Bruff v. North Mississippi Health Services, 99-60175

• Decision Date: 28 March 2001
• Docket Number: No. 99-60175,99-60175
• Parties: (5th Cir. 2001) SANDRA M. BRUFF, Plaintiff - Appellee-Cross-Appellent, v. NORTH MISSISSIPPI HEALTH SERVICES, INC.; NORTH MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER, INC., Defendants - Appellants-Cross-Appellees
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 495

244 F.3d 495 (5th Cir. 2001)

SANDRA M. BRUFF, Plaintiff - Appellee-Cross-Appellent, v. NORTH MISSISSIPPI HEALTH SERVICES, INC.; NORTH MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER, INC., Defendants - Appellants-Cross-Appellees.

No. 99-60175

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS, FIFTH CIRCUIT

March 28, 2001

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi

Before POLITZ, SMITH, and PARKER, Circuit Judges.

POLITZ, Circuit Judge:

North Mississippi Health Services, Inc. and North Mississippi Medical Center, Inc. appeal the trial court's denial of judgment as a matter of law, contending that whether accommodating religious beliefs constitutes an undue hardship, and whether their accommodation was reasonable, are questions of law, not questions of fact for the jury. They also appeal the jury's verdict which awards Sandra Bruff back pay and compensatory and punitive damages in her discrimination claim under 42 U.S.C. 2000e, et seq. ("Title VII"). Bruff cross appeals the dismissal of her state law claims, specifically contending that requiring her to counsel homosexuals, and those living in extramarital relationships, about those relationships violated Mississippi sodomy laws, thus making her termination wrongful under a public policy exception to her employed-at-will status. She also appeals the denial of her motion for either reinstatement to her former position or for front pay in lieu thereof. A thorough review of the record persuades that we should reverse the judgment on the Title VII claims and affirm the dismissal of Bruff's state law claims.¹

BACKGROUND

After graduating from the Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, with a master's degree in marriage and family counseling, Bruff was hired as a counselor by North Mississippi Medical Center, Inc.,² first as an adolescent counselor, and eventually as a counselor in its Employee Assistance Program ("EAP"). The Medical Center, a non-profit hospital in Tupelo, Mississippi, established the EAP to provide counseling to the employees of various businesses in the region.

Bruff was one of three EAP counselors, one of whom also acted as the program's supervisor. Counseling sessions were held during and after regular business hours in Tupelo and Oxford, Mississippi. Typically, only one counselor would travel to a given location on each occasion.

Early in 1996 Bruff counseled a woman identified only as Jane Doe.³ Several months later Doe returned for further counseling. At that time she informed Bruff that she was a homosexual and she asked for help in improving her relationship with her female partner. Bruff declined to counsel Doe on that subject, advising that homosexual behavior conflicted with her religious beliefs, but offered to continue counseling Doe on other matters.⁴ Another counseling session was scheduled but Doe did not appear. Instead, she complained to her employer about Bruff's actions and her employer in turn complained to the Medical Center.

The supervisory counselor informed Bruff a complaint had been lodged and arranged a meeting to explore the matter. In that meeting Bruff confirmed that she had declined to counsel Doe on improving her homosexual relationship because doing so would conflict with her religious beliefs. Bruff was then directed, per company policy, to put in writing exactly what aspects of her counseling responsibilities she wanted to be excused from. Bruff wrote a letter asking that she "be excused from . . . actively helping people involved in the homosexual lifestyle to have a better relationship with their homosexual partners. This would also include helping persons who have a sexual relationship outside of marriage have a better sexual relationship." She added that her problem was not with counseling the person per se, but only with providing assistance in improving the homosexual or extra-marital relationship.

In response to this letter Medical Center management met several times to determine if Bruff's request could be accommodated by shifting responsibilities among the three EAP counselors. Eventually it was determined such an accommodation was not feasible. Management then gave her a letter denying her request, stating "Individuals being seen in accordance with all of our EAP contracts obligates us to treat a wide variety of psychiatric disturbances and clinical issues. Our EAP contracts with our customers do not exclude certain categories or issues for individuals with certain types of issues. You also are not able to determine specific patient care issues in advance. Your request could create an uneven distribution of patient work load." The letter also raised a concern that her request to continue treating an individual on some issues while declining to treat others might violate established ethical provisions, and they suggested that she contact the Mississippi Board of Examiners for Licensed Professional Counselors. After the meeting Bruff was relieved of her counseling responsibilities and placed on leave without pay.

