U.S. E.E.O.C. v. Lockheed Martin Corp., No. 05cv0287 RWT.

• Decision Date: 08 August 2006
• Docket Number: No. 05cv0287 RWT.
• Citation: 444 F.Supp.2d 414
• Parties: U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff, v. LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

444 F.Supp.2d 414

U.S. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff, v. LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION, Defendant.

No. 05cv0287 RWT.

United States District Court, D. Maryland.

August 8, 2006.

Debra Michele Lawrence, Gwendolyn Young Reams, Gerald S. Kiel, Maria Luisa Morocco, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Baltimore, MD, Maria Salacuse, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Boston, MA, for Plaintiff.

Brett Ingerman, Karen Turner McWilliams, Emily Jean Caputo, DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary U.S. LLP, Baltimore, MD, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

TITUS, District Judge.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") brings this action to challenge certain conduct of Lockheed Martin Corporation in the wake of its merger with COMSAT Corporation in 2000. The action involves two unrelated sets of claims, only one of which is at issue in the instant motions. At issue are claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, alleging that Lockheed unlawfully retaliated against a former COMSAT employee, Denise Isaac, by denying her severance benefits after she had been laid off as a result of the merger and had filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC.¹

Lockheed now moves to dismiss the retaliation claims pertaining to Ms. Isaac pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), or alternatively for summary judgment. Paper No. 13. The EEOC cross-moves for summary judgment. Paper No. 20. For the reasons that follow, this Court holds that the EEOC is entitled to summary judgment in its favor, and will, by separate order, grant the EEOC's motion and deny Lockheed's motion.

I

Denise Isaac had been an employee of COMSAT Corporation for over twenty years when she was laid off as a result of COMSAT's merger into a Lockheed Martin subsidiary, Lockheed Martin Global Telecommunications. On October 16, 2000, Lockheed sent Ms. Isaac a letter informing her that her position would be eliminated effective October 30, 2000. Mot. exh. 6.² The letter also informed Isaac that she would receive severance benefits under the COMSAT Corporation Salary Continuation Plan, but only "in exchange for" signing a Release of Claims form that was attached to the letter. Id.

The release provided, in relevant part:

Claims not Released. By this agreement, I am not releasing claims for benefits I may have under the Corporation's other benefit plans (such as the pension plan), any rights to benefits under applicable workers' compensation statutes or government-provided unemployment benefits, or any rights to enforce this Release.

Claims Released. Subject only to the exclusions noted in the previous paragraph, I agree to waive and fully release any and all claims of any nature whatsoever (known and unknown), promises, causes of action or similar rights of any type ("Claims") that I may now have or have had with respect to any of the Released Parties listed below. These Claims released include, but are not limited to, claims that in any way relate to my wages, bonuses, commissions, unused sick pay; any claims to severance or other benefits; any claims to expenses, attorneys' fees or other indemnities; or claims for other personal remedies or damages sought in any legal proceeding or charge filed with any court, federal, state, or local agency either by me or by a person claiming to act on my behalf or in my interest.

.... I specifically, but without limitation, agree to release all of the Released Parties under the following:

Antidiscrimination laws, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ... the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, ... or any other local, state, or federal statutes prohibiting discrimination....

Id. (emphasis in original). The release further provided that

[t]he parties agree that this Release prohibits my ability to pursue any Claims or charges against the Released Parties seeking monetary relief or other remedies for myself and/or as a representative on behalf of others. This agreement does not affect my ability to cooperate with any future ethics, legal or other investigations, whether conducted by the Corporation or any governmental agencies.

Id.

Isaac declined to sign the release. Instead, on October 27, 2000, she filed a charge with the EEOC, alleging that her termination was discriminatory on the basis of race, gender, and age. Mot. exh. 3.

