Volpe v. Nassau County

915 F. Supp. 2d 284, 2013 WL 28561, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 924
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 3, 2013
DocketNo. 12-cv-2416 (JFB)(AKT)
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 915 F. Supp. 2d 284 (Volpe v. Nassau County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Volpe v. Nassau County, 915 F. Supp. 2d 284, 2013 WL 28561, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 924 (E.D.N.Y. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

JOSEPH F. BIANCO, District Judge:

Plaintiffs Gary Volpe, Matthew Sarter, Wayne Resnick, George Roa, Angelo Muro, Michael Spae, the estate of Steven Doran, Thomas Guiry, David Cullen III, Alfred Thursland, Richard Blanc, Gregory Bartow, Paul Radzewsky, John Russ, Michael Mirenda, Joseph Sperber, John Hoffman, Gerald Houck III, Christopher Brandimarte, Paul Klecka, Richard Gotterbarn, Matthew Love, Joseph Bartow, Jr., Lawrence Vetter, Robert Conti, James Delahunty, Steven White, Scott Kramer, Kenneth Blum, and Dennis Biancanello (collectively, “plaintiffs”) commenced this action on behalf of themselves and all other males similarly situated, against Nassau County, the Nassau County Police Department, the Nassau County Civil Service Commission (“County defendants”), and Edward Mangano (“Mangano”) in his individual and official capacities as Nassau County Executive (collectively, “defendants”). Plaintiffs alleged wage discrimination under the Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d) et seq. (the “EPA”), the New York Equal Pay Act New York Labor Law § 194 et seq. (the “NY EPA”), and Nassau County Government Law section 1307 (“Section 1307”) against the County defendants and violations of their constitutional rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“Section 1983”) against all defendants.

Specifically, plaintiffs claim that the County defendants violated plaintiffs’ rights under the EPA, the N.Y. EPA, and Section 1307 by paying them wages lower than the wages paid to women performing substantially similar work. Plaintiffs also claim that defendants’ failure to provide plaintiffs with compensation correspondent to that of their female counterparts constitutes an ongoing constitutional violation. In essence, plaintiffs allege that, in an attempt to correct an alleged pay disparity based upon gender between female Police Communication Operators (“PCOs”) and Police Communication Operator Supervisors (“PCOSs”) in the Nassau County Police Department and male Fire Communication Technicians (“FCOs”) and Fire Communication Technician Supervisors (“FCOSs”) in the Nassau County Fire Department — which was resolved as part of the settlement of a separate lawsuit in this District — the defendants have improperly instituted a pay disparity among PCOs and PCOSs, where males in those jobs make less money than females in the exact same jobs.

Defendants have moved to dismiss plaintiffs’ complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Defendants argue that plaintiffs’ EPA claims should be dismissed on the following grounds: (1) plaintiffs’ claims are untimely; (2) plaintiffs failed to establish a prima facie case of wage discrimination; and (3) defendants did not engage in any discriminatory act giving rise to the wage disparity alleged. As to plaintiffs’ Section 1307 claim, defendants contend that Section 1307 does not govern the type of conduct that forms the basis of plaintiffs’ com[287]*287plaint. Finally, defendants move to dismiss plaintiffs’ Section 1983 claim with respect to the County defendants on the grounds that (1) the claim is untimely, and (2) plaintiffs failed to allege a “policy or custom” of intentional discrimination, and with respect to Mangano on the grounds that (1) the claim against him is redundant of the claim against the County defendants, and (2) he had no personal knowledge of or involvement in the unconstitutional conduct alleged.

For the reasons set forth below, the Court denies defendants’ motion with respect to plaintiffs’ EPA, N.Y. EPA, and Section 1307 claims, as well as the Section 1983 claim against the County defendants. In particular, the complaint alleges the following: (1) as a result of settlement money (in the form of backpay and lump sum payments) paid by Nassau County to female PCOs and PCOSs in connection with the lawsuit entitled Ebbert v. Nassau County, 05-cv-5445 (AKT), plaintiffs, who are male PCOs and PCOSs, make less money than female PCOs and PCOSs based solely on gender; (2) the male PCOs and PCOSs have the same titles and same job responsibilities as the female PCOs and PCOSs; and (3) the jobs of male PCOs and PCOSs are performed under the same working conditions as the jobs of female PCOs and PCOSs. Given these allegations, plaintiffs have stated a plausible claim under the EPA, the N.Y. EPA, and Section 1307 against the County defendants that survives a motion to dismiss.

Defendants’ arguments for dismissal at this stage are unpersuasive. First, defendants argue that plaintiffs’ EPA claims are barred by the statute of limitations. However, since the alleged discriminatory pay practice at issue here (between the male and female PCOs and PCOSs) began at the time the Ebbert settlement was implemented in December 2011 and plaintiffs filed their complaint less than one year later, plaintiffs’ EPA claims are clearly timely. Second, although the County defendants contend that no plausible claim can exist because the alleged unequal pay based on gender was the result of a court-approved settlement agreement, the Court disagrees. The mere fact that an alleged discriminatory pay structure is the product of a voluntary settlement by an employer with other parties in a separate lawsuit, even with Court approval, does not automatically immunize the employer from liability under the discrimination laws. Nothing in the language of the EPA or other applicable statutes, or in the case authority interpreting those provisions, suggests that such a zone of employer immunity exists. To the contrary, it is clear under the law that employers, whether as part of a voluntary settlement in a lawsuit or otherwise, cannot discriminate under the EPA. Thus, the fact that the alleged pay disparity based upon gender was triggered by the Ebbert settlement does not preclude plaintiffs from asserting a plausible EPA claim. For the same reasons, plaintiffs’ claims under Section 1307 and Section 1983 also survive a motion to dismiss. Although defendants argue that Section 1307 does not apply because it does not reference backpay or step adjustments awarded from litigation, the language of “equal pay” in the statute certainly encompasses backpay and step adjustments regardless of whether such pay was prompted by litigation. Similarly, as to Section 1983, plaintiffs have alleged that the unequal pay policy based on gender was instituted on a class-wide basis by the County itself, as a party in the Ebbert lawsuit, thus stating a plausible claim of municipal policy under Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978).

Finally, the Court agrees that the claims against County Executive Mangano (which [288]*288are only brought pursuant to Section 1983) should be dismissed because (1) claims against him in his official capacity are duplicative of the claims against the County, and (2) other than speculation and conclusory assertions, plaintiffs have failed to allege a plausible claim of personal involvement by Mangano in the alleged discriminatory acts.

I. Background

A. Factual Background

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Bluebook (online)
915 F. Supp. 2d 284, 2013 WL 28561, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 924, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/volpe-v-nassau-county-nyed-2013.