Alberte v. Anew Health Care Services, Inc.

• Decision Date: 08 February 2000
• Docket Number: No. 96-3225.,96-3225.
• Citation: 232 Wis.2d 587,2000 WI 7,605 N.W.2d 515
• Parties: Lisa K. ALBERTE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ANEW HEALTH CARE SERVICES, INC. and Sally Sprenger, Defendants-Respondents-Petitioners.
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court

232 Wis.2d 587

2000 WI 7

605 N.W.2d 515

Lisa K. ALBERTE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. ANEW HEALTH CARE SERVICES, INC. and Sally Sprenger, Defendants-Respondents-Petitioners.

No. 96-3225.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

Oral argument November 30, 1999.

Decided February 8, 2000.

For the defendants-respondents-petitioners there were briefs by Arthur E. Beck, Katherine L. Williams and Beck, Chaet, Molony & Bamberger, S.C., Milwaukee, and oral argument by Katherine L. Williams.

For the plaintiff-appellant there was a brief by John E. Uelmen and Fair Employment Legal Services, S.C., Milwaukee, and oral argument by John E. Uelmen.

An amicus curiae brief was filed by Timothy G. Costello, Mark A. Johnson, and Krukowski & Costello, S.C., Milwaukee, for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.

¶ 1. JON P. WILCOX, J.

The question presented in this case is whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-2000e(17) (1994), (Title VII), and the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101-12213 (1994),¹ (the ADA), subject employers' agents to personal liability for their discriminatory acts. In a published decision, Alberte v. Anew Health Care Services, Inc., 223 Wis. 2d 1, 5, 588 N.W.2d 298 (Ct. App. 1998), the court of appeals determined that these statutes subject agents to individual liability. The defendants petitioned for review. Because we conclude that Congress did not intend to hold agents personally liable under these statutes, we reverse the decision of the court of appeals.

I. Facts and Procedural Background

¶ 2. The facts material to the narrow issue in this case are brief. During 1992, Lisa K. Alberte was employed by ANEW Health Care Services, Inc. (ANEW), a corporation that provides skilled nursing services. Alberte's supervisor, Sally Sprenger, was also the President and 47.5% owner of the corporation. On December 10, 1992, Sprenger discharged Alberte from her employment at ANEW.

¶ 3. Alberte subsequently filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the EEOC authorized her to commence a civil action. Alberte sued ANEW and Sprenger, alleging that they violated Title VII and the ADA by failing to reasonably accommodate her disability (a back condition), retaliating against her, and terminating her employment. The suit specifically alleges that Sprenger was serving as ANEW's agent when these actions took place and seeks to hold Sprenger personally liable for her alleged discriminatory actions.

¶ 4. After the defendants' request to remove the case to federal court was denied, the defendants filed a motion for partial summary judgment in the circuit court for Milwaukee County, Judge Louise M. Tesmer. The motion sought to dismiss Alberte's action against Sprenger as an individual on the grounds that Title VII and the ADA do not subject her to personal liability. The circuit court granted the motion and dismissed Sprenger from the action.

¶ 5. Alberte appealed from the circuit court's order granting summary judgment and dismissing Sprenger from the action. The court of appeals certified the issue to this court pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 809.61, but this court declined to grant certification. Hearing the merits of the appeal, the court of appeals determined that the literal language of these statutes subject Sprenger to personal liability and therefore reversed the order of the circuit court. Alberte, 223 Wis. 2d at 5-6. ANEW and Sprenger petitioned this court for review.

II. Standard of Review

[1]

¶ 6. The question whether an employer's agent may be held personally liable for violations of Title VII and the ADA arises in this case in the context of a summary judgment motion. An appellate court independently reviews a circuit court's order granting summary judgment, applying the same standards as the circuit court. Doe v. Archdiocese of Milwaukee, 211 Wis. 2d 312, 332, 565 N.W.2d 94 (1997).

[2]

¶ 7. Whether the summary judgment motion was properly granted in this case depends upon whether the ADA imposes liability on individuals, which is an issue of first impression in Wisconsin state courts. Although we may of course seek guidance in the persuasive authority of other jurisdictions, only United States Supreme Court interpretations of federal law are binding on this court. State v. Webster, 114 Wis. 2d 418, 426 n.4, 338 N.W.2d 474 (1983). Thus, we are not bound by the Seventh Circuit's determination that the ADA does not impose individual liability on employers' agents. See United States E.E.O.C. v. AIC Security Investigations, Ltd., 55 F.3d 1276, 1282 (7th Cir. 1995)

. Instead, this case presents a question of statutory interpretation. Interpretation of a federal statute is a question of law that is subject to de novo review by this court. GMAC Mortgage Corp. v. Gisvold, 215 Wis. 2d 459, 471, 572 N.W.2d 466 (1998).

