Fullman v. Henderson

146 F. Supp. 2d 688, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6642, 2001 WL 543781
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 15, 2001
DocketCIV. A. 99-2138
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 146 F. Supp. 2d 688 (Fullman v. Henderson) 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
Fullman v. Henderson, 146 F. Supp. 2d 688, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6642, 2001 WL 543781 (E.D. Pa. 2001).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

EDUARDO C. ROBRENO, District Judge.

Presently before the court are the parties cross-motions for summary judgment in this employment discrimination complaint filed by pro se plaintiff Andrew Full-man (“Fullman”) against his former employer, the United States Postal Service (“Postal Service”) as well as the EEO Office of the Postal Service (“EEO Office”). 1 The case centers around the Postal Service’s discharge of Fullman following its conclusion that he had filed a false workers’ compensation case regarding an alleged injury he suffered during an argument with a fellow worker. As he has done in other litigation, Fullman challenges the Postal Service’s determination that he filed a false claim. In this case, Fullman alleges that the Postal Service’s delay in sending him a formal termination notice in 1992 as well as its failure to reinstate him in 1997 was not the product of his filing a false workers’ compensation claim, as asserted by the Postal Service, but the result of racial, sexual and/or disability discrimination.

Fullman’s complaint essentially involves five claims. First, Fullman alleges that the Postal Service racially and sexually discriminated against him in violation of Title VII when it failed to send him an official termination notice in 1992 and when it refused to reinstate him on the grounds that he filed a false workers’ compensation claim. Second, Fullman alleges unspecified state claims arising out of the alleged employment discrimination by the Postal Service. 2 Third, Fullman claims that the Postal Service discriminated against him in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act when it removed him from its workforce at a time when he was disabled. Fourth, Fullman claims that the Postal Service violated his due process rights by its delay in sending him a formal termination notice, a Form 50, which he claims is needed to file an unemployment compensation claim under the Federal Employees Compensation Act (“FECA”). *692 Fifth, Fullman claims that the EEO Office violated his due process rights by refusing to allow an EEOC Administrative Judge to issue his/her findings and conclusions vnth-out a hearing with respect to one of his discrimination claims filed with the EEO Office.

The Postal Service responds that Full-man’s Title VII claims have been previously dismissed as time-barred in an earlier civil action and, therefore, are res judicata. In addition, the Postal Service argues that Fullman has failed to establish he was discriminated against in violation of the ADA. The Postal Service further notes that Fullman’s claims ultimately challenge the Postal Service and United States Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) determination that Fullman filed a fraudulent workers’ compensation claim, and that this determination is not reviewable by this court. Finally, the Postal Service argues that Fullman’s due process claims and state law claims are not permitted because the only relief available to a federal employee who alleges employment discrimination is under Title VII.

The court will grant summary judgment in favor of the Postal Service and the EEO Office on all of Fullman’s claims. In reaching this conclusion, the court finds (1) that Fullman’s Title VII claims are time-barred; (2) that Fullman has failed to establish he was discharged from the Postal Service on account of a disability, as required under the ADA; (3) that Full-man’s state law claims are barred because Title VII provides the exclusive remedy for a federal employee alleging discrimination in the workplace; (4) that the Postal Service did not violate Fullman’s due process rights because its delay in sending him a formal notice of termination did not prevent him from obtaining unemployment compensation; and (5) that the EEO Office did not violate Fullman’s due process rights because the regulations did not grant Fullman a right for an Administrative Judge to make findings and conclusions without a hearing and because its decision was appealable to this court.

I. BACKGROUND

Sometime in 1986, Fullman began working at the Postal Service as a temporary casual employee. On February 5, 1989, Fullman was involved in a trolley to trolley accident and sustained injuries to his head, back, and right shoulder for which he was out of work. Fullman returned to work at the Postal Service in March of 1989, but was reduced to light-duty work status based on his injuries.

On March 20, 1989, plaintiff was involved in an argument with a fellow employee, Larry Johnson (“Johnson”). The severity of the altercation is contested by the parties. Fullman asserts that Johnson pushed him into an All-Purpose Container, which aggravated his lower back injuries suffered in the trolley accident.

On March 23, 1989, based on the alleged injuries he sustained in his confrontation with Johnson, Fullman filed a workers’ compensation claim with the Postal Service. During the course of its investigation of Fullman’s claim, the Postal Service interviewed four witnesses, including Johnson. All the witnesses stated that the confrontation was strictly verbal and that there was no physical contact between the two men. On April 3, 1989, the Postal Service notified the Office of Workers’ Compensation of the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) that it was contesting Fullman’s workers’ compensation claim. On May 25, 1989, the DOL notified Fullman that, based on the lack of medical or eyewitness testimony to support his claim, he was denied workers’ compensation. Fullman requested recon *693 sideration of the denial. On August 14, 1989, the DOL reaffirmed its decision that Fullman had failed to submit credible evidence demonstrating that he had in fact been injured at work.

On October 6, 1989, the Postal Service sent Fullman a Notice of Removal letter, indicating that he would be removed from employment at the Postal Service based on its conclusion that he had filed a false workers’ compensation claim. Following his removal from the Postal Service, Full-man remained on its employee rolls in a non-duty, non-pay status while the American Postal Workers Union (“APWU”) appealed the plaintiffs removal through the grievance process. On August 14, 1992, the APWU notified the Postal Service’s Labor Relations Office that it was withdrawing plaintiffs grievance. The parties agree that, at this time, Fullman was entitled to a formal termination notice, known as a “Form 50.” The Postal Service, however, did not send the notice until March 26, 1996. Although the dates are unclear, Fullman spent much of the time between his removal from the Postal Service in 1989 and his receipt of the Form 50 in 1996 incarcerated on unrelated charges.

In October 1996, August 1997, and October 1997, Fullman sought reinstatement of his Postal Service position. Each time, Fullman was informed that he would not be reinstated because he had been removed for cause based on the Postal Service’s conclusion that he had filed a false workers’ compensation claim.

Since 1990, Fullman has filed four separate administrative complaints arising from his discharge from the Postal Service. In February 1990, Fullman filed a formal complaint of discrimination, Agency Case No. 2A-000-1072-90, (“First Complaint”) claiming race discrimination based on his removal from the Postal Service.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
146 F. Supp. 2d 688, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6642, 2001 WL 543781, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fullman-v-henderson-paed-2001.