Bradshaw v. Office of the Architect of the Capitol

856 F. Supp. 2d 126, 2012 WL 1378313, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55525
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedApril 20, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 2011-0536
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 856 F. Supp. 2d 126 (Bradshaw v. Office of the Architect of the Capitol) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bradshaw v. Office of the Architect of the Capitol, 856 F. Supp. 2d 126, 2012 WL 1378313, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55525 (D.D.C. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

BERYL A. HOWELL, District Judge.

Plaintiff Andrew E. Bradshaw filed a 24-count Complaint alleging that the defendant Office of the Architect of the Capitol, his former employer, violated the Congressional Accountability Act (“CAA”), 2 U.S.C. § 1301, et seq. as well as prohibitions against employment discrimination and retaliatory employment practices through interference with plaintiffs application for disability retirement, constructive discharge of the plaintiff from his employment, and creation of a hostile work environment. See Complaint (“Compl.”), ECF No. 1, ¶¶ 1, 2, 3. Pending before the Court is the defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. ECF No. 4. The defendant seeks to dismiss 18 counts of the plaintiffs Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, due to the plaintiffs failure to seek counseling within 180 days after the alleged violation, or his knowledge of the alleged violation, as required by 2 U.S.C. § 1402(a). The defendant also seeks to dismiss 12 counts of the Complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, or in the alternative, summary judgment. For the reasons explained below, this Court dismisses 12 counts of the plaintiffs Complaint under Rule 12(b)(1) (Counts 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 19, and 23), and the remaining 12 counts of the Complaint under Rule 12(b)(6) (Counts 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14, 16, 20, 21, 22, and 24). Since the Court dismisses all 24 counts of the plaintiffs Complaint, the plaintiffs case is dismissed.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The plaintiff is a former employee in the Labor Division of the Office of the Architect of the Capitol. Compl. ¶ 9. He asserts *129 that he is an AFSCME Local 626 dues-paying union member and is considered a “covered employee.” Id. ¶ 4. The plaintiff was employed in the Labor Division from May 5, 2003 until 2008 when he was separated from employment pursuant to a Settlement Agreement with the defendant. Id. ¶¶ 9, 44, 45. The plaintiff notes that throughout his employment with the defendant, the defendant knew of “[p]laintiffis physical impairments of the major life activities of eating, sleeping, walking, seeing and concentrating pursuant to the qualified ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] disabilities of diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension, chronic knee problems, morbid obesity, depression, seeing, and substance abuse.” Id. ¶ 13. According to the plaintiff, defendant “regarded the [plaintiff as disabled” throughout his employment because of the aforementioned physical limitations. Id. ¶ 14.

In 2007, the plaintiffs supervisor proposed that the plaintiff be removed from his employment because of the plaintiffs “failure to follow leave procedures, absences without authorized leave ..., inappropriate behavior, sleeping during duty hours, disappearance during duty hours and failure to follow the direct order of a supervisor.” Id. ¶ 22; see also Plaintiffs/Applieant’s Statement of Disability, ECF No. 4-4, at 5, question 6 (“As a result of my sleep apnea and alcoholism, I had difficulty staying awake, being on time and attending my job regularly which impacted my ability to perform duties with other staff members, and affected my work relationship with my supervisors.”); id. at 5, question 5 (“My sleep apnea has affected my ability to remain awake and alert on the job and as a result, I was prevented from operating forklifts and other machinery”); id. (“My knee problem also reduced my mobility which made it difficult for me to perform tasks that required a great deal of walking or physical exertion.”).

This lawsuit concerns the plaintiffs application for disability retirement benefits following his separation from employment. After the plaintiff submitted his application for disability retirement benefits on December 31, 2008, he was initially denied benefits on January 25, 2010. The plaintiff was ultimately awarded disability retirement benefits as of February 10, 2011. Nevertheless, he initiated this lawsuit on March 14, 2011, claiming that the January 25, 2010 letter from the Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”) denying his disability retirement application provided the plaintiff notice that the defendant had engaged in unlawful discriminatory and retaliatory employment practices, which resulted in the initial delay or denial of his disability retirement benefits and had the effect of “depriv[ing] the Plaintiff of equal employment opportunities, terms, conditions and benefits of employment and otherwise adversely affect[ing] his status as an employee.” Compl. ¶ 215. The plaintiff also claims that he was “terminated” from his employment improperly, which resulted in delaying his last compensation from his employer and the wrongful termination of his health benefits and insurance in February, 2009. See Declaration of Andrew E. Bradshaw (“Bradsháw Decl.”), ECF No. 8-1, ¶¶ 92-96. This meant that, for a two year period, from February 2009 through February 2011, the plaintiff had “no medical insurance or benefits to cover treatment of the now exacerbated diagnosed medical conditions.” Id. ¶ 96. The plaintiff brought this suit seeking $600,000.00 in “compensatory damages and damages consistent with the [CAA],” as well as attorneys’ fees, to be made “whole for all earnings and benefits he would have received but for Defendant’s unlawful and prohibited discriminatory and retaliatory *130 employment practices,” see Compl. at 46-47 (Prayer for Relief, at ¶¶ 3-5).

A. Plaintiffs Separation from Employment

On November 9, 2007, Herbert Francis, General Foreman of the Labor Division of the U.S. Capitol Buildings, “proposed the removal of the Plaintiff from his employment ... for failure to follow leave procedures, absences without authorized leave (AWOL), inappropriate behavior, sleeping during duty hours, disappearance during duty hours and failure to follow the direct order of a supervisor.” Id. ¶ 22. The plaintiff states that he “timely submitted a response” to the proposal to remove him from employment. Id. ¶ 23. On February 13, 2008, Carlos Elias, Superintendent of the U.S. Capitol Buildings, “concurred” in the proposal to remove the plaintiff from employment. Id. ¶ 24. The plaintiff requested “a due process hearing pursuant to Chapter 752” of the Architect of the Capitol Personnel Manual, id. ¶¶ 22, 25, which was scheduled for May 8, 2008. 1

On the date of the hearing, the parties entered into a Settlement Agreement “in lieu of a formal hearing.” Id. ¶ 27. The Settlement Agreement provided for the “irrevocable resignation of the [pjlaintiff,” see id. ¶ 28, and included, inter alia,

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Bluebook (online)
856 F. Supp. 2d 126, 2012 WL 1378313, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55525, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bradshaw-v-office-of-the-architect-of-the-capitol-dcd-2012.