Mathis v. Opportunities Industrialization Centers, Inc., 74-2160

Decision Date12 November 1976
Docket NumberNo. 74-2160,74-2160
Citation545 F.2d 97
PartiesSharon MATHIS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. OPPORTUNITIES INDUSTRIALIZATION CENTERS, INC., et al., Defendants-Appellees.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Nancy Levin (argued), of Neighborhood Legal Assistance Foundation, San Francisco, Cal., for plaintiff-appellant.

Benjamin Travis, of Simmons & Travis, Oakland, Cal., for defendants-appellees.

Before BROWNING and CHOY, Circuit Judges, and GRAY, * District Judge.

PER CURIAM.

The plaintiff, according to her complaint, was summarily fired by defendant Opportunities Industrialization Centers, Inc. (O.I.C.) from her employment as a secretary in the San Francisco regional office of that organization. She sued for reinstatement and damages, contending that her dismissal violated the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment. Her jurisdictional reliance is upon 28 U.S.C. § 1331. The trial court granted the defendants' motion to dismiss for want of jurisdiction, holding that O.I.C. is not a public corporation or an agency of the Federal Government; that, hence, the plaintiff was not a Federal employee; and that the Fifth Amendment therefore is not applicable. We reverse.

The primary question on appeal is whether the relationship between the Federal Government and O.I.C. was of such nature as to make the actions of the latter governmental actions, insofar as the due process requirements of the Fifth Amendment are concerned. We believe that the stipulated facts in this case require an affirmative answer to such question.

O.I.C. is a non-profit corporation with regional offices in various parts of the United States, including San Francisco. Its principal reason for existence is to perform under contract with the United States Government, pursuant to the authority of the Manpower Development And Training Act of 1962 (42 U.S.C. §§ 2571 et seq.). The goal of its activities apparently is to provide vocational training and retraining to people of marginal employability. Approximately 95% of O.I.C.'s income has been derived from its contracts with the Federal Government.

Under such contracts, substantial controls by the Federal Government were imposed upon O.I.C. For example, O.I.C. was obliged to submit monthly summary reports to the Department of Labor with respect to performance of its management training schools and other activities during the current month and its objectives for the following month. It was also required to submit quarterly reports to H.E.W. concerning...

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7 cases
  • De Malherbe v. Intern. Union of Elevator Constructors
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of California
    • September 28, 1977
    ...Commission v. Pollak, 343 U.S. 451, 72 S.Ct. 813, 96 L.Ed. 1068 (1952) (District of Columbia); Mathis v. Opportunities Industrialization Centers, Inc., 545 F.2d 97 (9 Cir. 1976) (per curiam); Ginn v. Mathews, 533 F.2d 477, 480 & n. 4 (9 Cir. 1976) (both federal and state involvement); North......
  • De Malherbe v. INTERN. U. OF ELEVATOR CONSTRUCTORS
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of California
    • July 16, 1979
    ...action, since the circumstances of this case cannot be distinguished from the facts presented in Mathis v. Opportunities Industrialization Centers, Inc., 545 F.2d 97 (9 Cir. 1976) (per curiam). In Mathis an employee discharged by Opportunities Industrialization Centers, Inc. ("O.I.C."), a n......
  • Cervantes v. Guerra
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit
    • July 13, 1981
    ...Corp., 5th Cir. 1975, 507 F.2d 245, 250-51. See also Ginn v. Mathews, 9th Cir. 1976, 533 F.2d 477; Mathis v. Opportunities Industrialization Centers, Inc., 9th Cir. 1976, 545 F.2d 97. 7 Even assuming that state action can be found here, it is not clear whether a § 1983 action against HCCAA ......
  • Gilmore v. Salt Lake Community Action Program, 81-1167
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit
    • April 18, 1983
    ...funding and regulation of SLCAP. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit accepted this argument in Mathis v. Opportunities Industrialization Centers, Inc., 545 F.2d 97 (9th Cir.1976). See also Ginn v. Mathews, 533 F.2d 477 (9th Cir.1976). However, this result seems questionable in light ......
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