Bryant v. The Orkand Corp., Civ. 03-2305(RJL).
| Decision Date | 21 March 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. Civ. 03-2305(RJL).,Civ. 03-2305(RJL). |
| Citation | 407 F.Supp.2d 29 |
| Parties | Darrell BRYANT, et al., Plaintiffs, v. The ORKAND CORPORATION, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Columbia |
Jared Kenric Ellison, Donald M. Temple, Temple Law Office, Washington, DC, for Plaintiffs.
Alan D. Strasser, Kutak Rock LLP, Peter S. Smith, Sherri Evans Harris, United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, Connie Nora Bertram, Karen L. Vossler, Venable, Baetjer, Howard & Civiletti, L.L.P., Washington, DC, John Gregory Kruchko, Kruchko & Fries, McLean, VA, for Defendants.
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Defendants, The Orkand Corporation ("Orkand"), Pinkerton Computer Consultants, Inc. ("PCCI"), and CEXEC, Inc. ("CEXEC") (collectively "contractors"), are contractors that hired the plaintiffs to provide computer support services to the United States Department of State ("State Department"). The plaintiffs, Darrell Bryant ("Bryant"), Jared Starvatow ("Starvatow"), and George Mathew ("Mathew") allege that while working at the D.C. offices of the State Department they were subjected to discrimination, retaliation, sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and intentional infliction of emotional distress by the contractors and the State Department. Before the Court are the defendants' motions to dismiss.1 For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS each motion to dismiss.
In order for a plaintiff to pursue a claim against a defendant, that plaintiff must have standing to sue the defendant. Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 498, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975). To establish "the irreducible constitutional minimum of standing," the plaintiff must demonstrate that there was an injury-in-fact that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct and that the injury can be redressed by a favorable decision by the Court. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992).
If the Court determines that a claim is justiciable, it must then determine whether it has jurisdiction to hear the claim. The plaintiff has the burden of establishing the Court's jurisdiction. Pitney Bowes, Inc. v. United States Postal Serv., 27 F.Supp.2d 15, 19 (D.D.C.1998). When reviewing a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1), the Court "must accept as true all material allegations of the complaint, and must construe the complaint in favor of the complaining party." Warth, 422 U.S. at 501, 95 S.Ct. 2197. Where a motion to dismiss, however, presents a dispute over the factual basis of the Court's jurisdiction, the Court "must go beyond the pleadings and resolve any disputed issues of fact the resolution of which is necessary to a ruling upon the motion to dismiss." Phoenix Consulting, Inc. v. Rep. of Angola, 216 F.3d 36, 40 (D.C.Cir.2000); In re Swine Flu Immunization Prods. Liability Litig., 880 F.2d 1439, 1442-43 (D.C.Cir.1989).
If the Court has jurisdiction to hear the claim, but the defendant moves pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the Court must determine whether the plaintiff has alleged sufficient facts in its complaint to state a cause of action. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). In considering a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), this Court must accept all well-pleaded facts as true. Doe v. United States Dep't of Justice, 753 F.2d 1092, 1102 (D.C.Cir.1985). If, after reviewing the complaint, the Court finds "the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his claims which would entitle him to relief," the Court must dismiss the claim. Conley, 355 U.S. at 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99.
A fair reading of the Amended Complaint demonstrates that the plaintiffs seeking relief for violations pursuant to a law or legal principle are seeking to hold all defendants who allegedly violated that law or legal principle jointly liable. Each of the plaintiffs, however, has standing to seek relief only from the contractor that hired him and, possibly, the State Department. In their oppositions to Orkand's and CEXEC's motions to dismiss, the plaintiffs concede as much by claiming that they are making claims only against their respective employers and the State Department. Bryant's Opp. at 7; Mathew Opp. at 8-9. Thus, for the sake of clarity and completeness, this Court dismisses for lack of standing any allegations by Bryant against CEXEC or PCCI, Starvatow against Orkand or CEXEC, and Mathew against Orkand or PCCI and turns to an analysis of the motions on a claim-by-claim basis.
