Pearson v. Chugach Government Services Inc.

• Citation: 669 F.Supp.2d 467
• Decision Date: 06 November 2009
• Docket Number: DE Civil No. 09-227 (JBS/AMD).
• Parties: Bobbie Jo PEARSON, Plaintiff, v. CHUGACH GOVERNMENT SERVICES INC. and Chugach Support Services Inc., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Delaware

Page 467

669 F.Supp.2d 467

Bobbie Jo PEARSON, Plaintiff, v. CHUGACH GOVERNMENT SERVICES INC. and Chugach Support Services Inc., Defendants.

DE Civil No. 09-227 (JBS/AMD).

United States District Court, D. Delaware.

November 6, 2009.

Noel E. Primos, Esq., William D. Fletcher, Jr., Esq., Schmittinger & Rodriguez, P.A., Dover, DE, for Plaintiff Bobbie Jo Pearson.

Edmund D. Lyons, Jr., Esq., Wilmington, DE, Megan R. Dove, Esq., Pro Hac Vice, Harvey A. Levin, Esq., Thompson Coburn LLP, St. Louis, MO, for Defendants Chugach Goverment Services Inc. and Chugach Support Services Inc.

OPINION

SIMANDLE, District Judge:

This matter is before the Court because Defendants Chugach Governmental Services and Chugach Support Services (collectively "Defendants"), filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b) (1), Fed R. Civ. P., and alternatively pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), Fed R. Civ. P. Defendants claim to be exempt from federal anti-discrimination statutes because they are subsidiaries of an Alaskan Native Corporation. For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants this motion to dismiss with respect to Plaintiff Bobbie Jo Pearson's Title VII claim, but denies the motion to dismiss Plaintiff's remaining claims because the Title VII exemption for Alaskan Native Corporations, as provided for in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, does not preclude additional employment discrimination claims pursuant to Title I of the the American with Disabilities Act or the Family Medical Leave Act.

I. BACKGROUND

The following facts are taken from Plaintiff's Complaint and Defendants' motion to dismiss, and are accepted as true for the purposes of this opinion.

A. Factual History

From August 24, 2004 to April 29, 2008, Plaintiff Bobbie Jo Pearson was employed, first by Defendants Chugach Government Services, Inc. and later by Chugach Support Services, Inc., as an administrative assistant at their office on Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. (Compl. ¶¶ 1, 2, 13.) Both Defendants are wholly owned subsidiaries of Chugach Alaska Corporation ("CAC"). (Mot. 1; Docket item 6 at Ex. B, Ex. C.) CAC is an Alaskan Native Corporation,¹ an entity pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ("ANCSA"), 43 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq. (Defs. Br., Ex. A.) Alaskan Native Corporations ("ANCs") are "organized under the laws of the State of Alaska as a business for profit or nonprofit corporation to hold, invest, manage and/or distribute lands, property, funds, and other assets for and on behalf of a Native Village in accordance with the terms of [the ANCSA]." 43 U.S.C. § 1602(j).

Defendants terminated Plaintiff's employment on or about April 29, 2008. (Compl. ¶ 22.) Defendants contend she was terminated for "excessive tardiness and repeated violations of . . . the policies and procedures" of her employment. (Mem.Supp.Mot.1.) Plaintiff, however, alleges she was "unjustly" terminated based on her sex and disability. (Compl. ¶ 4, 7, 24, 28, 37.) In addition, she claims Defendants' employees subjected her to a hostile working environment and retaliatory harassment because of her sex and disability. (Compl. ¶¶ 16-18, 20-23, 29.)

B. Procedural History

After being terminated, Plaintiff filed a timely employment discrimination complaint with the EEOC; and the EEOC issued a notice of a right to sue. (Compl. ¶¶ 8-9.) On April 4, 2009, Plaintiff filed the underlying Complaint in the District Court for the District of Delaware [Docket item 1], claiming Defendants discriminated on the basis of sex and disability in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII") and Title I of the American with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), and unlawfully interfered with her rights under the Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA").² (Compl. ¶ 10). Due to a vacant judgeship, the undersigned is sitting by designation in the District of Delaware.

