French v. Idaho State

164 F. Supp. 3d 1205, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22406, 2016 WL 707341
CourtDistrict Court, D. Idaho
DecidedFebruary 22, 2016
DocketCase No. 1:15-cv-00134-BLW
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 164 F. Supp. 3d 1205 (French v. Idaho State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Idaho primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
French v. Idaho State, 164 F. Supp. 3d 1205, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22406, 2016 WL 707341 (D. Idaho 2016).

Opinion

[1209]*1209MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER

B. Lynn Winmill, Chief Judge United' States District Court

INTRODUCTION

The Court has before it Defendant Idaho State AFL-CIO’s Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim (Dkt. 9) and Defendant IBEW Local 283’s Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim (Dkt. 16). The motions are fully briefed and at issue. For the reasons discussed below, the Court will grant in part and deny in part both motions.

At the outset, the Court notes that when a party files a motion to dismiss and submits evidence outside the pleadings, the Court has discretion whether to consider the evidence and to treat the. motion as one for summary judgment. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(d). Athough the parties have submitted evidence outside the pleadings, the Court has not considered it and therefore treats both motions as motions, to dismiss.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Defendant Idaho State AFL-CIO (“Idaho AFL-CIO”) hired Plaintiff Janice French in August 2012 as an office manager. Compl. ¶ 19, Dkt. 1-4. Before hiring French, Idaho AFL-CIO formed a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with Defendant International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Labor Union, Local 283 (“IBEW”). Id. ¶¶ 11, 24. The CBA covered French’s position and provided that “it is also understood and agreed that the Employer has the right to terminate the services of employees for just cause, subject to the Grievance Procedure contained in this Agreement.” CBA at 9, Dkt. 19-1. Since the CBA did not detail French’s duration of employment or rate of pay, Idaho AFL-CIO and IBEW entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) specifying those terms. MOU, Dkt. 19 — l.1

French maintains that she experienced sexual harassment and discrimination while employed by Idaho AFL-CIO. Compl. ¶ 93, Dkt. 1-4. According to French, Idaho AFL-CIO’s President, Rian Van Leuven, regularly “made sexually sug[1210]*1210gestive remarks and jokes directed towards Plaintiff or about females in general.” Id. ¶ 32. Van Leuven’s comments were “laced with sexual innuendos, often implicating Plaintiff engaged in oral sex.” Id. ¶ 36. French also alleges she experienced disability discrimination during her employment. Id. ¶¶ 120-22. Though French never specifies the nature of her disabilities in her First Amended Complaint (“Complaint”), she notes that they impact her speech and that she informed Van Leuven of them when hired. Id. ¶¶ 28, 43.

Throughout 2012, French made “direct objections” to Van Leuven’s sexual comments, but the comments continued. Id. ¶ 36. In March 2013, at a staff meeting, French again requested that Van Leuven stop making sexual comments. Id. ¶ 39. Van Leuven did not deny making the comments and instructed her to “report any future concerns to her Union Representative.” Id. Van Leuven then threatened that he would reduce French’s job duties to “answering [the] phone and paying bills.” Id. ¶ 40. After the meeting, French began experiencing problems with co-worker Denise McDonald, who was supervised by Van Leuven. Id. ¶ 41. French alleges that after the staff meeting, McDonald “sided with Mr. Van Leuven in matters related to Plaintiff,” causing French stressful working conditions. Id.

French met with Van Leuven and McDonald in an effort to resolve tensions during November 2013. Id. ¶ 42. But according to French, the meeting was unproductive. Id. ¶ 43. French claims that McDonald sided with Van Leuven and that the meeting was “hostile,” with McDonald saying she did not “like the way [French] talkfed].” Id. ¶ 43. Since French’s disabilities impact her speech, she understood McDonald’s comment to refer to her disabilities. Id. Similarly, a couple of weeks after the November 2013 meeting, Van Leuven inadvertently called French on the phone. Id. ¶ 50. French answered to hear Van Leuven and McDonald criticizing French and her work, “especially those aspects which were affected by her disability.” Id. ¶¶ 51, 52.

In December 2013, French reduced to working part-time hours on doctor’s orders “because the hostile work environment had exacerbated her disability.” Id. ¶¶ 46, 47. Around that time, French contacted Benny Antunes, Defendant IBEW’s representative, to discuss Van Leuven. Id. ¶ 54. An-tunes arranged a meeting between French, Van Leuven, McDonald, and Andrea Wass-ner, Idaho AFL-CIO’s Executive Board member, on December 12, 2013. Id. French questioned Van Leuven about his inadvertent phone call at the meeting, but Van Leuven did not substantiate any of the criticisms and told French she “did an exemplary job.” Id. ¶¶ 55, 56.

French contacted the Idaho Human Rights Commission (IHRC) on March 7, 2014, intending to file a charge of discrimination against Idaho AFL-CIO. Id. ¶ 60. Instead of filing a charge, however, French only discussed with Van Leuven and the December 12 meeting. Id. ¶¶ 59, 60, 63. French also informed the IHRC of Wass-ner’s presence at the December 12 meeting. Id. ¶ 63. At some point, though it is not clear when, French learned that Wass-ner was an IHRC Commissioner, in addition to being an Executive Board member for Idaho AFL-CIO. Id. ¶¶ 61, 62.

On March 17, 2014, Idaho AFL-CIO called French into an unexpected meeting with Van Leuven, Wassner, and Ken Weis-more, Vice President of Idaho AFL-CIO. Id. ¶ 64. At that meeting, Idaho AFL-CIO notified French via letter that she was being suspended without pay for making “significant misrepresentations to staff, officers or the board.” Id. ¶ 64; Corrupt Ex. A, Dkt. 1-4. The letter instructed her that [1211]*1211a follow-up meeting would be held on March 21, 2014. Id. ¶¶ 65, 67.

French’s suspension prompted her to again contact the IHRC on March 18, 2014. Id. ¶ 68. Upon doing so, French confirmed that Wassner was both “an AFL-CIO Executive Board member, and a Commissioner for the IHRC.” Id. Due to Wassner’s conflict of interest, French alleges the IHRC advised her not to pursue any claims of discrimination with the IHRC and also discouraged her from filing a claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Id.

On March 21, 2014, French met with Antunes, Van Leuven, Wassner, and Weis-more for a follow-up meeting regarding her suspension. Id. ¶ 69. Van Leuven provided French with another letter detailing the reasons for her suspension and instructed her to sign the letter if she wanted to return to work. Id.; Compl. Ex. B, Dkt. 1-4. French, however, continued to dispute the allegations and refused to sign the letter. Id. ¶ 70. Antunes initially advised French to dispute and not sign the letter, but during the next few days, An-tunes stopped responding to her requests for advice. Id. ¶¶71, 73. Based on her continued refusal to sign the suspension letter, Van Leuven terminated French on March 31, 2014. Id. ¶ 75.

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164 F. Supp. 3d 1205, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22406, 2016 WL 707341, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/french-v-idaho-state-idd-2016.