Dougall v. Sugarman

339 F. Supp. 906, 3 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1202
District Court, S.D. New York·Decided November 9, 1971·No. 71 Civ. 992·Published·Cited by 32 cases

Opinions

TENNEY, District Judge.

Plaintiffs are four of approximately twenty permanent resident aliens who, prior to December 28, 1970, were employed by private organizations which were merged into the New York City Human Resources Administration on that date. The City program was directed to the improvement of job skills among the unemployed and the underemployed. When the private organizations were merged into the City program, plaintiffs were hired by the City and assured their positions and salaries would be the same.1 Shortly after their City employment commenced, however, plaintiffs were discharged pursuant to New York Civil Service Law § 53, subd. 1 (McKinney 1959), solely because of their alienage.2

On May 11, 1971, by order to show cause plaintiffs, alleging that Section 53 violated the Equal Protection Clause of the fourteenth amendment, the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, and their right to travel among the states,3 moved for the convening of a three-judge court and other relief. The single district judge, D.C., 330 F.Supp. 265, found plaintiffs raised a substantial constitutional question and recommended the convening of a three-judge court. Pursuant to the May 26, 1971 order of Chief Judge Henry J. Friendly, plaintiff’s motions for declaratory judgment, injunctive relief and determination of class action 4 were submitted to this statutory three-judge court which heard argument on July 13, 1971.5

The issues raised by the instant action were recently the subjects of Graham v. Richardson, 403 U.S. 365, 91 S.Ct. 1848, 29 L.Ed.2d 534 (1971), in which the Supreme Court held that state laws conditioning welfare assistance either on United States citizenship or, if the beneficiary was an alien, upon his having resided in the United States for a specified number of years were invalid. The rationale and holding of Graham control the outcome of plaintiffs’ challenge to Section 53.

“Except as herein otherwise provided, no person shall be eligible for appointment for any position in the competitive class unless he is a citizen of the United States.”

The fourteenth amendment provides “nor shall any State . . . deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”, and the Equal Protection Clause has long been held to apply to aliens as well as citizens. E. g., Yick Wo v. Hopkins, 118 U.S. 356, 369, 6 S.Ct. 1064, 30 L.Ed. 220 (1886). Of course, a state has traditionally been permitted to make classifications provided these have a reasonable basis. E. g., Dandridge v. Williams, 397 U.S. 471, 485, 90 S.Ct. 1153, 25 L.Ed.2d 491 (1970). Nevertheless, when a state’s classification either impinges upon a fundamental right, Shapiro v. Thompson, 394 U.S. 618, 89 S.Ct. 1322, 22 L.Ed.2d 600 (1969), or is based upon an inherently suspect classification such as race, nationality or alienage, that classification is subject to “close judicial scrutiny”. Graham, supra 403 U.S. at 372, 91 S.Ct. 1848. Inasmuch as defendants have failed to demonstrate a [908]*908compelling interest which would justify the classification created by Section 53, the statute violates the Equal Protection Clause of the fourteenth amendment.

The City and State attempt to justify their refusal to allow aliens the opportunity to compete for employment in the competitive class of civil service (hereinafter referred to as “CCCS”) on two grounds: (1) a government is entitled to conduct its affairs through the agency of persons with undivided loyalty, and (2) Section 53 is properly related to efficient and stable government administration.

Since defendants neither elaborate on their loyalty argument nor contend that aliens, as persons with dual allegiance, are security risks,6 it would appear that this justification is an application of the special public interest doctrine which is a phrase to describe the state’s restricting the distribution of its limited resources to its own citizens. “Takahashi v. Fish & Game Commission, 334 U.S. 410, 68 S.Ct. 1138, 92 L.Ed. 1478 (1948), however, cast doubt on the continuing validity of the special public interest doctrine in all contexts.” Graham, supra 403 U.S. at 374, 91 S.Ct. at 1853 (emphasis supplied); accord, Purdy & Fitzpatrick v. State, 71 Cal.2d 566, 79 Cal.Rptr. 77, 456 P.2d 645, 657-658 (1969).

The Court in Graham, supra 403 U.S. at 374, 91 S.Ct. 1848, concluded that an alien’s constitutional right to equal protection could not be made to depend upon the concept that government benefits were a privilege, not a right, which is the basis of the special public interest doctrine, see People v. Crane, 214 N.Y. 154, 164, 108 N.E. 427, 430, aff’d, 239 U.S. 195, 36 S.Ct. 85, 60 L.Ed. 218 (1915), especially since resident aliens are subject to the same obligations as citizens, such as taxes and military service. Accord, Purdy & Fitzpatrick, 79 Cal.Rptr. 77, 456 P.2d at 656. The arbitrariness and unfairness of denying aliens the employment benefits of the City and State are even more apparent when one realizes that an alien who may have resided in New York for a number of years and contributed to its growth and development is denied the opportunity to compete for employment in CCCS whereas any United States citizen (vis-a-vis an American citizen residing in New York) who may not be or have ever been a New York resident and, accordingly, may not have made any contribution to it, is eligible for such employment. Purdy & Fitzpatrick, 71 Cal.2d 566, 456 P.2d at 656. Therefore, without a showing by defendants that the “loyalty” requirement bears a relationship to a compelling interest of the City and State, it violates the Equal Protection Clause.

The second justification for Section 53 — that it is properly related to efficient and stable government administration — also does not withstand “close judicial scrutiny”. Defendants contend that an alien is less likely to remain in the United States during his employment life than is an American citizen and, thus, if an alien is hired into a “career” position of CCCS, a decision to return to his homeland will adversely affect the efficiency and stability of the administration of the governments of the City and State. However, this argument of [909]*909defendants is inapposite since it is primarily concerned with whether or not a “career” employee is likely to remain in the United States rather than in New York. There is no offer of proof on this issue and defendants would be hard pressed to demonstrate that a permanent resident alien who has resided in New York or the surrounding area for a number of years, as have plaintiffs, and whose family also resides here, would be a poorer risk for a career position in New York (vis-a-vis in the United States) than an American citizen who, prior to his employment with the City or State, had been residing in another state.

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Dougall v. Sugarman, 339 F. Supp. 906, 3 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1202 (S.D.N.Y. 1971).

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