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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND ELOISE SEWARD : : : : : : :

v. HARFORD COUNTY, MARYLAND, et. al.

Civil Action WMN-00-1583

MEMORANDUM Before the Court is Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment (Paper No. 4). Plaintiff opposed this motion, as well as filed her own motion for an order permitting immediate discovery and deferral of determination of Defendants' motion for dismissal/summary judgment (Paper No. 7). Upon a review of the motions and the applicable case law, the Court determines that no hearing is necessary (Local Rule 105.6) and that Plaintiff's motion will be denied, and Defendants' motion granted. I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Eloise Seward, a 55 year old, African American woman, worked in the Harford County Library System from 1990 to 1999. At the time that she resigned in August of 1999, she The central allegation

was working as a Computer Technician.

in her complaint is that, throughout the course of her employment with the Library, she was denied, on account of her 1

race, a series of promotions for which she was otherwise qualified. The record before the Court reveals the following.

Plaintiff was hired in September 1990 as a "Circulation Substitute." At the time of her hiring, Plaintiff had no

prior employment history either with a library, or in the computer field. Her initial salary was $5.94 per hour. Less

than two months after being hired, Plaintiff was promoted to the position of "Cataloging Assistant" and her salary was increased over 24% to $7.42 per hour. In July 1992, Plaintiff

accepted a temporary grant funded position of "Data Entry Clerk," where she remained until November 1995. In 1993, the

salary for this position went from $8.75 per hour to $10.66 per hour and Plaintiff was also made a full time employee and provided with a full benefits package. In November 1995, Plaintiff was promoted to the position of "Computer Assistant." Although this position was posted as

a 35 hour per week position with part-time benefits, the Library allowed Plaintiff to maintain her 37.5 hour workweek with full time benefits by reducing the hours/benefits for the Data Entry Clerk position that Plaintiff was vacating. With

the change of position, Plaintiff was also offered a 7.9% pay raise which would have taken her salary to $11.51 per hour. Plaintiff requested an hourly rate of $12.50 per hour and 2

Plaintiff and the Library ultimately agreed to an hourly rate of $11.73 per hour. Seven months after Plaintiff moved into

this new position, the Library adjusted this wage to $12.09 per hour, and made the adjustment retroactive to Plaintiff's promotion date. In July 1998, Plaintiff's position was changed from that of Computer Assistant to that of "Computer Technician." While

Plaintiff asserts that this was not a promotion but merely a reclassification, her salary grade was increased from Grade 6 to Grade 10, resulting in an increase in salary to $16.92 per hour. In that same month, Plaintiff applied and was interviewed for the position of "Technology Administrator." Five

candidates were interviewed and the position was ultimately awarded to a white female, Gia Wilhelm. Plaintiff alleges in

the Complaint that Wilhelm was less qualified than herself for the position. Complaint at

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