Beardsley v. Webb

Decision Date26 July 1994
Docket NumberNos. 93-1732,93-1747,s. 93-1732
Citation30 F.3d 524
Parties65 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 696, 63 USLW 2069 Lisa M. BEARDSLEY, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. John WEBB, Defendant-Appellant, and John R. ISOM, Sheriff of Loudoun County, individually and in his official capacity, Defendant. Lisa M. BEARDSLEY, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. John R. ISOM, Sheriff of Loudoun County, individually and in his official capacity; John Webb, Defendants-Appellees.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

ARGUED: John J. Brandt, Slenker, Brandt, Jennings & Johnston, Merrifield, VA, for appellants. John Michael Bredehoft, Charlson & Bredehoft, P.C., Fairfax, VA, for appellee. ON BRIEF: Robert S. Corish, Slenker, Brandt, Jennings & Johnston, Merrifield, Virginia, for Appellants. Elaine C. Bredehoft, Charlson & Bredehoft, P.C., Fairfax, VA, for appellee.

Before PHILLIPS, Circuit Judge, BUTZNER, Senior Circuit Judge, and YOUNG, Senior United States District Judge for the District of Maryland, sitting by designation.

Affirmed by published opinion. Senior Judge BUTZNER wrote the opinion, in which Judge PHILLIPS and Senior Judge YOUNG joined.

OPINION

BUTZNER, Senior Circuit Judge:

The principal issue in this appeal is whether provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 for trial by jury to recover compensatory and punitive damages make Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 the exclusive remedy for claims of employment discrimination brought by public employees. See 42 U.S.C. Secs. 1981a(a)-(b) (damages) and (c) (jury) (Supp. IV 1992). The district court held that Title VII was not the exclusive remedy for employment discrimination claims, 828 F.Supp. 397. It allowed Lisa M. Beardsley, a former employee of the Loudoun County, Virginia, sheriff's office, to maintain her 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 action against her supervisor, John Webb, and Sheriff John R. Isom. From a judgment entered on the jury's verdict awarding damages to Beardsley for discrimination Webb appeals. Beardsley cross-appeals the court's summary dismissal of her other claims against Webb and Isom. Finding no reversible error among the many assigned, we affirm.

I

Webb contends that provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 that allow the recovery of damages and provide for trial by jury establish that Title VII is the sole remedy for sexual harassment. Consequently, he argues, the 1991 Act precludes Beardsley from bringing an action under Sec. 1983 and the district court erred by denying his motion to dismiss. He asserts that Congress intended the Act to provide sufficient remedies because its stated purpose is to provide "appropriate remedies" for unlawful harassment. Pub.L. No. 102-166, Sec. 3 (codified at 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981, note (Supp. IV 1992)). He also points out that the Act explicitly does not limit Sec. 1981 but is silent with respect to any limitation of Sec. 1983. See 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981a(b)(4) (Supp. IV 1992). This omission, he claims, makes it reasonable to assume that the Act precludes suits for sexual harassment under Sec. 1983.

This and other circuits have long recognized that prior to 1991 Congress did not intend Title VII to be the sole remedy for a public employee's claim of employment discrimination. The reasons for concluding that Congress preserved a cause of action under Sec. 1983 have often been explained; they need not be repeated here. See Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., 415 U.S. 36, 48-49, 94 S.Ct. 1011, 1019-20, 39 L.Ed.2d 147 (1974); Keller v. Prince George's County, 827 F.2d 952, 956-63 (4th Cir.1987). In light of appellate case law that Title VII and Sec. 1983 co-exist to afford relief for employment discrimination, it is quite unlikely that Congress implicitly intended the 1991 Act to bar claimants from seeking relief under Sec. 1983. It is more reasonable to presume that Congress intended both avenues of relief to remain open. See Lorillard v. Pons, 434 U.S. 575, 580, 98 S.Ct. 866, 869, 55 L.Ed.2d 40 (1978).

We are unable to accept Webb's argument that Congress intended Title VII to be a sufficient remedy for employment discrimination. The purpose of the Act to provide "appropriate" remedies must be read along with the congressional finding that "additional remedies under Federal law are needed to deter unlawful harassment and intentional discrimination in the workplace." Pub.L. No. 102-166, Sec. 2 (codified as 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981, note (Supp. IV 1992)). It would be perverse to conclude that the Congress that provided additional remedies simultaneously intended silently to extinguish the remedy that Sec. 1983 has provided for many years.

