Doe v. Brennan

980 F. Supp. 2d 730, 2013 WL 5883870, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 158484
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Virginia
DecidedNovember 4, 2013
DocketCase No. 1:13-cv-00639-GBL-JFA
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 980 F. Supp. 2d 730 (Doe v. Brennan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Doe v. Brennan, 980 F. Supp. 2d 730, 2013 WL 5883870, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 158484 (E.D. Va. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

GERALD BRUCE LEE, District Judge.

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss or in the Alternative for Summary Judgment (Doc. 67). This case concerns Plaintiff John Doe’s allegation that he was denied employment with the Central Intelligence Agency (“CIA”) because of his disability status in violation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. There are two issues before the Court. The first issue is whether Plaintiffs discrimination claim arising from the March 5, 2011 rescission of his conditional offer of employment is barred by his failure to timely exhaust his administrative remedies. The second issue is whether Plaintiffs August 1, 2011 phone call with a CIA employee, in which he was told that he could never reapply, constitutes agency action under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 such that he is allowed to bring a claim for employment discrimination.

First, the Court holds that Plaintiffs discrimination claim arising from the March 5, 2011 rescission of his conditional offer of employment is barred because he did not timely exhaust his administrative remedies. Plaintiff failed to contact an Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) counselor within the 45-day time period set forth in 29 C.F.R. § 1614.105(a)(1). Furthermore, Plaintiff is not entitled to a waiver of the exhaustion requirement because he never requested a waiver during the administrative process. At the time Plaintiff submitted his EEO Complaint, he was represented by an attorney and had been notified of the necessity to request an extension if counseling was untimely initiated by a Memorandum of Rights and Responsibilities. Additionally, Plaintiff is not entitled to an extension of the 45-day requirement on the grounds of equitable estoppel because Plaintiff cannot meet the demanding standard of proving agency misconduct.

Second, the Court holds that Plaintiffs August 1, 2011 phone call with a CIA employee does not amount to actionable discrimination. Despite the low-level processing officer’s erroneous statement, the CIA never made any personnel decision to exclude Plaintiff from reapplying. As [732]*732such, there is no agency action upon which to base a Rehabilitation Act claim.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff John Doe alleges that the CIA discriminated against him on account of his Type 1 diabetes in violation of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Pub.L. No. 93-112, 87 Stat. 355 (1973) (codified as amended in scattered sections of 29 U.S.C.). Prior to applying to the CIA, John Doe obtained an undergraduate degree in history and four graduate degrees, and he worked in a variety of fields including law.1 See Doc. 62. Plaintiff has submitted multiple applications for the position of CIA Operations Officer, including a February 2008 application through the CIA’s website. See Doc. 67-3, ¶ 5. The present litigation relates to a January 2009 application Plaintiff submitted at Columbia Business School for the CIA Operations Officer position. Plaintiff received a Conditional Offer of Employment on May 13, 2010 subject to the successful completion of a background check and medical examination. See Doc 70-1.

The Conditional Offer of Employment was officially rescinded via letter on March 5, 2011 (“Rescission Letter”), on the grounds of unsuitability without providing further detail. The Rescission Letter stated that Plaintiff had no right to appeal the decision but could reapply in one year as “circumstances that cause a person to be determined as unsuitable could be mitigated by the passage of time.” See Doc. 67-2. The Rescission Letter did not notify Plaintiff of a 45-day deadline to challenge employment decisions as discriminatory through an EEO process.

According to the Declaration of Wendy Shelton, the Former Legal Advisor of the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity of the CIA, the CIA’s public website contained a page under the EEO section giving notice to applicants and employees of their rights and responsibilities under the No FEAR Act. See Doc. 67-3, ¶4. The webpage stated that as a prerequisite to filing a formal complaint, an individual must contact an EEO counselor within 45 days of an alleged discriminatory personnel action. Id. This page has been in place continuously since 2008, the time Plaintiff first applied for the position.

In the four-and-a-half months following receipt of the Rescission Letter, Plaintiff did not contact the CIA or the Office of the EEO (“OEEO”), review the CIA’s website, contact a lawyer, file a complaint, or take any other steps to preserve his rights to bring a lawsuit alleging discrimination. On July 26, 2011, seven months before he would become eligible to reapply, Plaintiff called the CIA Recruitment Center and spoke with a processing officer, Robin, to get more information regarding the rescission of his employment offer and for permission to reapply sooner than March 5, 2012. See Doc 70-1, ¶ 8. According to the Declaration of Christine White, Chief of the Recruitment Center for the CIA, processing officers assist applicants with the logistical and administrative aspects of applying, such as scheduling. See Doc. 67-1, ¶ 5. Processing officers have limited responsibilities—they do not have access to the status of applications once submitted for security clearance and medical processing. Processing officers are several layers removed from anyone with hiring [733]*733authority and they do not participate in hiring decisions. Id. ¶ 6. According to Plaintiff, Robin checked with a supervisor and called Plaintiff back on August 1, 2011, stating that he could not reapply at any time. See Doc. 62.

On August 4, 2011, Plaintiff again contacted the CIA to receive information about speaking to someone with EEO responsibilities. See Doc. 70-1, ¶ 8. At the same time, Plaintiff consulted a lawyer in his hometown and learned about informal EEO counseling and the 45-day deadline to initiate the process. Id. ¶ 9. On September 8, 2011, Plaintiff contacted the OEEO for the required pre-complaint counseling. Id. During counseling, Plaintiff was given a Memorandum of Rights & Responsibilities (“Memorandum”). The Memorandum advised Plaintiff of a 45-day deadline to initiate counseling, and advised that the time limit would be extended if a complainant shows “that circumstances beyond my control prevented contact with O/EEO within the time limit.” The Memorandum provided Plaintiff with a citation to the applicable law, 29 C.F.R. § 1614.105(a). The Memorandum also stated that the agency would dismiss any formal complaint that failed to comply with applicable time limits or if the complaint addresses a proposed action or fails to state a claim. Plaintiff signed the Memorandum on September 11, 2011, acknowledging that he read and understood it.

At that point, Plaintiff initiated OEEO counseling, alleging that he had been “discriminated against based on his disability (Type 1 Diabetes) when he learned on August 1, 2011 that he was ineligible to reapply for the position of Operations Officer.” See Doc. 70-4. The counseling report indicated “Reason for Delayed Contact beyond 45 Days: N/A” because the allegation Plaintiff raised when he contacted OEEO on September 13, 2011 was only in reference to the August 1, 2011 phone call.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
980 F. Supp. 2d 730, 2013 WL 5883870, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 158484, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/doe-v-brennan-vaed-2013.