Kaleena Bullington v. Bedford Cty., Tenn.
Opinion
*469 Plaintiff Kaleena Bullington ("Bullington") appeals the district court's grant of judgment on the pleadings to Defendants Bedford County, Tennessee, ("County") and Penny Cooper ("Cooper") (together, "Defendants"). For the following reasons, we VACATE the district court's judgment and REMAND to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
I. BACKGROUND
Bullington worked as a dispatcher at the Bedford County Sherriff's Department ("Department") for over eight years. R. 28 (Second Am. Compl. ¶ 5) (Page ID #88). Sometime during this period, Bullington had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a form of cancer, which she treated with chemotherapy. Id. The chemotherapy, however, caused neuropathy and scar tissue in Bullington's lungs, so Bullington needed additional treatment. Id. Because of her diagnosis and treatment, Bullington asserts that the Department treated her differently than the other employees. Id. ¶ 6.
Bullington brought this suit in the district court and alleged four causes of action in her second amended complaint: (1) Cooper violated Bullington's constitutional rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to be free from discrimination and retaliation, (2) the County violated her constitutional rights by not providing adequate supervision and training, (3) Defendants violated the Tennessee Human Rights Act, and (4) Defendants violated the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"). Id. ¶¶ 14-17 (Page ID #90). For all of these claims, Defendants moved for judgment on the pleadings. R. 21 (Mot.) (Page ID #56). The district court granted the motion and entered a judgment. R. 52 (Order) (Page ID #377); R. 53 (J.) (Page ID #384). Bullington has appealed the district court's judgment. R. 54 (Notice of Appeal) (Page ID #385).
II. DISCUSSION
"We review de novo a district court's grant of a Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings."
Engler v. Arnold
,
A. The district court correctly dismissed Bullington's ADA claim.
For an ADA claim, a plaintiff needs to exhaust administrative remedies.
See
Parry v. Mohawk Motors of Mich., Inc.
,
For equitable tolling, there are five factors to examine: "(1) the petitioner's lack of notice of the filing requirement; (2) the petitioner's lack of constructive knowledge of the filing requirement; (3) diligence in pursuing one's rights; (4) absence of prejudice to the respondent; and (5) the petitioner's reasonableness in remaining ignorant of the legal requirement for filing his claim."
Hughes v. Region VII Area Agency on Aging
,
Bullington concedes that she did not file a charge with the EEOC.
See
Appellant's Br. at 8. She argues, however, that the district court should have waived this requirement because she relied on her prior counsel. According to Bullington, this situation is similar to the scenario in
Curry v. United States Postal Service
,
In
Curry
, the district court stated that "[e]quitable tolling is appropriate where plaintiff's failure to follow proper procedures flows from her reliance on statements or actions of those seemingly empowered by law to implement and enforce any discrimination statutes."
The district court here correctly determined that Bullington's argument lacks merit.
See
R. 52 (Mem. at 5) (Page ID #381). In
Curry
, equitable tolling applied because an EEO counselor, an individual who was "seemingly empowered by law to implement and enforce any discrimination statutes," made the misleading statements to the plaintiff.
B. The district court incorrectly dismissed Bullington's constitutional claims.
Bullington also brings claims against Defendants under
To determine whether Congress has precluded a remedy under § 1983, the "question is congressional intent."
Boler v. Earley
,
*471
Middlesex Cty. Sewerage Auth. v. Nat'l Sea Clammers Ass'n
,
In cases in which the § 1983 claim alleges a constitutional violation, lack of congressional intent may be inferred from a comparison of the rights and protections of the statute and those existing under the Constitution. Where the contours of such rights and protections diverge in significant ways, it is not likely that Congress intended to displace § 1983 suits enforcing constitutional rights. Our conclusions regarding congressional intent can be confirmed by a statute's text.
We have not squarely decided whether plaintiffs can use § 1983 to enforce the ADA. Other circuits, however, have held that the ADA does preclude § 1983 claims for violations of the statute.
See, e.g.
,
Williams v. Pa. Human Relations Comm'n
,
Nevertheless, we do not need to reach a conclusion on this issue because Bullington's § 1983 claims allege
constitutional
violations, not violations of the ADA itself. Bullington pleaded "that Defendant Cooper violated her
federal constitutional rights secured by the 14th amendment
to be free from discrimination and retaliation as a result of her illness/disability." R. 28 (Second Am. Compl. ¶ 14) (Page ID #90) (emphasis added). She has also alleged "that Bedford County is liable for the violation of [Bullington's]
federal constitutional rights
pursuant to
*472 #90) (emphasis added). Thus, Bullington's § 1983 disability discrimination claims are being brought pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause, not the ADA. Therefore, the real issue is whether Bullington can pursue her separate but parallel Fourteenth Amendment claims for disability discrimination.
Several circuits, including our own, have allowed constitutional claims to be brought under § 1983, even where the plaintiff's constitutional claims run parallel to claims brought under analogous statutes.
See
Day
,
In Bullington's case, however, the district court concluded that the ADA precludes a remedy under § 1983 for a parallel constitutional claim.
