligible for a Temporary Certificate covering Social Science (Grades

6 - 12), if he completed the following requirements and documented them to

the Bureau of Educator Certification (ÑBOEÒ):

• verification of employment and request for

issuance of certificate on the appropriate

certification form from a Florida public, state

supported, or nonpublic school which has an

approved Professional Education Competence

Program.

• results of your fingerprint processing from the

Florida Department of Law Enforcement and

the FBI. Your employer will assist you in

completing the fingerprint process. I f your

application or fingerprint report reflects a

criminal offense or suspension/revocation

record, your file will be referred to Professional

Practices Services for further review. Issuance

of your certificate will be contingent upon the

results of this review.

7. The Motion states that Mr. Jones submitted only the results of his

fingerprint processing to BOE. Therefore, BOE was legally precluded from

issuing a Temporary Certificate to Petitioner. Attached to the Motion was the

affidavit of Daniel Moore , Chief of BOE, attesting to the fact that a request

for issuance from a Florida public, state supported, or nonpublic school which

has an approved Professional Education Competence Program is required in

order for BOE to issue a Temporary Certificate. Mr. MooreÔs affidavit is

confirmed by Florida Administrative Code Rule 6A - 4.004(1)(a)2., requiring

verification of full - time employment by a Florida school district before a

Temporary Certificate may be issued.

8. Mr. Jones did not contest the contents of Mr. MooreÔs affidavit.

9. Based on the foregoing, the Motion requests entry of a summary

recommended order of dismissal because Mr. Jones Ôs pleadings and

admissions of fact, including those in his response to the Motion, are facially

and conclusively insuffi cient to prove that he was ever an employee of the

Department , or that the DepartmentÔs failure to issue a teaching certificate

to Mr. Jones was based on anything more than the ministerial operation of

the DepartmentÔs own rule.

10. Mr. JonesÔ s response to the Motion does not address , and therefore

appears to concede , the DepartmentÔs statement that he is not and has never

been an employee of the Department. Mr. Jones did not allege that he has

ever been an employee of , or an applicant for employment by , th e

Department.

11. Mr. JonesÔ s response does not address the fact that the DepartmentÔs

rule forbids it to issue a Temporary Certificate without verification of full -

time employment. Rather, Mr. Jones pursues an argument alleging that the

denial was somehow based on his criminal record and that denial on that

basis is discriminatory because of the disproportionate percentage of African

American and Latino citizens who have criminal records in comparison to

Caucasians.

12. Mr. Jones claims that the Department Ôs stated reason for denying him

a Temporary Certificate was pretextual and that the actual reason was racial

discrimination premised on his criminal record.

13. In a related case, Mr. Jones has alleged that the Gadsden County

School Board declined to hir e him because of his criminal record , and that

this declination was a pretext for discrimination based on race, age, and/or

sex. The merits of Mr. JonesÔs case against the local school board and its

subsidiary institutions are not at issue here.

14. The q uestion in this case is whether the Department had anything to

do with Mr. JonesÔs failure to gain employment by the Gadsden County

School Board. The undisputed facts establish that the Department Ôs role in

this process was purely ministerial. Had Mr. Jone s secured employment, the

school that hired him would have requested the issuance of a Temporary

Certificate by the Department. By operation of rule 6A - 4.004(1)(a)2., the

Department would have issued the Temporary Certificate. The Department

had no role in the decisions of the local school officials to hire or not hire

Mr. Jones.

15. It is found that Mr. Jones has not alleged facts sufficient to state a

case against the Department under section 760.10, and that he would not be

able to prove at hearing that he was ever an employee of the Department , or

that the failure to issue a Temporary Certificate to Mr. Jones was anything

more than the DepartmentÔs following the requirements of its own rule.

C ONCLUSIONS OF L AW

1 6. DOAH has jurisdiction of the subject ma tter of and the parties to this

proceeding. §§ 120.569 and 120.57(1), Fla. Stat.

17. The Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992 (the Ñ Florida Civil Rights Act Ò or

the Ñ FCRA Ò ), chapter 760, prohibits discrimination in the workplace.

