The liquid waste contractor for the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site and a former employee have received additional time to produce names and contact information for potential witnesses in a discrimination suit against the company.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Paige Gossett on Wednesday granted the joint request submitted five days earlier by plaintiff Adrienne Saulsberry and defendant Savannah River Remediation (SRR).
Saulsberry, an African-American woman, in August 2016 sued her former employer in U.S. District Court in South Carolina, claiming she was terminated in 2013 over her role in an incident that also had racial overtones.
In spring 2013, a white SRR employee was fired after an internal investigation confirmed he had made threats toward then-President Barack Obama while in the presence of African-American co-workers, according to the lawsuit. Saulsberry, then a radiological first-line manager for SRR, confirmed to management the white employee had made racially motivated comments. Her lawsuit alleges she subsequently faced backlash from other white co-workers who were friends of the fired employee, including a manager who initiated her dismissal. Saulsberry’s departure was part of a planned reduction in force, but her lawsuit says it was used as a cover-up to get rid of her. She is seeking reinstatement, back pay, and payment of her attorney fees from SRR.
Savannah River Remediation denied the claims in September 2016.
In September 2017, Gossett ordered Saulsberry’s attorneys to provide names, phone numbers, and addresses for each person they expect to call as a witness by Jan. 11. Savannah River Remediation was supposed to do the same by Feb. 10. But in a joint request on Jan. 5, the sides told Gossett the holiday season prevented them from meeting with potential witnesses and that that process needed to be completed. “In addition, the recent depositions have revealed that there may be additional documents that need to be produced and the parties are working to complete the process,” they wrote in the Jan. 5 request.
They requested a 90-day extension, but Gossett granted each 54 days. Saulsberry must submit her list by March 6, and SRR by April 5.
Beyond the witness list, the two sides must meet other deadlines before the case can head to trial. Parties to the lawsuit must by April 5 complete the discovery process. During discovery, the parties can request information from each other, access to related documents, and request depositions, among other things. After discovery, the parties will have until April 21 to file any additional motions.
Finally, the parties will have until June 27 to complete an optional mediation, a process in which the two sides would sit with a neutral party and try to work out the issue without going to trial. If they decide to enter mediation, they must alert the court of that decision by May 28. A trial date has not been set.
Savannah River Remediation is led by AECOM with partners Bechtel National, CH2M, and BWX Technologies. The SRR team broke up when it came time for procuring a replacement contract. The Energy Department in October awarded liquid waste work worth up to $4.7 billion over 10 years to Savannah River EcoManagement, a partnership of BWX Technologies, Bechtel National, and Honeywell International. The bid was subsequently protested to the Government Accountability Office by the two losing teams: AECOM and CH2M, which teamed in Savannah River Technology & Remediation; and Fluor Westinghouse Liquid Waste Services.