See
R. 52 (Order at 6-7) (Page ID #382-83). First, the district court relied on our conclusion in
Day
that a plaintiff cannot override the remedial structure in Title VII by asserting a § 1983 claim.
Id.
at 6 (Page ID #382). But the district court incorrectly relied on the part of the opinion where we were deciding whether a plaintiff could use § 1983 to pursue a statutory Title VII claim, not whether a plaintiff could bring a parallel constitutional claim.
See
Day
,
In
Fitzgerald
, the Supreme Court examined whether Title IX precluded a § 1983 claim for an Equal Protection violation.
Based on the Supreme Court's analysis in
Fitzgerald
, we have identified "three key components" to consider when examining congressional intent to preclude a constitutional claim: the statute's (1) text and history, (2) its remedial scheme, and (3) the contours of its rights and protections.
Boler
,
1. Text and History
"The beginning point for examining congressional intent is the language of the statute."
Boler
,
Congress clearly stated its purpose in enacting the ADA:
(1) to provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities; (2) to provide clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing discrimination against individuals with disabilities; (3) to ensure that the Federal Government plays a central role in enforcing the standards established in this chapter on behalf of individuals with disabilities; and (4) to invoke the sweep of congressional authority, including the power to enforce the fourteenth amendment and to regulate commerce, in order to address the major areas of discrimination faced day-to-day by people with disabilities.
Defendants argue that the explicit reference to Congress's power under § 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment demonstrates Congress's intent to preclude Equal Protection claims for disability discrimination.
See
Appellee's Br. at 21-22. Indeed, Congress also noted that "the Nation's proper goals regarding individuals with disabilities are to assure
equality of opportunity
, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for such individuals," and it was concerned that "the continuing existence of unfair and unnecessary discrimination and prejudice denies people with disabilities the opportunity to compete on an
equal basis
."
Our conclusion based on the text is confirmed by the ADA's context and history. First, the legislative history sheds light on Congress's intent to leave intact other remedies, procedures, and rights available to disabled individuals under other state and federal laws. The Committee on Education and Labor's Report stated:
With respect to other laws, section 501(b) of the legislation specifies that nothing in this legislation should be construed to invalidate or limit any other federal law or law of any State or political subdivision of any State or jurisdiction that provides greater or equal protection for the rights of individuals with disabilities that are afforded by this legislation. In other words, all of the rights, remedies and procedures that are available to people with disabilities under other federal laws or other state laws (including state common law) are not preempted by this Act. This approach is consistent with that taken in other civil rights laws. The basic principle underlying this provision is that Congress does not intend to displace any of the rights or remedies available under other federal or state laws (including state common law) which provide greater or equal protection to individuals with disabilities.
H.R. Rep. No. 101-485 (II) at 135 (1990). And the Committee on the Judiciary similarly stated in its report that:
Under Section 501(b) of the ADA, all of the rights, remedies and procedures that are available to people with disabilities under other federal laws, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, or other state laws (including state common law) are not preempted by this Act. This approach is consistent with that taken in other civil rights laws. The basic principle underlying this provision is that Congress does not intend to displace any of the rights or remedies provided by other federal or [sic] laws or other state laws (including state common law) which provide greater or equal protection to individuals with disabilities.
H.R. Rep. No. 101-485 (III) at 70 (1990).
Second, the ADA's relation to Title VII also suggests that Congress did not intend to preclude alternative remedies for disability discrimination. The ADA uses the procedures set forth in Title VII. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-5, 12117. Indeed, the legislative history of the ADA shows that the protections for disabled persons were intended to be the same as those for other kinds of discrimination. For instance, one representative explained as follows:
The employment protections use the same enforcement procedures and provide the same remedies as title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Under the ADA, persons with disabilities will have the same rights and remedies as minorities and women, no more and no less.
136 Cong. Rec. H2421-02, H2439 (daily ed. May 17, 1990) (statement of Rep. Edwards).
1
The relationship between Title
*475
VII and the ADA is relevant because at the time Congress passed the ADA in 1990, courts frequently held that "the comprehensive scheme provided in Title VII does not preempt section 1983, and that discrimination claims may be brought under either statute, or both."
Bradley v. Pittsburgh Bd. of Educ.
,
Indeed, at the time Congress enacted the ADA, we allowed plaintiffs to bring parallel, concurrent Title VII and § 1983 constitutional claims.
See
Grano v. Dep't of Dev.
,
The Supreme Court employed this exact kind of reasoning in
Fitzgerald
, explaining that "Congress modeled Title IX after Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and passed Title IX with the explicit understanding that it would be interpreted as Title VI was."
In sum, we find no clear inference from either the text of the statute, its legislative history, or its context that Congress intended for the ADA's remedial scheme to displace § 1983 suits enforcing constitutional *476 rights. Instead, the statutory text, the legislative history, and the context of the ADA all suggest that Congress intended, by passing the ADA, to supplement, not replace, existing remedies to individuals who had suffered disability discrimination.
