Robertson v. Maryland State Dept. of Personnel

• Decision Date: 03 March 1978
• Docket Number: Civ. No. H-76-977.
• Citation: 481 F. Supp. 108
• Parties: Otis ROBERTSON, Plaintiff, v. MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL and Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

481 F. Supp. 108

Otis ROBERTSON, Plaintiff, v. MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL and Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Defendants.

Civ. No. H-76-977.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

March 3, 1978.

Norris C. Ramsey and Karon D. Ramsey, Baltimore, Md., for plaintiff.

Charles R. Taylor, Jr., James F. Truitt, Jr. and Jack C. Tranter, Asst. Attys. Gen., Baltimore, Md., for defendants.

MEMORANDUM DECISION

ALEXANDER HARVEY, II, District Judge:

In this civil action, the plaintiff, a black male, is seeking back pay and other relief from two separate departments of the State of Maryland. Suit has been brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and also under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. Named as defendants are the Maryland State Department of Personnel and the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

For a number of years, plaintiff had been employed by the Maryland State Department of Juvenile Services, which is now the Juvenile Services Administration of the State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In this suit, plaintiff alleges that because of his race, he was laid off effective June 30, 1973, at which time he was a vice principal at a state institution for juveniles known as the Maryland Training School for Boys. Plaintiff has further alleged that because of his race, he was not rehired at the Maryland Training School for Boys as an assistant superintendent, as a principal or as a teacher after his termination on June 30, 1973, and that after that date, the defendants also failed to rehire him as principal, vice principal, superintendent, assistant superintendent or teacher at various other State institutions, all because of his race. Plaintiff also charges defendants with harassing him and retaliating against him when he asserted his rights. As relief, plaintiff seeks a declaratory judgment, an injunction, back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, attorney's fees and costs.

In opposing plaintiff's claims for relief, defendants assert that the lay-off and the failure of the various State departments to rehire plaintiff were not racially motivated. Defendants further assert that plaintiff was laid off for legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons, and that he did not apply for or was not qualified for the various positions he claims he sought in the State service after his lay-off.

This case came on for trial before the Court sitting without a jury. Various witnesses testified on behalf of both sides, and numerous exhibits were entered in evidence. Much of the evidence was conflicting. In resolving the issues of fact presented, due regard has been had to the credibility of the witnesses and the weight their testimony deserves. This Court's findings of fact and conclusions of law, under Rule 52(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, are embodied in this opinion, whether or not expressly so characterized.

I

The applicable legal principles

(a) Title VII

In McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), the Supreme Court established a three-step procedure for the determination of racial employment discrimination cases brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As the first step, the plaintiff is required to carry the burden of proving a prima facie case. In McDonnell Douglas Corp., Mr. Justice Powell said the following, at page 802, 93 S.Ct. at page 1824:

The complainant in a Title VII trial must carry the initial burden under the statute of establishing a prima facie case of racial discrimination. This may be done by showing (i) that he belongs to a racial minority; (ii) that he applied and was qualified for a job for which the employer was seeking applicants; (iii) that, despite his qualifications, he was rejected; and (iv) that, after his rejection, the position remained open and the employer continued to seek applicants from persons of complainant's qualifications.

At this point in the opinion, the following was said by way of a footnote, 411 U.S. 802, fn. 13, 93 S.Ct. 1824, fn. 13:

13. The facts necessarily will vary in Title VII cases, and the specification above of the prima facie proof required from respondent in this case is not necessarily applicable in every respect to differing factual situations.

If the plaintiff satisfies this initial requirement, the burden then shifts to the defendant to establish a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the action taken.

The burden then must shift to the employer to articulate some legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the employee's rejection. We need not attempt in the instant case to detail every matter which fairly could be recognized as a reasonable basis for a refusal to hire. Here petitioner has assigned respondent's participation in unlawful conduct against it as the cause for his rejection. We think that this suffices to discharge petitioner's burden of proof at this stage and to meet respondent's prima facie case of discrimination.

