Green v. Waterford Board of Education

• Decision Date: 12 April 1972
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 14722.
• Citation: 349 F. Supp. 687
• Parties: Priscilla B. GREEN v. WATERFORD BOARD OF EDUCATION et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut

349 F. Supp. 687

Priscilla B. GREEN v. WATERFORD BOARD OF EDUCATION et al.

Civ. No. 14722.

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

April 12, 1972.

Martin A. Gould, Hartford, Conn., for plaintiff.

Melvin Scott, New London, Conn., Jerome E. Caplan, Hartford, Conn., for Waterford Education Assn.

RULING ON MOTION TO DISMISS

BLUMENFELD, Chief Judge.

Priscilla B. Green instituted this lawsuit to challenge the validity of the order of the school board of the Town of Waterford that she take a leave of absence from her job as a teacher when she reached the sixth month of her pregnancy. She alleges that by the application of a provision relating to maternity leave in her teaching contract, the Waterford Board of Education violated her right to due process and equal protection of the laws under the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The specific portion of the contract which is the target of her constitutional challenge provides that:

"A maternity leave shall begin not less than four months prior to expected confinement or at such earlier time as a replacement becomes available. . . ."

She sought an injunction against placing her on leave from "her . . . position (as a teacher) until such time as her gynecologist shall deem that she is physically unable to continue to teach, or until January 31, 1972, whichever shall sooner occur." That application for a temporary injunction was denied on the ground that, since money damages would be fully compensatory, there was no showing of possible irreparable injury. Cf. Checker Motors Corp. v. Chrysler Corp., 405 F.2d 319, 323 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 394 U.S. 399, 89 S.Ct. 1595, 22 L.Ed.2d 777 (1969). Her claim is now limited to damages for her loss of salary from November 17, 1971, when her maternity leave began, to January 31, 1972.

The defendants have moved to dismiss for lack of federal jurisdiction.

Jurisdiction

Where, as here, a complaint alleges the deprivation of a constitutional right by persons acting under color of state law, it has sufficiently stated a cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Bell v. Hood, 327 U.S. 678, 66 S.Ct. 773, 90 L.Ed. 939 (1946). Jurisdiction is present under 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3),¹ without regard to the amount in controversy. Lynch v. Household Fin. Corp., 405 U.S. 538, 92 S.Ct. 1113, 31 L.Ed.2d 424 (1972).²

I.

The facts are briefly stated. The plaintiff, Priscilla B. Green, was employed by the Waterford Board of Education as a teacher. The plaintiff was a member of the teachers' union, Waterford Education Association. On July 1, 1971, the defendant Board of Education and the plaintiff entered into an employment agreement for the period of September 1, 1971, to August 31, 1972, subject to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement which the Board of Education of the Town of Waterford had with the defendant Waterford Education Association. The plaintiff was a non-tenured teacher. The provisions in the contract pertinent to this case are:

"ARTICLE XIV—MATERNITY LEAVE

"As soon as any teacher shall become aware of her pregnancy, she shall forthwith apply in writing to the Superintendent of Schools for a maternity leave of absence, and shall accept a leave of absence as provided by the Board of Education.

"A maternity leave shall begin not less than four months prior to expected confinement or at such earlier time as a replacement becomes available. The leave shall extend only for the current year. This leave shall also be extended for the following school year for tenure teachers upon written request.

"Teachers on maternity leave shall be placed on a waiting list for future appointment and shall have priority for a vacancy. Maternity leave shall not result in loss of accumulated sick leave or loss of tenure. This paragraph does not apply to non-tenure teachers.

"Any woman who is aware of her pregnancy prior to August 1, shall only return to school in September at the discretion of the Superintendent."³

The plaintiff applied for maternity leave in accordance with the contract on September 20, 1971. She received a response by letter dated October 15, 1971, in which the Superintendent of Schools of the Town of Waterford notified her that the Waterford Board of Education had voted to grant her request for a maternity leave in accordance with Article XIV of the agreement between the Waterford Board of Education and the Waterford Education Association "effective at such time as a suitable, certified replacement may be secured."

On October 18, 1971, the Waterford Education Association filed a grievance on behalf of the plaintiff requesting that she be permitted to teach until January 31, 1972. Her grievance was denied. By letter dated November 2, 1971, the Superintendent of Schools of the Town of Waterford notified the plaintiff that her replacement had been secured and would assume the plaintiff's duties on November 17, 1971. The November 2, 1971, letter included the following:

"This is to officially notify you that a suitable, certified replacement for your teaching position has been secured. She will assume your classroom duties on Wednesday, November 17, 1971, at which time your Maternity Leave will commence. To assure continuity with your students, your replacement has been requested to observe your classes on Monday and Tuesday, November 15th and 16th. The administration of Waterford High School and I have decided that considering the best interest of the students involved, the most appropriate time to make this change is at the end of the first quarter."