2. Remedial Scheme
Boler
next directs us to look at the statute's "remedial scheme" to determine whether it is "so comprehensive that it demonstrates congressional intent to preclude remedies under § 1983."
The ADA's remedial scheme employs the same procedures as those employed by Title VII, and, as indicated above, we have long "held that an employee may sue her public employer under both Title VII and § 1983 when the § 1983 violation rests on a claim of infringement of rights guaranteed by the Constitution."
Day
,
More recently, we have stated that a § 1983 claim regarding a constitutional violation can survive despite Title VII.
See
Toth v. City of Toledo
,
3. Contours of the Rights and Protections
Finally, "we ask whether 'the contours of the rights and protections' provided by the [statute] and those existing under the Constitution 'diverge in significant ways.' "
Boler
,
First, the rights created by the ADA are strikingly different from those already protected by the Equal Protection Clause. The stated purpose of the ADA is "to provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities," "to provide clear, strong, consistent, enforceable standards addressing discrimination against individuals with disabilities," and "to ensure that the Federal Government plays a central role in enforcing the standards established in this chapter on behalf of individuals with disabilities."
Next, the protections available under the ADA and the constitutional claim that Bullington alleges vary in material respects. Bullington must make a very different showing to prove her Fourteenth Amendment claim than she would have to make to pursue an ADA claim, and these claims require entirely different substantive analyses. To prove an ADA claim, Bullington would have to show (1) that she was in a class of persons protected by the ADA; (2) that she was otherwise qualified for the position, with or without reasonable accommodation; (3) that she suffered an adverse employment action; (4) that the employer knew or had reason to know of the her disability; and (5) that the adverse employment action occurred under circumstances that raise a reasonable inference of unlawful discrimination.
See
Whitfield v. Tenn.
,
Under the Equal Protection Clause, however, a state may discriminate against individuals on the basis of disability "if there is a rational relationship between the disparity of treatment and some legitimate governmental purpose."
Heller v. Doe
,
*478 and the Equal Protection Clause, it makes sense that even if the comprehensive remedial scheme of the ADA precludes utilizing § 1983 to assert an ADA violation, a claimant would still be able to assert a violation of the Equal Protection Clause based on alleged disability discrimination through § 1983.
Thus, the rights created by the ADA vary significantly from those provided by the Equal Protection Clause. And the elements required to prove her Equal Protection claim differ significantly from the standard of proof under the ADA, evidencing a lack of Congressional intent that the ADA precludes separate enforcement of disabled individuals' constitutional rights. Because of the divergence between the rights and protections created by the ADA and by the Equal Protection Clause, we cannot conclude that Congress intended for the ADA to be the exclusive mechanism for addressing disability discrimination, "or a substitute for § 1983 suits as a means of enforcing constitutional rights."
Fitzgerald
,
In sum, the Supreme Court has directed us not to "lightly conclude that Congress intended to preclude reliance on § 1983 as a remedy for a substantial equal protection claim."
Smith
,
In light of this conclusion, the district court should have another opportunity to determine whether Bullington's second amended complaint is sufficient and whether justice requires that Bullington have an opportunity to amend her complaint in light of this opinion. Therefore, we remand the action to the district court for further evaluation.
III. CONCLUSION
Based on these reasons, we VACATE the district court's grant of judgment on the pleadings to Defendants and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
KETHLEDGE, Circuit Judge, concurring in the judgment.
CONCURRING IN THE JUDGMENT
I agree with the majority's conclusion that a plaintiff may assert a constitutional claim under
Here, nothing in the text or structure of the ADA supports preclusion of a parallel constitutional claim. That is reason enough to hold that such a claim is not precluded. The implication of the majority's foray into legislative history is that, if one of the committees in their reports, or Representative Edwards in his floor statement, had expressed some intention to the contrary, we would honor that intention and hold the constitutional claim precluded. But of course we would not do that: nothing in those reports or in Representative Edwards's floor statement is law, and thus nothing in those materials can support a holding contrary to what the statute itself supports. See generally U.S. Const. Art I, sec. 7. Hence we have no reason to sift through those materials here.
Committee reports further indicate Congress' clear intention to mirror the powers, remedies, and procedures developed by case law under Title VII. The Committee on the Judiciary provided the following:
The Committee intends that the powers, remedies and procedures available to persons discriminated against based on disability shall be the same as, and parallel to, the powers, remedies and procedures available to persons discriminated against based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Thus, if the powers, remedies and procedures change in Title VII of the 1964 Act, they will change identically under the ADA for persons with disabilities.
... [T]he purpose of the ADA [is] to provide civil rights protections for persons with disabilities that are parallel to those available to minorities and women. By retaining the cross-reference to title VII, the Committee's intent is that the remedies of title VII, currently and as amended in the future, will be applicable to persons with disabilities.
H.R.Rep. No. 101-485 (III) at 48 (1990).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Kaleena BULLINGTON, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. BEDFORD COUNTY, Tennessee ; Penny Cooper, in Her Individual and Official Capacities, Defendants-Appellees.
- Cited By
- 57 cases
- Status
- Published