Monell v. DEPARTMENT OF SOC. SERVS. OF CITY OF NY, No. 71 Civ. 3324.

• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)
• Citation: 394 F. Supp. 853
• Docket Number: No. 71 Civ. 3324.
• Parties: Jane MONELL et al., Plaintiffs, v. DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES OF CITY OF NEW YORK et al., Defendants.
• Decision Date: 30 April 1975

394 F. Supp. 853

Jane MONELL et al., Plaintiffs,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES OF CITY OF NEW YORK et al., Defendants.

No. 71 Civ. 3324.

United States District Court, S. D. New York.

April 30, 1975.

394 F. Supp. 854

Nancy Stearns, Oscar G. Chase, Gregory Abbey, Center for Constitutional Rights, New York City, of counsel, for plaintiffs.

Adrian P. Burke, Corp. Counsel, New York City, for defendants; Margaret G. Gold, Asst. Corp. Counsel, New York City, of counsel.

METZNER, District Judge:

This action is brought by female employees of the New York City Board of Education (Board) and the New York City Department of Social Services (Department) on behalf of themselves and other female employees in city agencies similarly situated. Plaintiffs challenge, on constitutional grounds, the rules and regulations of the defendant city agencies which plaintiffs claim arbitrarily compelled pregnant employees to take unpaid leaves of absence when they desired to, and were capable of working beyond the mandatory leave period. Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief and damages for back pay.

According to the allegations of the complaint, the individual defendants Sugarman, Scribner and Lindsay are sued in their official capacities.

Jurisdiction is based on 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 28 U.S.C. § 1343(3) (the civil rights statute and its jurisdictional counterpart), and 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. (Title VII, the Equal Employment Opportunity Act).

Judge Motley has previously determined that the suit may be maintained as a class action. D. C., 357 F.Supp. 1051 (1972).

Defendants have moved to dismiss the action or, in the alternative, for an order granting summary judgment. They also seek to vacate the order granting class action status to this suit or, in the alternative, to compel plaintiffs to pay for the class action notice if it is ruled that the action proceed as a class action.

Plaintiffs have cross-moved for summary judgment.

The original complaint was filed on July 26, 1971, with the plaintiffs being Monell, an employee of the Department, and Terrall and Zapata employed by the Board. An amended complaint was filed on September 14, 1972, which added plaintiff Abbey, who was employed by the Board. The amended complaint was filed following the amendment to Title VII permitting actions against governmental

394 F. Supp. 855

agencies charged with discrimination in employment. The record shows that each of the four plaintiffs was directed to take maternity leave about a month before the date that their respective doctors would have ordered

In the fall of 1971, the Department changed its maternity leave policy to provide that no woman need report her pregnancy or take maternity leave as long as she is able to continue to perform her job and desires to do so. This policy change was ordered effective in all city agencies, including the Department, on January 29, 1972, by a directive from former Deputy Mayor Edward K. Hamilton.

The Board of Education of the City of New York similarly changed its bylaws effective September 1, 1973.

These changes, while made subsequent to the institution of this action, antedated the decision in Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur, 414 U.S. 632, 94 S.Ct. 791, 39 L.Ed.2d 52 (1974), which would hold the practices complained of here to be unconstitutional. Consequently, the claims for equitable relief by way of injunction or declaratory judgment are moot. See Galvan v....