Villarreal v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

591 F. Supp. 1477, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24448
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Missouri
DecidedAugust 9, 1984
DocketNo. 80-0992-CV-W-9
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 591 F. Supp. 1477 (Villarreal v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Villarreal v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 591 F. Supp. 1477, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24448 (W.D. Mo. 1984).

Opinion

ORDER

BARTLETT, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Baltazar A. Villarreal, a Compliance Manager with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of the United States of America (EEOC), alleges that his transfer from EEOC’s Kansas City office to the St. Louis office was arbitrary and capricious, was not undertaken in compliance with relevant procedural protections, and was, therefore, in violation of his due process rights under the United States Constitution.

Findings of Fact

Villarreal was first employed by the EEOC on August 22, 1966. He served in various capacities in the EEOC’s Kansas City office. After January 29, 1979, when an agency-wide reorganization took place, the Kansas City office was under the jurisdiction of the St. Louis District Office. On May 14, 1979, he became Area Director in the Kansas City office.

On May 14, 1979, Winfred E. Mansfield assumed the position of Director of the St. Louis District Office. As District Director, Mansfield had ultimate responsibility for the agency’s offices in St. Louis and Kansas City.

Mansfield spoke to the plaintiff at least two times per month about the situation in the Kansas City Area Office. On various occasions Mansfield discussed with plaintiff his concern about the substantial number of “backlog” cases in the Kansas City Area Office. (“Backlog” was a term used by the EEOC to identify all cases filed on or before January 29, 1979, the date of the agency’s reorganization.)

On April 21, 1980, John Nicholson, Deputy Director of the St. Louis District Office, wrote a letter of reprimand to plaintiff criticizing plaintiff for his failure to manage properly the “backlog” cases.1 Although Mansfield did not approve the letter before it was sent, Mansfield agreed that this problem existed in the Kansas City office.

One month later Nicholson evaluated plaintiff in a written Employee Appraisal. Nicholson rated plaintiff average or above average in all areas. Nicholson’s summary evaluation of plaintiff was “Good promotion material. Ready to learn and perform more difficult tasks.” In the narrative portion of the evaluation, Nicholson described Villarreal as “energetic and enthusiastic” but again criticized plaintiff for his failure to develop a systematic approach to solving the backlog problem.

After working with Villarreal for fifteen months, visiting with him at least twice a month, and making suggestions to Villarreal on how to resolve the problems in Kansas City, Mansfield concluded in early September, 1980, that the Kansas City office was not running as efficiently as it should. Mansfield thought that Villarreal was doing the best job he could with the Kansas City office. Nevertheless, the problems with the Kansas City office remained un[1480]*1480solved. Mansfield concluded that Villarreal’s technical skills in the compliance area could be better utilized in the position of Compliance Manager in St. Louis. On the other hand, Joseph Doherty, who was then Compliance Manager in St. Louis, had managerial skills, which Mansfield thought could be used more effectively in Kansas City.

Accordingly, on September 30, 1980, Mansfield handed plaintiff a memorandum notifying plaintiff that he was being reassigned to the St. Louis office. The memorandum dated September 29, 1980, stated:

After a careful review of the overall performance of the District Office over the past 15 months and my analysis of individual managerial strengths, I have decided that your individual skills and abilities can best be utilized here in the District Office.
Therefore, effective November 1, 1980, you are being reassigned to the District Office in St. Louis, as a Compliance Manager, GS-14. This move will provide you with the necessary opportunity to become knowledgeable and proficient and gain experience with other functions growing out of the reorganization that do not exist in an area office setting, i.e. CIC, Systemic, Hearings, FIU, as well as direct participation with the Legal/Compliance interrelationship. Therefore, it is my conclusion that this move will be beneficial to you and to EEOC and, in particular, district operations.
You should contact Dottie Lofink, Program Analyst, who will assist you with PCS papers, travel advance and other specifics related to this move.

Mansfield testified that he decided to transfer Villarreal to St. Louis for the reasons stated in this memorandum. Taking these reasons at face value, the transfer decision was a reasonable exercise of managerial discretion. Villarreal was not reassigned to St. Louis to discipline him or to force his resignation.

The EEOC would have paid plaintiff’s moving expenses to St. Louis had plaintiff executed EEOC Form 103 which required Villarreal to agree “to remain in the service of the United States Government for twelve months following the date I report for duty at my new official station ... unless separated for reasons beyond my control and acceptable to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.” Plaintiff refused to sign the form on advice of counsel because the transfer was being “appealed.” See letter dated October 10, 1980, from Vache to Waller (EEOC).

Villarreal reported to the St. Louis District Office on November 4, 1980. As Area Director in Kansas City and as Compliance Manager in St. Louis, plaintiff was a GS-14, Step 7, with a salary of $45,433. Basically, the positions are at the same level in the EEOC and involve quite similar responsibilities. The EEOC Notification of Personnel Action characterized the personnel action as a “reassignment.” The position title, pay plan, grade and step, and salary are identical for both positions. Both positions were with the “Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — Office of the Executive Director — Office of Field Services —St. Louis District Office.” The only change in the description of plaintiff’s position with the EEOC after the transfer was the work location. He was assigned to the “Compliance Unit” rather than the “Kansas City Area Office.”

At the time of the transfer, Villarreal was in the process of grieving Nicholson’s letter of reprimand. Villarreal knew that he could file a grievance about virtually any personnel action. However, he did not file a grievance over his reassignment to St. Louis. Furthermore, Villarreal did not challenge the transfer in any administrative proceeding.

Shortly after plaintiff reported to the St. Louis office, plaintiff filed the complaint in this case seeking declaratory and injunctive relief and money damages. Plaintiff then moved for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the reassignment. After a three-day evidentiary hearing, the Honorable Richard Ralston issued a comprehensive Report and Recommendation denying plaintiff’s request for relief. The Magistrate’s Report [1481]*1481and Recommendation was adopted without change by this Court.

Discussion and Conclusions of Law

Judicial Review of Decision to Transfer Plaintiff Limited to Determining Whether Plaintiff Was Denied Statutory Procedural Protections

This Court has no general supervisory power over the personnel actions of the executive branch. In Keim v. United States, 177 U.S. 290, 20 S.Ct. 574, 44 L.Ed.

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591 F. Supp. 1477, 1984 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 24448, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/villarreal-v-equal-employment-opportunity-commission-mowd-1984.