On April 27, 2009, in lieu of an Answer, Defendants moved to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1), Fed.R.Civ.P., for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, or alternatively pursuant to Rule 12(b) (6), Fed.R.Civ.P., for failure to state a claim. In support of their motion, Defendants argue that: (1) the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act ("ANCSA")³ exempts Alaskan Native Corporations and their majority-owned subsidiaries from Title VII claims, and (2) this exemption is broad enough to bar employer obligations and liabilities arising under other federal anti-discrimination laws.⁴

In response, Plaintiff stipulates that Defendants are exempt from her Title VII claims; but she opposes their second argument, and contends that their Title VII exemption does not relieve them of employer liabilities under the ADA nor under the FMLA.⁵

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

1. Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1), a defendant may move to dismiss on the grounds that the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. The Third Circuit has identified two types of jurisdictional defects subject to challenge by a Rule 12(b)(1) motion: (1) those that challenge the subject matter jurisdiction as sufficiently pleaded on the face of the complaint, and (2) those that challenge the factual underpinnings alleged as the basis for the court's subject matter jurisdiction. Mortensen v. First Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n, 549 F.2d 884, 891 (3d Cir.1977); Boston Sci. Corp. v. Johnson & Johnson, Inc., 532 F.Supp.2d 648, 652 (D.Del.2008); NE Hub Partners, L.P. v. CNG Transmission Corp., 239 F.3d 333, 341 n. 7 (3d Cir.2001). Here, Defendants' Rule 12(b)(1) motion is a facial attack on the subject matter jurisdiction of the Court. Thus, the Court views all the allegations of the Complaint and documents referenced therein, construing them in the light most favorable to Plaintiff.

2. Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim

In its review of Defendants' motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the Court must "accept all factual allegations as true, construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, and determine whether, under any reasonable reading of the complaint, the plaintiff may be entitled to relief." Phillips v. County of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 231 (3d Cir.2008) (quoting Pinker v. Roche Holdings Ltd., 292 F.3d 361, 374 n. 7 (3d Cir.2002)). Thus, "to survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to `state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.'" Ashcroft v. Iqbal, ___ U.S. ____, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009); Fowler v. UPMC Shadyside, 578 F.3d 203, 210 (3d Cir.2009).

B. Preface

The question before the Court is one of first impression: whether the Title VII exemption for Alaskan Native Corporations, provided for in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, is broad enough to preclude related employment discrimination claims raised under the ADA and the FMLA. The answer to this question lies at the confluence of two powerful federal interests. On one hand, the federal government has recognized the quasi-sovereignty of Native American tribes and tribal entities. Towards that end, Congress and the Supreme Court have established exemptions and immunities to provide social and political space for Native American self-governance and self-determination. On the other hand, Congress has recognized the obstacles and injustice of discrimination, and promulgated an interlocking web of statutory prohibitions to reduce and eliminate the harms of employment discrimination. From the outset, the Court recognizes this opinion must reconcile these competing federal mandates.

C. Alaskan Native Corporation Liability Under Title VII

1. The Title VII Exemption For Native American Tribes

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the first major federal legislation prohibiting private employment discrimination. Under Title VII,

It [is] an unlawful employment practice for an employer . . . to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin . . .

42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a) (emphasis added). The applicability of Title VII is limited by its definition of "employer," which excludes, inter alia, Native American tribes. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e (b).

The Title VII exemption for Native American tribes is not limited to the tribe itself. Section 2000e-2(i) extends the exemption to businesses or enterprises operating on or near Indian reservations that provide an employment preference to Native Americans. Further, the Ninth and Tenth Circuit have concluded that the tribal exemption is broad enough to encompass some tribal organizations. See, e.g., Pink v. Modoc Indian Health Project, Inc., 157 F.3d 1185, 1188 (9th Cir.1998) (tribal corporation fell within tribal exemption where the board of directors was drawn from tribal government and controlled another tribal enterprise); Dille v. Council of Energy Resource Tribes, 801 F.2d 373, 375-76 (10th Cir.1986) (multitribe entity fell within the tribal exception where it was formed to manage the tribes' collective energy resources).

The purpose of the tribal exemption is tribal self-governance and economic development. See Modoc, 157 F.3d at 1188. Towards this end, Congress condones a Native American employment preference by carving out an exemption from Title VII. As the Supreme Court has explained:

There are [ ] affirmative provisions in the 1964 Act excluding coverage of tribal employment and of preferential treatment by a business or enterprise on or near a reservation. 42 U.S.C. ss 2000e(b) and 2000e-2(i). [ ] These 1964 exemptions as to private employment indicate Congress' recognition of the longstanding federal policy of providing a unique legal status to Indians in matters concerning tribal or `on or near' reservation employment. The exemptions reveal a clear congressional sentiment that an Indian...