Schmidt v. Shah

• Decision Date: 17 March 2010
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 08-1831 (CKK).
• Parties: Joseph James SCHMIDT, Plaintiff, v. Rajiv SHAH, Administrator, United States Agency for International Development, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

696 F. Supp.2d 44

Joseph James SCHMIDT, Plaintiff, v. Rajiv SHAH, Administrator, United States Agency for International Development, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 08-1831 (CKK).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

March 17, 2010.

Joseph James Schmidt, Fairfax Station, VA, for Plaintiff.

Wynne Patrick Kelly, U.S. Attorney's Office, Washington, DC, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION¹

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, District Judge.

This action arises out of Plaintiff Joseph James Schmidt's employment with the United States Agency for International Development ("USAID"), which ended in March 2008 when Schmidt resigned from the agency. Prior to his resignation, Schmidt filed an employment discrimination complaint with the agency that was ultimately resolved through a settlement agreement. Schmidt brings this action pro se against Defendant Rajiv Shah in his official capacity as USAID Administrator claiming, inter alia, that the settlement agreement is invalid, that USAID employees improperly forced his resignation from the agency, and that Schmidt has suffered from various acts of discrimination. Schmidt also has filed an action under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seeking certain information from USAID related to this case, which is also pending before this Court. See Schmidt v. Fore, Civil Action No. 08-2185 (D.D.C. filed Dec. 16, 2008).

Presently pending before the Court is Defendant's 12 Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment. Schmidt filed a brief in opposition, to which Defendant filed a reply, and Schmidt filed a surreply without leave of Court. After briefing on this motion became ripe, Schmidt filed a17 Motion Requesting Removal of Specific Workers' Compensation Items from Plaintiff's Civil Complaint, to which no opposition was filed. Schmidt subsequently filed three submissions with additional material addressing the merits of Defendant's dispositive motion, along with a22 Motion for Acceptance of Plaintiff's Supplemental Filings. Defendant filed a brief in opposition to this latter motion, and Schmidt filed a reply.

For the reasons explained below, the Court shall DENY Schmidt's motion to accept supplemental materials, GRANT Schmidt's motion to remove specific workers' compensation items from his Complaint, and GRANT Defendant's motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. Specifically, the Court finds that it lacks jurisdiction over Schmidt's claims relating to workers' compensation and any claims based on the settlement agreement. The Court also finds that the release of claims in the settlement agreement bars Schmidt from litigating the remainder of his claims, with the exception of an alleged FOIA violation and a claim for retaliation based on testimony given as a witness in an employment discrimination investigation. The Court shall dismiss the FOIA claim without prejudice in light of the related action pending before this Court and dismiss the surviving retaliation claim for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The following facts are drawn from the allegations in the operative complaint,² as well as any exhibits attached to or incorporated by the operative complaint.³

1. Schmidt's Employment with USAID

Plaintiff Joseph James Schmidt was an employee of the United States Agency for International Development ("USAID" or "the agency") from December 26, 1994 to March 19, 2008. Compl. at 1. In June 2006, Schmidt began experiencing problems at the agency relating to discrimination, harassment, and hostile work environment.⁴ Id. On or about November 7, 2006, Schmidt filed a formal complaint with the USAID's Equal Employment Opportunity ("EEO") Office.⁵ Id. During this time, Schmidt began experiencing physical problems, including chest pains, constant headaches, and trouble breathing. Id. at 2. One of Schmidt's doctors determined that Schmidt was suffering from stress in the workplace. Id. Schmidt began taking a series of antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and other medications that were prescribed by his doctors. Id. One of these doctors was Dr. Allan Melmed, who treated Schmidt from March 2007 through July 2008. Id.

In April 2007, USAID suspended Schmidt's security clearance without notice and claimed that Schmidt's prescription drug use presented a risk to Agency employees. Id. After a six-week stint on paid administrative leave, Schmidt was allowed to return to work "following a thorough investigation." Id. However, the stress of the suspension took its toll on Schmidt. In June 2007, Schmidt's thoughts of suicide seemed to intensify. Id. After consultation with his wife and Dr. Melmed, Schmidt hospitalized himself at Virginia Hospital Center's Psychiatric Ward for two weeks in early July 2007. Id. Schmidt was diagnosed with severe depression, severe anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Schmidt remained on very heavy dosages of prescription drugs, which made it very difficult for him to function at home and at work. Id. By February 2008, Schmidt's condition had deteriorated to the point where he could barely function, and USAID placed him on extended, indefinite sick leave. Id.