411 U.S. at 802-803, 93 S.Ct. at 1824.

But even if the defendant satisfies its initial burden and meets the plaintiff's prima facie case, that is not the end of the inquiry which a trial court should make, because an otherwise valid reason advanced by the employer may be used as a pretext for the action taken. The third step of the procedure in question was described by Mr. Justice Powell, as follows:

Petitioner's reason for rejection thus suffices to meet the prima facie case, but the inquiry must not end here. While Title VII does not, without more, compel rehiring of respondent, neither does it permit petitioner to use respondent's conduct as a pretext for the sort of discrimination prohibited by § 703(a)(1). On remand, respondent must, as the Court of Appeals recognized, be afforded a fair opportunity to show that petitioner's stated reason for respondent's rejection was in fact pretext.

And a little further along:

Other evidence that may be relevant to any showing of pretext includes facts as to the petitioner's treatment of respondent during his prior term of employment; petitioner's reaction, if any, to respondent's legitimate civil rights activities; and petitioner's general policy and practice with respect to minority employment. On the latter point, statistics as to petitioner's employment policy and practice may be helpful to a determination of whether petitioner's refusal to rehire respondent in this case conformed to a general pattern of discrimination against blacks.

411 U.S. at 804-805, 93 S.Ct. at 1825.

In footnote 19, at page 805, 93 S.Ct. 1817, Mr. Justice Powell further observed that the trial court may consider any racial composition of a defendant's labor force as itself reflective of restrictive or exclusionary practices, but cautioned that such general determinations, while helpful, may not be in and of themselves controlling as to "an individualized hiring decision," particularly in the presence of otherwise justifiable reason for rejection of the employee.

In this particular case, it should further be noted that Title VII did not apply to states and to departments of states until 1972. The effective date of the amendments of that year was March 24, 1972, and it is clear that the expanded provisions of the Act do not apply retroactively to allegations of discrimination occurring before that effective date. See Kramer v. Board of Education, 419 F.Supp. 958, 959 (S.D.N. Y.1976).

(b) Section 1981

Section 1981 protects all persons, white and non-white, from racially motivated deprivations of certain enumerated rights, whether committed under color of state law or by private individuals. Included among those rights is the right to be free from racial discrimination in employment. See, e. g., Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc., 421 U.S. 454, 459-60, 95 S.Ct. 1716, 44 L.Ed.2d 295 (1975); Sethy v. Alameda County Water Dist., 545 F.2d 1157, 1161 n. 7 (9th Cir. 1976) (en banc). Unlike § 1983, there is no state action requirement in suits brought under § 1981, and municipalities are not immune from suit. Sethy v. Alameda County Water Dist., supra; Raffety v. Prince George's County, 423 F.Supp. 1045, 1061 (D.Md.1976).

The rights protected under 1981 are more limited than those protected by § 1983, and only those denials of the protected rights that are denied on the basis of race are actionable. Georgia v. Rachel, 384 U.S. 780, 791, 86 S.Ct. 1783, 16 L.Ed.2d 925 (1966). However, § 1981 and § 1983 are similar in that both require proof of discriminatory motive and intent. Lewis v. Bethlehem Steel Corp., 440 F.Supp. 949, 965 (D.Md.1977). See Washington v. Davis, 426 U.S. 229, 96 S.Ct. 2040, 48 L.Ed.2d 597 (1976). In other words, to state a claim under § 1981, a plaintiff must prove a deprivation of one of the enumerated rights which, under similar circumstances, would have been accorded to a person of a different race and also that such deprivation was intentional and motivated by racial prejudice.

Insofar as both plaintiff's § 1981 claims and his Title VII claims are concerned, the Court in this case is dealing with a number of separate, individualized decisions made by the defendants, first as to plaintiff's lay-off on June 30, 1973, and subsequently as to the filling of positions which plaintiff claims he was seeking. A detailed inquiry into the facts is necessary to decide the questions presented.

II

The facts

Now 57 years of age, plaintiff is a teacher and has been employed in various teaching capacities by the State of Maryland, including positions as a principal and vice principal, until he was laid off on June 30, 1973. Between September 4, 1957 and June 30, 1973, plaintiff was employed by the State of Maryland at the Maryland Training School for Boys (hereinafter "MTS"). MTS is a state institution for the detention of or commitment of delinquent boys.

Between September 1957 and June 30, 1961, plaintiff was...