Flesch v. Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute

434 F. Supp. 963, 17 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 294
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJune 23, 1977
DocketCiv. A. 76-3927
StatusPublished
Cited by61 cases

This text of 434 F. Supp. 963 (Flesch v. Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Flesch v. Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, 434 F. Supp. 963, 17 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 294 (E.D. Pa. 1977).

Opinion

*968 OPINION

LUONGO, District Judge.

This is an action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1871, and the Fourteenth Amendment by Dr. Regina Flesch against Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute (EPPI), EPPI Director and Chief Executive Officer Ulysses E. Watson, EPPI Director of Research and Training Bernard Borislow, the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, 1 Pennsylvania Secretary of Public Welfare Frank S. Beal, Deputy Secretary for Mental Health Robert M. Daly, the State Employees Retirement Board (SERB) and SERB Secretary and Chief Administrative Officer Richard L. Witmer. Jurisdiction over the Title VII claims is bestowed by § 706(f)(3) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(3). Plaintiff also asserts jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331(a) and 1343(3)-(4), and pendent jurisdiction as to state law claims. The action is before me on defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1), and failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6).

The complaint alleges: From September 12, 1966 to September 14, 1976, plaintiff was employed as a medical research scientist at EPPI, a psychiatric hospital and research institution operated as a part of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. During that time, EPPI, Watson, and Borislow discriminated against plaintiff by denying her adequate supporting staff, facilities, and equipment because of her sex. In addition, EPPI, with the agreement of SERB, wrongfully classified plaintiff as a part-time employee, causing her to lose a portion of the seniority and retirement credits which should have accumulated while she was working under a federal grant program. Toward the end of plaintiff’s tenure, EPPI, acting primarily through Dr. Borislow, gave plaintiff low performance ratings, partly because of her sex and partly because of the inadequate supporting staff, facilities, and equipment which had been provided to her.

On September 26, 1975, plaintiff filed a charge of sex discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The factual allegation in the charge, which named only EPPI as respondent, stated:

“I have been deprived, over a long period of time, of retirement benefits, adequate office space (in the past) and adequate secretarial help, in a way that no other scientist in my position has experienced. I feel that this has happened because of my sex, female.”

On September 14, 1976, plaintiff was furloughed by EPPI, in part because of her low performance ratings. The complaint alleges that she has remained unemployed since that time and that EPPI has refused to recall her to work, although it can afford to do so. 2

On September 16, 1976, the EEOC issued a letter of determination concluding that the facts revealed in its investigation of plaintiff’s charge did not show reasonable cause to believe that EPPI had violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This *969 determination was forwarded to plaintiff on September 22, 1976, along with a notice of her right to sue.

On December 21, 1976, plaintiff filed this suit against the above-named defendants, alleging the discriminatory conduct already described and, in addition, asserting that defendants’ discriminatory actions during the last year of her tenure, including the continued denial of help, the furlough, and the refusal to call her back to work, were in retaliation for filing the EEOC charge. She avers that defendants’ actions were taken in furtherance of a conspiracy to discriminate against her because of her sex. The five-count complaint alleges violations of Title VII, the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, two sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, and the Pennsylvania State Employees Retirement Code. Plaintiff seeks a judgment declaring defendants’ actions unconstitutional (see Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201-02); a permanent injunction prohibiting defendants from engaging in such actions and requiring EPPI to reinstate plaintiff with full seniority and credit for benefits which would have accrued since her furlough; and an award of back pay and compensatory and punitive damages, costs of suit, and attorney’s fees.

I. Claims under Title VII

A. Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies

Defendants move to dismiss some of the Title VII claims for lack of jurisdiction because plaintiff has not exhausted administrative remedies.

Title VII provides that before a discriminatee may bring a judicial action against an employer for violation of the Act, a charge must have been filed with the EEOC 3 and the EEOC must have then notified the discriminatee of the right to sue. 4 Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VII, § 706(f)(1), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(l). These prerequisites are jurisdictional. Alexander v. Gardner-Denver Co., 415 U.S. 36, 47, 94 S.Ct. 1011, 39 L.Ed.2d 147 (1974); McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 798-99, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973); Canavan v. Beneficial Finance Corp., 553 F.2d 860 (3d Cir. 1977); Gibson v. Kroger Co., 506 F.2d 647 (7th Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 914, 95 S.Ct. 1571, 43 L.Ed.2d 779 (1975); Richardson v. Miller, 446 F.2d 1247, 1248-49 (3d Cir. 1971). Plaintiff did file charges before the EEOC. The EEOC dismissed the charges and notified plaintiff of her right to sue. Plaintiff’s complaint, however, sets forth allegations not included in the EEOC charge and asserts claims against defendants not named as respon *970 dents before the EEOC. Defendants’ motion is addressed to extension of this case to those additional claims and parties.

1. The Additional Claims

The matters presented to the EEOC did not include the allegation, now set forth in plaintiff’s complaint, that defendants retaliated against her for filing the EEOC charge. Defendants therefore contend that I do not have jurisdiction over the claim of retaliatory action.

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Bluebook (online)
434 F. Supp. 963, 17 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 294, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/flesch-v-eastern-pennsylvania-psychiatric-institute-paed-1977.