Young v. Pennsylvania House of Representatives

• Decision Date: 18 February 1998
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 1:CV-97-1873.
• Citation: 994 F.Supp. 282
• Parties: Peddrick M. YOUNG, Sr., Plaintiff, v. PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, REPUBLICAN CAUCUS, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania

994 F.Supp. 282

Peddrick M. YOUNG, Sr., Plaintiff, v. PENNSYLVANIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, REPUBLICAN CAUCUS, Defendant.

Civil Action No. 1:CV-97-1873.

United States District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania.

February 18, 1998.

Steven P. Miner, Metzger, Wickersham, Knauss & Erb, Harrisburg, PA, for Plaintiff.

John P. Krill, Jr., David R. Fine, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, Harrisburg, PA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM

CALDWELL, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Peddrick M. Young, Sr., alleges that Defendant, the Republican Caucus of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, terminated his employment in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-34 ("ADEA"). Before us is Defendant's motion to dismiss.

I. Background

Plaintiff was employed by Defendant from 1986 until his termination in 1996. At the time of his discharge, Plaintiff was sixty years old. Plaintiff alleges that he was replaced with a younger employee, and that his termination was due to his age. Plaintiff subsequently brought this action, alleging violation of his rights under the ADEA and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, 43 Pa. Stat. Ann. §§ 951-63 ("PHRA").¹

Defendant is a legislative caucus within the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The parties agree that Defendant is a governmental entity. (See Compl. ¶ 5).

Defendant has moved for dismissal of the complaint, arguing that as an arm of the state, it is immune from suit in federal court under the Eleventh Amendment. Defendant's argument requires us to consider whether Congress' abrogation of the states' Eleventh Amendment immunity in the ADEA is unconstitutional.

II. Standard of Review

When considering a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) "all facts alleged in the complaint and all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from them must be accepted as true." Malia v. General Elec. Co., 23 F.3d 828, 830 (3d Cir.1994). The motion must be denied unless the plaintiff cannot prove any facts in support of the claim which would entitle it to relief. Rocks v. Philadelphia, 868 F.2d 644, 645 (3d Cir.1989).

III. Discussion

Under the Eleventh Amendment, a state may not be sued in federal court absent either a waiver of immunity by the state or an abrogation of immunity by Congress.² Seminole Tribe of Fla. v. Florida, 517 U.S. 44, 116 S.Ct. 1114, 1122-23, 134 L.Ed.2d 252, 265-66 (1996); Sacred Heart Hosp. of Norristown v. Pennsylvania (In re Sacred Heart Hosp. of Norristown), 133 F.3d 237, 241 (3d Cir.1998). For Congress to abrogate a state's Eleventh Amendment immunity, it must unequivocally express an intent to do so, and it must act pursuant to a valid exercise of power. Seminole Tribe, 116 S.Ct. at 1123, 134 L.Ed.2d at 266; Sacred Heart, 133 F.3d at 241.

The parties agree that Congress unequivocally acted to abrogate the Eleventh Amendment immunity of the states when it amended the ADEA in 1974. Under the 1974 amendment, the ADEA's definition of "employer" includes "a State or political subdivision of a State and any agency or instrumentality of a State or a political subdivision of a State...." 29 U.S.C. § 630. Such an unequivocal reference to the states as potential defendants indicates Congressional intent to abrogate the states' Eleventh Amendment immunity. Blanciak v. Allegheny Ludlum Corp., 77 F.3d 690, 695 (3d Cir.1996); see also EEOC v. Wyoming, 460 U.S. 226, 243, 103 S.Ct. 1054, 1064, 75 L.Ed.2d 18, 33 (1983); Gregory v. Ashcroft, 501 U.S. 452, 467, 111 S.Ct. 2395, 2404, 115 L.Ed.2d 410, 428 (1991); Seminole Tribe, 116 S.Ct. at 1124, 134 L.Ed.2d at 267.

At issue in this case is whether the 1974 amendment to the ADEA was enacted pursuant to a valid exercise of Congressional power. The Supreme Court ruled in Seminole Tribe that the only basis upon which Congress may act to abrogate the states' Eleventh Amendment immunity is Section Five of the Fourteenth Amendment.³ 116 S.Ct. at 1131-32, 134 L.Ed.2d at 273; Sacred Heart, 133 F.3d at 240-42; College Sav. Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Educ. Expense Bd., 131 F.3d 353, 358 (3d Cir.1997).

We must therefore consider whether the 1974 amendment was a valid exercise of Congress' power under Section Five of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Fourteenth Amendment protects individuals from state action which deprives them of due process or denies them equal protection. U.S. Const. amend. XIV § 1. Section Five provides that: "Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article." Id. § 5. Congress' power under Section Five is remedial, extending only to the enforcement of the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment; Congress may not use Section Five to define Fourteenth Amendment rights. City of Boerne v. Flores, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 117 S.Ct. 2157, 2164 & 2167-68, 138 L.Ed.2d 624, ___ (1997); Sacred Heart, 133 F.3d at 241.

