Komis v. Sec'y of the U.S. Dep't of Labor

918 F.3d 289
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit·Decided March 12, 2019·No. No. 14-3813·Published·Cited by 108 cases

Opinion

SCIRICA, Circuit Judge

Plaintiff Chrysoula J. Komis, a former federal employee, brought Title VII retaliation and retaliatory hostile work environment claims against the Secretary of Labor. The trial court granted judgment as a matter of law for the Secretary on the discrete retaliation claim, and Komis did not appeal. The retaliatory hostile work environment claim went before a jury, which returned a verdict for the Secretary. Komis appeals that verdict, challenging the jury instructions.

This appeal requires us to decide whether federal employees may bring retaliation claims under Title VII. We conclude they may. We are then asked to consider whether the same standard governs federal- and private- sector retaliation claims, and what standard in particular applies to a federal retaliatory hostile work environment claim in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White , 548 U.S. 53, 126 S.Ct. 2405, 165 L.Ed.2d 345 (2006). We need not resolve these questions, however, because Komis cannot prevail under any potentially applicable standard. Accordingly, any error in the jury instructions was harmless. We will affirm.

I.

Between June 2003 and September 2008, Komis filed more than sixty Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) complaints while employed by the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Allegedly in retaliation for those and other EEO complaints filed a decade earlier,1 Komis contends her employer created a hostile work environment. Specifically, she alleges (inter alia ) her supervisors: (1) denied her the ability to work regularly from home; (2) shifted *292her job duties to include more clerical work; (3) reassigned her to a different position; and (4) failed to promote her to Assistant Regional Administrator, instead selecting attorney Maureen Russo. Komis further alleges (5) once Russo became her immediate supervisor, Russo improperly disciplined her in retaliation for making additional discrimination claims. The disciplinary actions at issue include a written reprimand, suspension, denial of access to training opportunities, and removal from a particular assignment. We observe that all the hostile acts Komis alleges appear to be discrete personnel actions altering the terms and conditions of her employment.

In August 2008, Komis was issued a notice of proposed removal, informing her of OSHA's decision to terminate her employment and providing her an opportunity to respond. Komis left OSHA in September 2008 and filed the last of her EEO complaints, alleging constructive discharge.

In October 2008, Komis sued the Secretary of Labor, alleging OSHA violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16(a). She brought two claims: (1) a retaliation claim based on her nonselection for promotion; and (2) a retaliatory hostile work environment claim. By consent, the matter was tried before a Magistrate Judge. As noted, at the close of Komis's case, the trial judge granted the Secretary judgment as a matter of law on Komis's discrete retaliation claim. Komis did not appeal that judgment. The retaliatory hostile work environment claim proceeded to the jury, which returned a verdict in the Secretary's favor. Komis now challenges the jury charge on appeal.2

II.

The parties dispute whether the Supreme Court's decision in Burlington Northern v. White , 548 U.S. 53, 126 S.Ct. 2405, 165 L.Ed.2d 345 (2006), renders the trial court's federal-sector retaliatory hostile work environment charge erroneous, and we must ultimately decide whether the alleged error was harmless. Before addressing those questions, we first review Title VII's framework for discrimination and retaliation claims in the private and federal sectors.

The "core antidiscrimination provision" of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, id. at 61, 126 S.Ct. 2405, provides that in the private sector, "[i]t shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer":

to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment , because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin;

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Komis v. Sec'y of the U.S. Dep't of Labor, 918 F.3d 289 (3d Cir. 2019).

918 F.3d 289 (Komis v. Sec'y of the U.S. Dep't of Labor) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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