Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Kentucky Retirement Systems

16 F. App'x 443
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedAugust 2, 2001
DocketNos. 00-5664, 00-6366, 00-6367
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 16 F. App'x 443 (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Kentucky Retirement Systems) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Kentucky Retirement Systems, 16 F. App'x 443 (6th Cir. 2001).

Opinion

OPINION

COLE, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff-Appellant the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) filed suit against Defendants-Appellants Kentucky Retirement Systems, Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, challenging the manner in which Defendants calculate, and determine eligibility for, disability retirement benefits. The EEOC alleges that Defendants maintain a disability and retirement program that denies benefits, or pays reduced benefits, to individuals age forty or older in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”), 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq. By order dated May 4, 2000, the district court denied Defendants’ Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) motions, which claimed immunity under the Tenth and Eleventh Amendments to the Constitution. In this consolidated interlocutory appeal, Defendants argue that the district court erred insofar as they are immune from suit as a matter of law under the Tenth and Eleventh Amendments. For [445]*445the reasons that follow, we AFFIRM in part, REVERSE in part, and REMAND for further proceedings.

BACKGROUND

Kentucky Retirement Systems (“KRS”) administers a state retirement plan in accordance with the provisions of Ky.Rev. Stat. § 61.510 et seq. The EEOC filed a complaint against Defendants challenging Kentucky’s statutory scheme on grounds that the eligibility requirements and the manner in which disability retirement benefits are calculated violate the ADEA.1 The EEOC requested in relevant part that the district court: (1) grant a permanent injunction enjoining Defendants from engaging in any employment practice which discriminates on the basis of age against individuals forty years of age and older; (2) order the Commonwealth to enact permanent legislation providing that KRS disability retirement benefits will be granted and calculated without regard to age; (3) order Defendants to institute and carry out policies, practices and programs which provide equal employment opportunities for individuals forty years of age and older, and which eradicate the effects of their past and present unlawful employment practices; (4) order Defendants to make whole Charles Lickteig2 and the class of individuals whose monetary benefits are being unlawfully withheld as a result of the acts complained of above, by restraining the continued holding of amounts owing as back benefits with prejudgment interest and recalculated future benefits, in amounts to be determined at trial; and (5) order Defendants to make whole all individuals adversely affected by the unlawful practices described above, by providing any other affirmative relief necessary to eradicate the effects of their unlawful practices, including but not limited to reimbursement for the purchase of years of service.

KRS, Jefferson County, and the Commonwealth moved to dismiss the complaint on grounds that its retirement plan falls within the residuary sovereignty of the State derived from the Tenth and Eleventh Amendments. The district court denied the motions, and by order dated November 2, 2000, we consolidated the cases for purposes of this appeal. Defendants argue on appeal that: (1) the Eleventh Amendment bars application of the ADEA to Defendants under Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents, 528 U.S. 62, 120 S.Ct. 631, 145 L.Ed.2d 522 (2000), despite the fact that the pending suit was brought by the EEOC rather than a private individual; and (2) the EEOC’s lawsuit-in particular, its request for an order directing the [446]*446Commonwealth “to enact permanent legislation” in compliance with the ADEA-violates sovereign immunity principles under the Tenth Amendment. We will address each argument in turn.

DISCUSSION

We review de novo a district court’s denial of a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. See Michigan Bell Tel. Co. v. Climax Tel. Co., 202 F.3d 862, 865 (6th Cir.2000). To survive a motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), a “complaint must contain either direct or inferential allegations respecting all the material elements to sustain a recovery under some viable legal theory.” Scheid v. Fanny Farmer Candy Shops, Inc., 859 F.2d 434, 436 (6th Cir.1988) (internal quotations and citation omitted).

We must treat as true all of the well-pleaded allegations of the complaint. All allegations must be construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. In order for a dismissal to be proper, it must appear beyond doubt that the plaintiff would not be able to recover under any set of facts that could be presented consistent with the allegations of the complaint.

Bower v. Fed. Express Corp., 96 F.3d 200, 203 (6th Cir.1996) (citations omitted).

I. Eleventh Amendment

The Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution provides:

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

U.S. Const, amend. XI. Thus, the Eleventh Amendment denies federal jurisdiction over suits against non-consenting States. See College Savings Bank v. Florida Prepaid Postsecondary Ed. Expense Bd. ., 527 U.S. 666, 670, 119 S.Ct. 2219, 144 L.Ed.2d 605 (1999). The Supreme Court has recognized that Congress may abrogate States’ immunity under the enforcement provision of § 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment. See City of Boerne v.. Flores, 521 U.S. 507, 517, 117 S.Ct. 2157, 138 L.Ed.2d 624 (1997); Fitzpatrick v. Bitzer, 427 U.S. 445, 456, 96 S.Ct. 2666, 49 L.Ed.2d 614 (1976). To do so, Congress must satisfy two requirements: (1) it must “unequivocally express[ ] its intent to abrogate immunity” and (2) it must act “pursuant to a valid exercise of power.” See Seminole Tribe of Florida v. Florida, 517 U.S. 44, 55, 116 S.Ct. 1114, 134 L.Ed.2d 252 (1996) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

Here, Defendants concede that the first prong of this two-part inquiry is met in that Congress clearly expressed in the ADEA its intent to abrogate States’ immunity. See Kimel v. Florida Board of Regents, 528 U.S. 62, 75-76, 120 S.Ct. 631, 145 L.Ed.2d 522 (2000).

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16 F. App'x 443, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/equal-employment-opportunity-commission-v-kentucky-retirement-systems-ca6-2001.