Bruff appealed this decision to a vice president of the Medical Center who asked whether there would be any other situations when Bruff would not want to counsel a person. Bruff responded that she would not be willing to counsel anyone on any subject that went against her religion. When the possibility of transferring from the EAP to a section specifically performing pastoral or Christian counseling was discussed she demurred, opining that the head of that section held religious views that were more liberal than hers, and that he likely would not tolerate her conservative perspective.

Based upon Bruff's letter and their discussion, the Medical Center's vice president wrote Bruff affirming the decision to deny her request to counsel only on topics that did not conflict with her religion. In his letter the vice president referenced the small size of the EAP staff; the travel and extended hours the counselors must work; the inability to determine beforehand when a trait or topic might arise that would require referring the employee to another counselor, thus requiring either multiple counselors to travel, or scheduling additional counseling sessions at another time; and the additional sessions that introducing a new counselor might require to build the trust relationship necessary to be effective. He underscored that the logistics of accommodating her request would cause an undue hardship upon the Center, its clients, and the other EAP counselors.

After affirming the denial of Bruff's request, the vice president offered her three options: (1) reconsider her request for accommodation; (2) request a transfer to another position or department in which conflict of care issues were less likely to occur; or (3) resign her position. If she decided to request a transfer, she would be given 30 days to secure another position before she would be terminated.

The Medical Center contacted its in-house employment counselor and asked her to assist Bruff in locating another position within the hospital system. The counselor showed Bruff a list of available openings, and offered her the opportunity to take two tests designed to manifest her aptitudes and interests. Bruff declined to take the tests or to apply for any non-counselor position.⁵

On the day she met with the employment counselor Bruff applied for the position of Psychiatric Assessment Counselor in the Behavioral Health Department, the only counselor opening available at that time. Medical Center policy called for giving current employees 48 hours notice of position vacancies before posting those vacancies with the public, and guaranteeing an interview to current employees who met the minimum position requirements and who applied within that 48 hours. The Psychiatric Assessment Counselor position, however, had already been posted with the public at that point. The record reflects that Bruff's application was considered but another applicant with superior credentials was selected.⁶

While this application was pending, another counselor position became available; however, Bruff chose not to apply.⁷ The 30 day continued employment period lapsed and Bruff's employment was terminated. The head of the Behavioral Health Department, when placing the notice of termination in Bruff's file, noted that he would not consider rehiring her for the EAP.

Bruff then filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC concluded its investigation without action, notifying Bruff that she had 90 days to file suit if she so desired. The instant action followed.

The matter was tried to a jury, which found that the Medical Center had discriminated against Bruff because of her religious beliefs, that it had not made a reasonable accommodation for those beliefs, and that it had acted with malice or reckless indifference. The jury awarded her $32,738.44 in back pay; $326,000.00 in compensatory damages; and $1,700,000.00 in punitive damages. The trial judge, acting under 42 U.S.C. 1981a(b)(3)(D), reduced the total compensatory and punitive damages to the statutory maximum of $300,000.00. Back pay is not included in the statutory cap. Bruff's state law claims, which would not have been subject to a similar cap, previously had been dismissed on a motion for directed verdict.

The parties filed several post-trial motions, all of which were denied. The Medical Center and its parent appeal both the trial court's denial of its motion for judgment as a matter of law, and the jury's adverse verdict. Bruff cross-appeals the dismissal of her state law claims, and the denial of her motion for reinstatement, or alternatively, front pay in lieu thereof.

ANALYSIS

We first look at the denial of the Medical Center's motion for judgment as a matter of law, reviewing the denial using the same test used by the trial court:

The Court should consider all of the evidence - not just that evidence which supports the non-mover's case...