Equal Protection

Relying on the constitutional prohibition that "(n)o State shall . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws," United States Constitution, Amend. XIV, § 1, the plaintiff advances the contention that the "Maternity Leave" provision requiring an expectant mother to apply for and accept a leave of absence to begin not less than four months prior to her expected confinement is so arbitrary and discriminatory against the plaintiff and women in general that it violates her constitutional rights.

"The Constitution in enjoining the equal protection of the laws upon States precludes irrational discrimination as between persons or groups of persons in the incidence of a law. But the Constitution does not require situations `which are different in fact or opinion to be treated in law as though they were the same.' Tigner v. State of Texas, 310 U.S. 141, 147 , 60 S.Ct. 879, 882, 84 L.Ed. 1124, 130 A.L.R. 1321 (1940)." Goesaert v. Cleary, 335 U.S. 464, 466, 69 S.Ct. 198, 199, 93 L.Ed. 163 (1948).

The traditional test of equal protection is whether the classification at issue is "without any reasonable basis." Shapiro v. Thompson, 394 U.S. 618, 638 n. 20, 89 S.Ct. 1322, 22 L.Ed.2d 600 (1969). More fully stated:

"The distinctions . . . must bear some rational relationship to a legitimate state end and will be set aside as violative of the Equal Protection Clause only if based on reasons totally unrelated to the pursuit of that goal." McDonald v. Board of Election Comm'rs, 394 U.S. 802, 809, 89 S.Ct. 1404, 1408, 22 L.Ed.2d 739 (1969).

See also Turner v. Fouche, 396 U.S. 346, 90 S.Ct. 532, 24 L.Ed.2d 567 (1970).

Instead of this traditional test, which clothes the statutory classification with a presumption of constitutionality, the plaintiff urges the court to employ a stricter standard of review requiring it to hold the classification unconstitutional "unless (it is) shown to be necessary to promote a compelling governmental interest." Shapiro v. Thompson, supra, 394 U.S. at 634, 89 S.Ct. at 1331 (emphasis in original). Testing a classification by its necessity rather than by its rationality has been required in cases where the classification serves to penalize the exercise of a right expressly safeguarded by the Constitution, e. g., Sherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398, 406, 83 S.Ct. 1790, 10 L.Ed.2d 965 (1963) (free exercise of religion), or of one regarded as equally fundamental, e. g., Kramer v. Union Free School Dist., 395 U.S. 621, 627, 89 S.Ct. 1886, 23 L.Ed.2d 583 (1969) (right to vote); Shapiro v. Thompson, supra (right to travel); McLaughlin v. Florida, 379 U.S. 184, 196, 85 S.Ct. 283, 13 L.Ed.2d 222 (1964) (right to be free of racial discrimination).

Before deciding whether a classification is based on a real difference, it is important to consider the nature and relative importance of the alleged right with respect to which the denial of equal protection is asserted. A more exacting standard of review is required for any regulation which places a condition on the exercise of a "fundamental" right. "Where there is a significant encroachment upon personal liberty, the State may prevail only upon showing a subordinating interest which is compelling." Bates v. Little Rock, 361 U.S. 516, 524, 80 S.Ct. 412, 417, 4 L.Ed.2d 480 (1960). So let us observe the matter more closely. Without a doubt, there is an area of fundamental personal liberty in matters relating to marriage, the family, and children. This was summarized by Mr. Justice White in Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 502-503, 85 S.Ct. 1678, 1691, 14 L.Ed.2d 510 (1965):

"It would be unduly repetitious, and belaboring the obvious, to expound on the impact of this statute on the liberty guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment against arbitrary or capricious denials or on the nature of this liberty. Suffice it to say that this is not the first time this Court has had occasion to articulate that the liberty entitled to protection under the Fourteenth Amendment includes the right `to marry, establish a home and bring up children,' Meyer v. State of Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 399 43 S.Ct. 625, 626, 67 L.Ed. 1042, and `the liberty . . . to direct the upbringing and education of children,' Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510, 534-535 45 S.Ct. 571, 573, 69 L.Ed. 1070, and that these are among `the basic civil rights of man.' Skinner v.

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