18. Section 760.10 states the following, in relevant part:

(1) It is an unlawful employment practice for an

employer:

(a) To discharge or to fail or refuse to hire any

individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any

individual with respect to compensation, terms,

conditions, or privileges of employment, because of

such individual's race, color, religion, sex, national

origin, age, handicap, or marital status.

(b) To limit, segregate, or classify employees or

applicants for employment in any way which would

deprive or tend to de prive any individual of

employment opportunities, or adversely affect any

individualÔs status as an employee, because of such

individualÔs race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy,

national origin, age, handicap, or marital status.

19. The Department is an Ñ employer Ò as defined in section 760.02(7),

which provides the following:

(7) Ñ Employer Ò means any person employing 15 or

more employees for each working day in each of

20 or more calendar weeks in the current or

preceding calendar year, and any agent of su ch a

person.

20. It is undisputed that Petitioner has never been an employee of the

Department or an applicant for employment with the Department.

PetitionerÔs only avenue of relief against the Department under the facts

alleged in the Petition for Relief is pursuant to section 760.10(5), set forth in

full at Finding of Fact 5 above.

21. Petitioner has alleged that the Department withheld the issuance of a

Temporary Certificate for discriminatory purposes, in violation of section

760.10(5). However, the un disputed facts establish that the Department

declined to issue a Temporary Certificate to Petitioner in obedience to the

requirements of rule 6A - 4.004, which provides, in relevant part:

(1) Temporary certificate.

(a) The three - year nonrenewable temporary

certificate may be issued to an applicant who does

not qualify for the professional certificate but meets

the following requirements:

* * *

2. Obtains full - time employment in a position for

which a Florida educatorsÔ certificate is required in

a Florida public, state supported, or a nonpublic

school which has a Department of Education

approved system for documenting the

demonstration of required professional education

competence. Verification of employment shall be

submitted by a Florida district superint endent or

designee or the chief administrative officerÈ.

22. Petitioner did not allege that the Department played any direct role in

the decisions of local school authorities in Gadsden County regarding

PetitionerÔs employment. Petitioner speculated as to the DepartmentÔs

motives in failing to issue a Temporary Certificate , but never addressed the

fact that the quoted rule prohibited the Department from issuing said

certificate unless , and until , Petitioner obtained full - time employment.

23. The Petition f or Relief did not articulate a theory or allege facts that

could establish that the Department took any retaliatory action against

Petitioner.

24. It is concluded that Petitioner has failed to state a claim under section

760.10, and that the FCHR should di smiss the Petition for Relief.

R ECOMMENDATION

Based upon the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, it is

R ECOMMENDED that the Florida Commission on Human Relations issue a

final order finding that the Department of Education did not commit an y

unlawful employment practices and dismissing the Petition for Relief filed in

this case.

D ONE A ND E NTERED this 1 3 th day of July , 2021 , in Tallahassee, Leon

County, Florida.

S

L AWRENCE P. S TEVENSON

Administrative Law Judge

1230 Apalachee Parkway

Talla hassee, Florida 32399 - 3060

(850) 488 - 9675

www.doah.state.fl.us

Filed with the Clerk of the

Division of Administrative Hearings

this 1 3 th day of July , 2021 .

C OPIES F URNISHED :

Tammy S. Barton, Agency Clerk Ronald David Jones

Florida Commission on Human Relations 1821 McKelvy Street

Room 110 Quincy, Florida 32351

4 075 Esplanade Way

Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 7020 Paula Harrigan, Esquire

Department of Education

Dan Saunders Suite 1544

Florida Department of Education 325 West Gaines Street

Turlington Building, Room 101 Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 0400

325 West Gaines Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399

Cheyanne Costilla, General Counsel

Florida Commission on Human Relations

R oom 110

4075 Esplanade Way

Tallahassee, Florida 32399 - 7020

N OTICE OF R IGH T T O S UBMIT E XCEPTIONS

All parties have the right to submit written exceptions within 15 days from

the date of this Recommended Order. Any exceptions to this Recommended

Order should be filed with the agency that will issue the Final Order in this

case.