Burau v. Runyon

959 F. Supp. 786, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6578, 1997 WL 159962
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedMarch 20, 1997
DocketNo. 5:95 CV 2644
StatusPublished

This text of 959 F. Supp. 786 (Burau v. Runyon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Burau v. Runyon, 959 F. Supp. 786, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6578, 1997 WL 159962 (N.D. Ohio 1997).

Opinion

ORDER

SAM H. BELL, District Judge.

The above-captioned matter came before this court upon the filing of a complaint by Plaintiff Margaret Burau in which she alleges three causes of action against the Defendant Postmaster: discrimination and the failure to provide reasonable accommodations for Plaintiffs mental disabilities in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 12002[sic]; gender discrimination in violation of 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-2 and 2000e-16; and retaliation for the filing of an EEO charge in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a). (Complaint, docket # 1.) Defendant timely filed a motion for summary judgment, (docket # 10), on September 20, 1996. After seeking and receiving an extension of time until November 29, 1996, in which to respond to the motion, Plaintiff filed her thirty page opposition on December 2, 1996.1 On December 11, 1996, Defendant filed his reply, (docket # 21), which the court accepted despite Plaintiffs objection, (docket # 22). The Court now considers Defendant’s motion.

Standard of Review

The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has summarized the standard of review governing motions for summary judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 as follows:

Summary judgment is appropriate . where “there is no genuine issue of material fact ... and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”... [The] court must view all facts and inferences drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-moving party.
The moving party has the burden of conclusively showing that no genuine issue of material fact exists. Nevertheless, in the face of a summary judgment motion, the nonmoving party cannot rest on its pleadings but must come forward with some probative evidence to support its claim.
“By its very terms, this standard provides that the existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact.” The dispute must be genuine and the facts must be such that if they were proven at trial, a reasonable jury-could return a verdict for the nonmov-ing party. If the disputed evidence “is merely colorable or is not significantly pro[788]*788bative, summary judgment may be granted.”

LaPointe v. United Autoworkers Local 600, 8 F.3d 376, 378 (6th Cir.1993) (citations omitted). With this standard in mind, the court will address the Defendant’s present motion.

Background

The instant cause of action was brought because the Plaintiff, Margaret Burau, believes that she was the subject of discrimination while an employee of the United States Postal Service. According to Plaintiff, she is a “recovered chemically dependant person, qualified to perform her job.” (Docket # 20, at 3.) Nonetheless, during the summer and fall of 1993, rumors abounded that Plaintiff had a drug problem. (EEOC Hearing Tr. 43, 43, 93, 117, 207; Burau Aff.) Once the Defendant’s agents became aware of Plaintiffs former drug use, she was allegedly treated differently. (See Docket # 20, at 3.) Of particular concern to Plaintiff was insulting and demeaning treatment by her supervisor Kathy Vidovitch. (Id. (citing EEOC Hearing Tr. 63, 93, 43, 113-114.)) Such treatment includes locking Plaintiffs telephone so that she could not use it in October of 1992. Finally, on October 13,1993, Supervisor Vidovitch is alleged to have said that “if [Plaintiffs] head was not so full of coke she would know where it was.” (Tr. at 13.) On October 14,1993, Plaintiff left the Post Office on sick leave; she never returned.

On or about November 29, Plaintiff attempted to contact the EEO department of the Post Office to discuss and resolve Plaintiffs concerns that she was being treated differently due to her former drug use. On December 3, 1993, Plaintiff requested advance sick leave so that she could continue receiving pay during her leave of absence. (Tr. 197-98.) Apparently, one male employee had been granted such advance leave by a previous postmaster, but Plaintiffs postmaster denied her request. On December 9, 1993, Plaintiff requested the necessary forms to proceed with her EEO complaint. One week later, the EEO counselor, Mr. Peoples, met with Plaintiff to discuss her complaint and advised her that her past drug dependency did not entitle her to protection under the Rehabilitation Act. (Tr. 107-08.) Despite Mr. Peoples’ advice on that subject, Plaintiff completed and returned her EEO counseling form on January 7,1994.

Later in January, Plaintiffs request for prime time annual leave was ignored because it was submitted late. Plaintiff alleges that she was given fewer days than other employees to complete the appropriate form, and that she should have been allowed more time to return the leave form. Ultimately, Defendant determined that Plaintiff should lose the enviable position that her seniority would otherwise have granted her in determining prime annual leave. (See Docket #20, at 13-14.)

On March 7, 1994, Plaintiff filed her Complaint with the EEOC. (Docket # 20, ex. C.) The Post Office began its consideration of Plaintiffs complaints on March 15, 1994. At an April 12, 1994 meeting with Plaintiff and her attorney, EEO Counselor Peoples restated his belief that Plaintiff was not eligible for the protection offered by the Rehabilitation Act. (Docket # 20, Attachment E, Burau aft. A.) On June 15, 1994, Mr. Peoples concluded his investigation into Plaintiffs allegations; a final decision of Plaintiffs administrative action was issued by the United States Postal Service on September 20, 1995, finding in Defendant’s favor. (Complaint ¶ 3.) This action followed.

Analysis

In his motion before the court, the Defendant Postmaster General does not challenge the substance of a great portion of Plaintiffs claims, but rather argues that this court is without jurisdiction to hear Plaintiffs Title VII and Rehabilitation Act complaints because she failed to timely contact an EEO officer regarding most of her charges, and because the only timely actions about which she complains are not supported by sufficient evidence. Title VII provides the exclusive remedy for claims of discrimination brought by federal employees, Brown v. General Servs. Admin., 425 U.S. 820, 828-29, 96 S.Ct. 1961, 1965-66, 48 L.Ed.2d 402 (1976), and those employees may not seek relief in federal courts until they have exhausted their administrative remedies. Id. at 832, 96 S.Ct. at 1967-68; Haithcock v. Frank, 958 F.2d [789]*789671, 675 (6th Cir.1992). The first step that Plaintiff must take toward exhaustion of her administrative remedies is contacting an EEO counselor within forty-five days of the event or events about which she complains. See 29 C.F.R.

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959 F. Supp. 786, 1997 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6578, 1997 WL 159962, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burau-v-runyon-ohnd-1997.