On November 2, 2000, through counsel, she sent Lockheed a letter asserting that notwithstanding the charge, she had the right to receive severance benefits, and that the release was retaliatory as written. Cross-mot. exh. 2. Lockheed responded by letter on November 20, 2000, stating that it "would not amend the Release of Claims form in any way." Cross-mot. exh. 3. The response also stated that

If Ms. Isaac decides to sign the release as is and receive severance benefits, she will have to dismiss her EEOC charge against the company. We will give her until the close of business on Friday, December 1, 2000, to consider the release. If she does not sign by then, she will be terminated from employment and cease to be paid as of that date, and will forfeit any opportunity to receive severance benefits from the company.

Id.

Isaac never signed the release. She was terminated effective December 1, 2000, and never received any severance benefits. The EEOC filed this action on her behalf on January 31, 2005.³

II

A

When ruling on a motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), the Court "should accept as true all well-pleaded allegations and should view the complaint in a light most favorable to the plaintiff'; the motion "should not be granted unless it appears certain that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts which would support its claim and would entitle it to relief." Mylan Labs., Inc. v. Matkari, 7 F.3d 1130, 1134 (4th Cir.1993).

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, "summary judgment is proper `if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.'" Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)). "A material fact is one that `might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.'" Spriggs v. Diamond Auto Glass, 242 F.3d 179, 183 (4th Cir.2001) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)).

With respect to the instant claims, there are no disputed material facts; the chronology outlined above is undisputed and well supported by documentation submitted with the pleadings. Thus, the outcome can be decided as a matter of law; the question is the application of the civil rights laws to the instant facts.

B

The charge that Isaac filed with the EEOC arose under several different antidiscrimination statutes, but all of them have similar antiretaliation provisions. See, e.g., EEOC v. SunDance Rehabilitation Corp., 328 F.Supp.2d 826 (N.D.Ohio 2004). For instance, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act provides that

[i]t shall be unlawful for an employer to discriminate against any of his employees or applicants for employment . . . because such individual . . . has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under this chapter.

29 U.S.C. § 623(d). Similarly, Title VII provides that

[i]t shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate against any of his employees or applicants for employment ... because he has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this subchapter.

42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a). These provisions forbid not the "substantive" discrimination on the basis of age, race, gender, etc., that are the subject of the civil rights laws generally, but "discrimination against employees who pursue their federal rights" under those laws—in other words, retaliation against employees who, for example, file an EEOC charge. EEOC v. Bd. of Governors of State Colleges and Univs., 957 F.2d 424 (7th Cir.1992).

III

The EEOC alleges that Lockheed's actions unlawfully interfered with Isaac's protected activity in two respects. First, it argues that Lockheed's conditioning of Isaac's severance benefits on the withdrawal of her EEOC charge—whether or not she was otherwise entitled to those benefits before she filed the charge—constituted retaliation. Second, it argues that the release itself prohibits the signor from filing an EEOC charge, and that it is thus facially retaliatory. The EEOC is correct in both respects, so each of these theories provides an independent ground upon which it must prevail.

A

To demonstrate retaliation, a plaintiff must show that (1) she engaged in protected activity; (2) an action is taken against her "that a reasonable employee would have found ... materially adverse"; and (3) that action had a causal connection to the protected activity.⁴ See Burlington N. & Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. White, ___ U.S. ___, 126 S.Ct. 2405, 2415, 165 L.Ed.2d 345; Bryant v. Aiken Reg'l Med. Ctrs., Inc., 333 F.3d 536, 543 (4th Cir.2003). As discussed above, filing an EEOC charge is a protected activity, and neither party disputes this. Moreover, denial of severance benefits is an adverse employment action, and therefore an action "that a reasonable employee would have found ... materially adverse." White, 126 S.Ct. at 2415; e.g., McGuinness v. Lincoln Hall, 263 F.3d 49, 53 (2d Cir.2001) (finding an adverse employment action, as part of a prima facie case of disparate treatment, when one employee received a smaller severance package than another). The dispute thus centers on the third element. Lockheed advances three...