III. Individual Liability under the ADA

¶ 8. The statutory provisions that we must interpret are the provisions that create liability under Title VII and the ADA. Title VII prohibits any "employer" from engaging in unlawful employment practices. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2. "Employer" is defined as "a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce who has fifteen or more employees. . .and any agent of such person." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b)(emphasis added). The ADA prohibits discrimination by any "covered entity" against a qualified individual with a disability. 42 U.S.C. § 12112(a). A "covered entity" includes "an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or joint labor-management committee." 42 U.S.C. § 12111(2). An "employer" is defined as "a person engaged in an industry affecting commerce who has 15 or more employees. . .and any agent of such person." 42 U.S.C. 42 U.S.C. § 12111(5)(A) (emphasis added). The ADA also provides that the remedies, procedures, and rights set forth in Title VII also apply to any person alleging violation of the ADA. 42 U.S.C. § 12133.

¶ 9. Alberte claims that inclusion of the phrase, "any agent of such person" in the definition of "employer" under both of these statutes clearly and unambiguously means that agents may be held liable for violating Title VII and the ADA. She urges us to apply the well-established rule that "[i]n a statutory construction case, the beginning point must be the language of the statute, and when a statute speaks with clarity to an issue judicial inquiry into the statute's meaning, in all but the most extraordinary circumstance, is finished." Estate of Cowart v. Nicklos Drilling Co., 505 U.S. 469, 475 (1992). See also INS v. Phinpathya, 464 U.S. 183, 189 (1984)

; Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors, Inc, 458 U.S. 564, 571 (1982); DNR v. Wisconsin Power & Light Co., 108 Wis. 2d 403, 408, 321 N.W.2d 286 (1982). Under this rule, Alberte argues that we must give effect to her "plain meaning" interpretation of the phrase "and any agent."

¶ 10. While it is true that statutory interpretation begins with the language of the statute, it is also well established that courts must not look at a single, isolated sentence or portion of a sentence, but at the role of the relevant language in the entire statute. Pilot Life Ins. Co. v. Dedeaux, 481 U.S. 41, 51 (1987). See also In re: Antonio M.C., 182 Wis. 2d 301, 309, 513 N.W.2d 662 (Ct. App. 1994). Moreover, courts have "`some "scope for adopting a restricted rather than a literal or usual meaning of its words where acceptance of that meaning. . .would thwart the obvious purpose of the statute."'" Griffin, 458 U.S. at 571 (quoting Commissioner v. Brown, 380 U.S. 563, 571 (1965) and Helvering v. Hammel, 311 U.S. 504, 510-11 (1941)). When a literal interpretation produces absurd or unreasonable results, or results that are clearly at odds with the legislature's intent, "[o]ur task is to give some alternative meaning" to the words. Green v. Bock Laundry Machine Co., 490 U.S. 504, 527 (1989)(Scalia, J., concurring).²

¶ 11. Although there are no relevant Wisconsin cases to guide our interpretation in this case, there is a wealth of relevant federal circuit court precedent. Because both the ADA and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) define "employer" almost identically to the way it is defined in Title VII, "[c]ourts routinely apply arguments regarding individual liability to all three statutes interchangeably." AIC, 55 F.3d at 1280. The vast majority of federal circuit courts have determined that the phrase "and any agent" does not create individual liability under these three statutes.³ Similarly, the Sixth Circuit has recently held that individual supervisors may not be held liable in a retaliation claim under the Rehabilitation Act because they do not meet the statutory definition of "employer." Hiler v. Brown, 177 F.3d 542, 547 (6th Cir. 1999). Like these courts, we conclude that Alberte's narrow, literal interpretation of the phrase "and any agent" is not consistent with the entire remedial scheme of Title VII and the ADA, and produces unreasonable results. Accordingly, we reverse the decision of the court of appeals and hold that Sprenger is not subject to liability in her individual capacity under these statutes.

A. Unreasonable results of a literal interpretation

¶ 12. Like the overwhelming majority of federal circuit courts, we are persuaded that Alberte's literal interpretation of the phrase "and any agent" does not make sense in light of the entire scheme of Title VII and the ADA.

¶ 13. To begin with, Title VII and the ADA both limit employer liability to employers who have more than 15 employees. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(b); 42 U.S.C. § 12111(5)(A).⁴ Thus, under Alberte's interpretation, although an entity that employs fewer than fifteen employees would be protected from liability, an individual supervisor would be subject to liability. It seems doubtful that Congress would subject individuals to liability while at the same time protecting small employers from liability. Tomka, 66 F.3d at 1314 (quoting Miller, 991...