The United States has not waived sovereign immunity for Title VII actions brought by individuals who are not federal employees. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16. Indeed, our Circuit has held that only those individuals "in a direct employment relationship with a government employer" may maintain a suit against the government pursuant to Title VII. Spirides v. Reinhardt, 613 F.2d 826, 829 (D.C.Cir.1979). Therefore, the initial issue before this Court is whether, for the purposes of Title VII, these plaintiffs are employees or independent contractors of the State Department. For the following reasons, the Court finds that the plaintiffs were independent contractors of the State Department and therefore are not eligible to sue under Title VII.
The analytical framework for determining whether an individual is an employee or an independent contractor is well-established. Redd v. Summers, 232 F.3d 933, 938-39 (D.C.Cir.2000); Spirides, 613 F.2d at 829. The Court must analyze "the economic realities of the work relationship" by "[c]onsider[ing] all of the circumstances surrounding" it. Spirides, 613 F.2d at 831. The threshold question is whether the defendant had a right to control the means and manner of the worker's performance. Redd, 232 F.3d at 938; Spirides, 613 F.2d at 831-32. In addition, however, the Court must also consider four other factors: (1) the intent of the parties, (2) whether using government contractors is justifiable as a prudent business decision, (3) the client's control over the work, and (4) whether the relationship has attributes commonly found in arrangements with independent contractors or employees. Redd, 232 F.3d at 939-40. The plaintiffs are not successful under any factor.
As to the threshold question, the Court finds that the State Department did not have the right to control the means and manner of the workers' performance. An employer controls the means and manner of an employee's performance if that employer can control and direct "the result to be achieved ... [and] the details by which that result is achieved." Redd, 232 F.3d at 938 (internal quotation marks omitted). Based on the information provided by the parties, the State Department did neither. Although the State Department provided each contractor with a Task Order or a Statement of Work, which established expectations about what tasks were to be completed and what was necessary to complete them, each document also explained, with specificity, the duties or responsibilities that were assigned to the contractors. Benson Decl. Exs. 1.1, 1.2 1.3.2 Moreover, even though the State Department provided supervisors or task managers to each project, each contractor also provided an on-site project manager to supervise its own employees. Benson Decl. ¶¶ 6, 13, 20. Thus, even if the State Department retained control over the companies with whom it contracted, it did not control the contractors' employees, nor did it evaluate the performances of those employees. Benson Decl. ¶¶ 9, 16, 23. Accordingly, the Court concludes that the State Department did not control the means and manner of the plaintiffs' work, and therefore the plaintiffs were not employees, within the meaning of Title VII.
A consideration of the factors outlined in Redd additionally supports the conclusion that the plaintiffs were not employees of the State Department. First, the facts do not support a conclusion that the parties intended the plaintiffs to be employees of the State Department. In the complaint each plaintiff alleges that he was employed by a government contractor and assigned to work at the State Department. Am. Compl at 3.3 Moreover, there were no employment contracts between the State Department and the plaintiffs, and a fair reading of the documents that establish the relationship between the State Department and the contractors does not demonstrate that an employer-employee relationship was created between the State Department and the contractors' personnel.4 Therefore, there is no support for the contention that the State Department intended to create an employer-employee relationship with the plaintiffs. Accordingly, this factor weighs in favor of treating the plaintiffs as independent contractors.
Second, the facts support a conclusion that contracting out the systems work was a justifiable and prudent business decision. In making this determination, the Court must consider whether the State Department was required to supervise the contractors' work, whether the work required special skills, and whether the work is an integral part of the client's business. Redd, 232 F.3d at 939. The Court recognizes that the various computer-related tasks contracted for by the State Department require technical skills. Moreover, it is apparent from the record that State Department employees provided some supervisory role to these plaintiffs. Bryant Decl. ¶ 4; Starvatow Decl. ¶¶ 3, 5; Mathew Decl. ¶ 4. But, it is not unreasonable for the State Department to supervise contractors, and thus their employees, who are supporting the work of the Bureau of Consular Affairs. Moreover, the technical services provided by the contractors are "not...
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