Pettis v. House of Ruth Maryland, Inc.

144 F. App'x 313
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
DecidedAugust 11, 2005
DocketNo. 04-2443
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 144 F. App'x 313 (Pettis v. House of Ruth Maryland, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pettis v. House of Ruth Maryland, Inc., 144 F. App'x 313 (4th Cir. 2005).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Trida F. Pettis alleges that she was unlawfully terminated by House of Ruth Maryland (“HORM”) because of her race in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e—2000e-17 (2000), 42 U.S.C. § 1981 (2000), and the Prince George’s County (Maryland) Human Relations Commission Act. Pettis also claims her termination violated the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 (2000). The district court granted summary judgment to HORM, and Pettis appeals. We have reviewed the record and find no reversible error.

HORM, a non-profit organization with a mission to prevent and remedy domestic violence, hired Pettis in November 2001 as a staff attorney for its legal services clinic at the Prince George’s County Courthouse. The clinic handles protective orders and emergency motions for victims of domestic violence.

On April 10, 2002, Pettis left her bag at the security station at the courthouse. Officials from the sheriffs office said the bag was unidentified and placed it outside. When Pettis returned for the bag, she was upset her bag was outside and, according to officials, shouted at security personnel and threatened to have a security officer fired. The sheriffs office revoked Pettis’ security pass to the courthouse for threatening an officer, causing embarrassment to HORM.

In late April 2002, Pettis was sexually assaulted in circumstances unrelated to this case. Pettis left work early on April 29, 2002, for medical treatment. The details of her illness are not contained in the record, but resulted from the sexual assault and the medications she received after the assault.

Pettis used paid and unpaid leave until she returned to work on May 21, 2002. [315]*315HORM excused her absence for work, and Pettis did not explain her illness to her supervisors. Pettis brought a note from a physician’s assistant requesting “light duty” and recommending she work from home two days a week for the next two weeks before returning to regular duty. Monica Player, Pettis’ supervisor, was uncertain what “light duty” meant and asked Pettis to explain her request and condition. Player said that Pettis became belligerent and gave no further explanation because her medical records were confidential.

HORM Legal Clinic Director Dorothy Lennig scheduled a meeting in Baltimore with Pettis to discuss Pettis’ “light duty” request, her attitude toward Player, and the status of a letter of apology Pettis had been directed to prepare following the courthouse incident. Pettis claimed Lennig told her to bring a list of all her medications and medical records.

Pettis contacted attorney Nigel Scott to serve as her counsel at the meeting. Scott called Judy Wolfer, a staff attorney who was not Pettis’ supervisor, and asked if the meeting could be rescheduled because he had a conflicting appointment. Wolfer told him that the meeting was only to find out how Pettis would return to work. Wolfer told Scott she expected Pettis to attend the meeting. Scott spoke to Pettis and told her that Wolfer might get back to him about rescheduling the meeting. Scott did not tell Pettis she was excused from the meeting nor did he advise Pettis to decline to attend the meeting.

Pettis did not attend the meeting in Baltimore and did not inform anybody at HORM that she would not attend. Lennig and Executive Director Carole Alexander decided to terminate Pettis for failure to report to the meeting. Alexander wrote to Pettis that she was terminated for “insubordination, failure to attend a supervision meeting and failure to comply with House of Ruth personnel policies.” Before Pettis received notification of her termination, she sent a letter to explain her absence from the meeting. Pettis wrote that she did not attend the meeting because she “needed moral support in overcoming the stressful situation in which I am currently engaged.” She said Scott had told Wolfer she would not attend the meeting, but Scott denied telling Wolfer that Pettis would not attend.

This Court reviews an award of summary judgment de novo. Higgins v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 863 F.2d 1162, 1167 (4th Cir.1988). Summary judgment is appropriate when there is no genuine issue of material fact given the parties’ respective burdens of proof at trial. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c); Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-49, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). In determining whether the moving party has shown there is no genuine issue of material fact, a court must assess the factual evidence and all inferences to be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Id. at 255,106 S.Ct. 2505; Smith v. Virginia Commonwealth Univ., 84 F.3d 672, 675 (4th Cir.1996).

Pettis first argues that the district court erred by not giving preclusive effect to findings of fact by the Virginia Employment Commission (“VEC”) made in connection with Pettis’ claim for unemployment compensation benefits. The VEC determined that Pettis did not intentionally fail to attend the meeting scheduled by Lennig since her counsel sought to reschedule the meeting, and that Pettis did not have an obligation to reveal her medical records. Factual determinations made in state unemployment claim proceedings receive no preclusive effect in actions brought under federal statutes despite involving the same operative facts. Ross v. Communication Satellite Corp., 759 F.2d [316]*316355, 360 (4th Cir.1985), abrogated on other grounds by Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins, 490 U.S. 228, 109 S.Ct. 1775, 104 L.Ed.2d 268 (1989). “[A] judicial determination by one administrative agency is not binding on another adjudicator, which is seeking to determine an apparently identical issue under a different statute ... so long as there exist substantial differences between the statutes themselves.” Id. at 361-62 (internal quotations and citations removed). In Virginia, an employer alleging misconduct as a basis for denying an employee unemployment compensation benefits must show that the employee deliberately and willfully engaged in conduct evincing a complete disregard for the employer’s workplace standards and policies. See Va.Code Ann. § 60.2-618 (Michie 2005); Branch v. Virginia Employment Comm’n, 219 Va. 609, 249 S.E.2d 180 (1978). In an action under Title VII, however, the standard is quite different because all the employer must do to meet its burden of production is provide the finder of fact with a lawful nondiscriminatory reason for the discharge. Because the legal standards are not identical, the findings of the VEC cannot be given preclusive effect under Ross.

Pettis claims she was unlawfully terminated by HORM due to her race in violation of Title VII and 42 U.S.C.

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144 F. App'x 313, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pettis-v-house-of-ruth-maryland-inc-ca4-2005.