The Supreme Court has declined to decide whether Congress acted under Section Five in enacting the 1974 amendment to the ADEA. EEOC v. Wyoming, 460 U.S. 226, 243, 103 S.Ct. 1054, 1064, 75 L.Ed.2d 18, 33-34 (1983); see also Gregory v. Ashcroft, 501 U.S. 452, 467-70, 111 S.Ct. 2395, 2404-2406, 115 L.Ed.2d 410, 428-30 (1991). The issue has been examined by a number of lower courts, with mixed conclusions. See Hurd v. Pittsburg State Univ., 109 F.3d 1540, 1546 (10th Cir.1997) (Fourteenth Amendment); Mete v. New York State Office of Mental Retardation & Dev. Disabilities, 984 F.Supp. 125, 131-134 (N.D.N.Y.1997) (Fourteenth Amendment); Simpson v. Texas Dep't of Crim. Justice, 975 F.Supp. 921, 925-27 (W.D.Tex.1997) (Fourteenth Amendment); Gehrt v. University of Ill., 974 F.Supp. 1178, 1182-83 (C.D.Ill.1997) (Fourteenth Amendment); Humenansky v. Board of Regents, 958 F.Supp. 439, 443 (D.Minn.1997) (Commerce Clause); Teichgraeber v. Memorial Union Corp., 946 F.Supp. 900, 906-907 (D.Kan.1996) (Fourteenth Amendment); MacPherson v. University of Montevallo, 938 F.Supp. 785, 788-89 (N.D.Ala.1996) (Commerce Clause); see also Hodgson v. University of Texas, 953 F.Supp. 168 (S.D.Tex.1997) (Fourteenth Amendment); Pietraszewski v. Buffalo State College, 1997 WL 436763 (W.D.N.Y. Aug.1, 1997) (Fourteenth Amendment); Ullman v. University of Virginia, 1997 WL 134557, at *3-*4 (W.D.Va. March 12, 1997) (Fourteenth Amendment); Young v. University of Kansas Med. Ctr., 1997 WL 150051 (D.Kan. Feb.26, 1997) (Fourteenth Amendment).⁴ In light of the Supreme Court's recent refinement of the analysis of Congress' Section Five power in City of Boerne, however, we regard the issue as unsettled. See Goshtasby v. Board of Trustees, 123 F.3d 427, 428 (7th Cir.1997) (City of Boerne gives rise to serious questions concerning the constitutionality of Congress' abrogation of states' Eleventh Amendment immunity in ADEA).⁵

In City of Boerne, the Court struck down the Religious Freedom Restoration Act ("RFRA") as unconstitutional, concluding that the Act exceeded Congress' Fourteenth Amendment enforcement powers. The City of Boerne Court reached this conclusion after a careful examination of RFRA's purpose and function, in light of both its legislative history, 117 S.Ct. at 2169-70, and its practical effect, id. at 2170-71. While the constitutional implications of RFRA are very different from those of the ADEA, City of Boerne nonetheless provides significant guidance in our analysis.

Section Five of the Fourteenth Amendment "is a positive grant of legislative power authorizing Congress to exercise its discretion in determining whether and what legislation is needed to secure the guarantees of the Fourteenth Amendment." Katzenbach v. Morgan, 384 U.S. 641, 651, 86 S.Ct. 1717, 1724, 16 L.Ed.2d 828, 836 (1966). A statute constitutes an appropriate exercise of that power if it:

may be regarded as an enactment to enforce the Equal Protection Clause, ... is "plainly adapted to that end" and ... is not prohibited by but is consistent with "the letter and spirit of the constitution."

Id. (quoting McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316, 421, 4 L.Ed. 579, 605 (1819)).

Under City of Boerne, we must assess the adoption of the 1974 amendment to the ADEA in light of both Congress' stated intent and the effect and function of the Act. The ADEA was originally enacted in 1967; at that time, the statute prohibited certain age discrimination by private employers. See EEOC v. Elrod, 674 F.2d 601, 604 (7th Cir.1982). In 1974, Congress amended the ADEA to expand its reach to public employers as well. Pub.L. No. 93-259, § 28, 88 Stat. 74 (amending 29 U.S.C. § 630(b)(2)). The ADEA amendment was originally proposed by Senator Bentsen in 1972, in conjunction with similar amendments to Title VII; the amendment was not enacted, however, until two years later. See Elrod, 674 F.2d at 604-05. The 1974 amendment was enacted as part of a bill which also substantially reformed the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-19 ("FLSA"). Pub.L. No. 93-259, 88 Stat. 74.

The legislative history of the 1974 law focuses more on the FLSA amendments than on the amendment to the ADEA. While Congress expressly invoked the Commerce Clause in the introductory statement to the House Report, H. Rep. No. 93-913, 1974 WL 11448, at *3, the portion of that report which discusses the ADEA amendment (as opposed to the amendments to the FLSA) focuses on the need to remedy the problem of age discrimination, not on the impact of that discrimination on commerce. Id., 1974 WL 11448, at *84-85; see also 120 Cong. Rec. S8768 (1974) (statement of Sen. Bentsen).

This emphasis on the injustice of discrimination based on age has lead a number of courts examining the question to conclude that the 1974 amendment was remedial legislation enacted under Congress' Section Five power to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection. See, e.g., Ramirez v. Puerto Rico Fire Serv., 715 F.2d 694, 699-700 (1st Cir.1983); Elrod, 674 F.2d at 605; Mete, 984 F.Supp. at 130; Simpson, 975 F.Supp. at 925; Gehrt, 974 F.Supp. at 1183. But see Humen...