Also misplaced is Webb's contrast of the savings clause for Sec. 1981 with the absence of a similar clause for Sec. 1983 to buttress his claim that Congress implicitly abolished remedies that Sec. 1983 had previously afforded. The 1991 Act overruled Patterson v. McLean Credit Union, 491 U.S. 164, 109 S.Ct. 2363, 105 L.Ed.2d 132 (1989), which limited Sec. 1981 by excluding from its scope conduct that occurs after the formation of a contract. 491 U.S. at 175-85, 109 S.Ct. at 2371-77; see 42 U.S.C. Secs. 1981(b) and (c) (Supp. IV 1992). Congressional concern with the scope of relief underSec. 1981 does not establish that Congress intended to limit the scope of relief under Sec. 1983. See Stoner v. Department of Agriculture, 846 F.Supp. 738, 740-41 (W.D. Wis.1994).

Webb's argument that the remedies the 1991 Act added to Title VII obviate the need for the remedies afforded by Sec. 1983 is based on a flawed premise. Title VII and Sec. 1983 are not co-extensive in every respect. For example, Title VII does not apply to employers with less than 15 employees. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e(b). Section 1983 contains no similar limitation.

In Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., the Court observed:

[T]he legislative history of Title VII manifests a congressional intent to allow an individual to pursue independently his rights under both Title VII and other applicable state and federal statutes. The clear inference is that Title VII was designed to supplement, rather than supplant, existing laws and institutions relating to employment discrimination.

415 U.S. at 48-49, 94 S.Ct. at 1019-20 (citation omitted). Nothing in the text of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 or in its legislative history contradicts the Court's recognition that Title VII does not supplant Sec. 1983. See also Stoner, 846 F.Supp. 738; contra Marrero-Rivera v. Department of Justice of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 800 F.Supp. 1024 (D.P.R.1992). The district court properly denied Webb's motion to dismiss.

II

Beardsley began working for the Loudoun County, Virginia, sheriff's office in 1984. She was promoted to Field Operations Sergeant in 1988 and to Second Lieutenant in 1989, becoming the highest ranking female in the department. First Lieutenant Webb supervised Beardsley in 1991 from the summer to October. No incidents occurred during this period. Webb again supervised Beardsley from March 1992 until Beardsley resigned in August 1992. The incidents that prompted Beardsley's lawsuit occurred during this period. Because the jury returned a verdict in Beardsley's favor, we review the evidence on this issue in the light most favorable to her.

In May 1992, Webb called Beardsley "honey" and "dear" in front of subordinates. Beardsley asked Webb to stop using these terms. Shortly after these encounters, Webb stood behind Beardsley during roll call and touched her shoulders. When Beardsley informed him that the touching made her and her husband, a member of the department who was present at roll call, uncomfortable, Webb massaged her shoulders while staring at Beardsley's husband. For a period of time after this incident, whenever Beardsley arranged on her car radio to meet with a deputy, Webb would show up at the meeting without an apparent professional purpose.

Webb unjustifiably accused Beardsley of having an affair with a deputy, Sergeant Noble. When Beardsley offered to drive Noble to an automobile repair shop to pick up a patrol car, Webb stated that this was an excuse for her and Noble to "kiss face" in the parking lot.

Webb asked Beardsley what kind of underwear she wore. She responded that it was none of his business. Webb retorted that he "was just wondering how something so small could be so comfortable." On another occasion, when Beardsley indicated she was planning on taking maternity leave, Webb asked her why she would want to do that to her body. He then asked what type of birth control she used. Beardsley protested to Webb that these questions and comments were inappropriate.

When Webb had to pick up his patrol car from the repair shop, he insisted that Beardsley drive him because "it was his turn to make out in the parking lot" with Beardsley. She told him that his statement was not funny. After another officer offered to drive him, Webb repeated that it was his turn to have his way with her. Webb ordered Beardsley to drive him and she complied. During the drive, Beardsley reiterated that Webb's behavior was not funny and that she did not want to have to put up with it. Webb responded that she had chosen to work "in a field primarily occupied by men" and that if she didn't like it she could "just get out."

Webb's behavior then changed. Instead of giving her unwanted attention, Webb gave her the cold shoulder. When he did talk to her, he was curt. He regularly criticized her performance. He questioned her orders. When she confronted him about his conduct, he initially just stared at her and then accused her of having no sense of humor.

At this point, Beardsley met with Sheriff Isom to complain about Webb's behavior. Webb did not change. Her squad began to become insubordinate, bypassing the chain of command and reporting only to Webb. Webb in turn bypassed Beardsley to give orders directly to her deputies, hampering her efforts to run her shift.

Beardsley again complained to Sheriff Isom. She also met...

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