2. Settlement Negotiations

In early March 2008, USAID indicated that it would engage in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in order to resolve Schmidt's EEO complaint. Compl. at 2. Schmidt corresponded with Andrew Herscowitz, a USAID attorney, regarding a possible settlement. Id. at 2-3. Herscowitz asked Schmidt if he would agree to be terminated at USAID and possibly obtain disability benefits. Id. at 3. Schmidt, however, was not interested in applying for disability and informed Herscowitz that he wanted to return to work when his health had improved. Id. Herscowitz told Schmidt that if he returned to work, there was a possibility that he would be terminated and have his security clearance revoked. Id. During the first half of March 2008, Herscowitz acknowledged that he had discussed Schmidt's health situation with Schmidt's supervisor, Ms. Charity Benson. Id. Schmidt claims that Herscowitz made his life "unbearable and miserable" and that Herscowitz's "constant phone threats became commonplace" and caused his emotional and mental condition to deteriorate. Id.

In mid-march 2008, Ms. Benson called Schmidt to ask when he might be returning to work. Compl. at 3. She told Schmidt that he would not be given time during work hours to visit his doctors. Id. at 3-4. Schmidt explained to her that he had been allowed 4-8 hours off per week from November 2006 through January 2008 to attend therapy and medical appointments and that his job performance did not suffer as a result. Id. However, Ms. Benson told Schmidt that he would not be allowed to take appointments during business hours. Id. at 4. Following this phone call, and following "more threats" from Herscowitz, Schmidt claims that he "began falling apart." Id.

Schmidt then received a call from Herscowitz informing him that his identification badge had been deactivated by the USAID Office of Security after Herscowitz told them about Schmidt's health problems. Compl. at 4. Herscowitz told Schmidt that he had actually done him a favor because some agency employees wanted Schmidt's security clearance revoked, and Herscowitz convinced them merely to deactivate Schmidt's ID badge. Id. During this time, Schmidt was at home on extended sick leave. Id. Schmidt has requested that the USAID Office of Security or Office of Human Resources provide him written notification of this action, but they declined to respond to Schmidt's request. Id.

Schmidt eventually ran out of sick and annual leave, and he contemplated suicide. Compl. at 4. Herscowitz offered to assist Schmidt with obtaining further paid administrative leave, but he also pressured Schmidt to resign from the agency. Schmidt claims that he "simply could not take any more of Herscowitz's cruel punishment, ridicule and constant threats and experienced a temporary nervous breakdown." Id. Schmidt decided "that working at USAID was not worth my life and that if I attempted to return to work something bad might happened sic to me, as they had already deactivated my work ID badge." Id. On March 19, 2008, Schmidt wrote a resignation letter and sent it to his director, informing her that he had been "pressured to quit and faced terrible problems with USAID staff." Id.

Following Schmidt's resignation, Herscowitz continued to negotiate a settlement agreement with Schmidt and the agency. Compl. at 4. Herscowitz ignored many of Schmidt's requests for relief and told him that he was lucky to get anything. Id. When Schmidt had a disagreement with the agency's position, Herscowitz told him he could "take it or leave it" and that Herscowitz was no longer obligated to do anything for Schmidt because he had resigned from the agency. Id. According to Schmidt, Herscowitz controlled the entire settlement process. Id. at 5. Herscowitz eventually suggested that Schmidt retain an attorney to review the draft settlement agreement, and Schmidt did so, paying an attorney for two and a half hours of her time to review the document. Id. However, Herscowitz dismissed the changes suggested by Schmidt's attorney. Id.

In late March 2008, Schmidt agreed to sign the settlement agreement. Compl. at 5. Herscowitz required that Schmidt obtain a signed note from a doctor stating that he was mentally capable of entering into a binding agreement. Id. Schmidt resented this idea but agreed to pass along a form from Herscowitz to his doctor. Id. Dr. Melmed signed the form but left the bottom part of the form, which required the signature of a witness over 18 years of age, blank. Id. Herscowitz told Schmidt that without a witness's signature, the form from Dr. Melmed and the draft settlement agreement signed by Schmidt were "null and void." Id. Herscowitz told Schmidt to return to Dr. Melmed and get a witness to countersign the...