Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/650/760/429764/
Timestamp: 2020-08-15 02:00:59
Document Index: 422038682

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1983', '§ 793', '§ 60', '§ 1983', '§ 794', '§ 84', '§ 84', '§ 120', '§ 84', '§ 84']

Alfred Brown, William King and Willie James Mallett,individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarlysituated, Plaintiffs-appellants, v. Robert R. Sibley, Etc. et al., Defendants-appellees, 650 F.2d 760 (5th Cir. 1980) :: Justia
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Alfred Brown, William King and Willie James Mallett,individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarlysituated, Plaintiffs-appellants, v. Robert R. Sibley, Etc. et al., Defendants-appellees, 650 F.2d 760 (5th Cir. 1980)
US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit - 650 F.2d 760 (5th Cir. 1980)
The first prong of this section 503 analysis is controlled by our recent decision in Rogers v. Frito-Lay, Inc., 611 F.2d 1074 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, -- U.S. --, 101 S. Ct. 246, 66 L. Ed. 2d 115 (1980), decided after the district court entered its final judgment in the instant case. In Rogers we expressly held that by enacting section 503 Congress did not impliedly authorize a direct private cause of action through which plaintiffs such as these could bring suit in federal district court. The inquiry along this prong of the section 503 analysis need go no farther. We are bound by the Rogers panel.
Named plaintiffs contend that even absent a direct private cause of action under section 503, they can nonetheless bring their suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1976) for deprivation under color of state law of rights secured to them by section 503. This contention is posited upon the Supreme Court's opinion in Maine v. Thiboutot, 448 U.S. 1, 100 S. Ct. 2502, 65 L. Ed. 2d 555 (1980), which held that section 1983 can be employed by an aggrieved person to secure redress for the deprivation, under color of state law, of rights secured by federal statutes as well as rights secured by the federal Constitution.
The language of section 503 speaks for itself. The right secured to a handicapped person by section 503 is that of filing with the Department of Labor a complaint stating his belief that a "contractor has failed or refuses to comply with the provisions of his contract with the United States, relating to employment of handicapped individuals." Section 503(b), 29 U.S.C. § 793(b) (1976). The Department of Labor has promulgated an extensive set of regulations that provide, inter alia, for agency investigation, negotiation, conciliation, and, if necessary, judicial enforcement of agency sanctions. See 41 C.F.R. §§ 60-741.1 to 60-741.54 (1980).3 When Congress has provided a specific remedy, the federal judiciary should not expand that remedy beyond the limits where Congress was prepared to go. Transamerica Mortgage Advisors, Inc. v. Lewis, 444 U.S. 11, 19-20, 100 S. Ct. 242, 247, 62 L. Ed. 2d 146 (1979); Ryan v. Ohio Edison Co., 611 F.2d 1170, 1177 (6th Cir. 1979); Meyerson v. Arizona, 507 F. Supp. 859, 861 (D. Ariz. 1981). Cf. Rogers v. Frito-Lay, Inc., 611 F.2d at 1080 (section 503 obligates those who control federal contracts to make and enforce contracts containing the requisite clause; the handicapped may have simply the right to petition those who administer federal contracts to perform their duty); Simpson v. Reynolds Metals Co., 629 F.2d 1226, 1244 (7th Cir. 1980) (Congress apparently intended the filing of a complaint with the Department of Labor to be the appropriate means for a private individual to enforce the contractual obligations created by section 503).
We next address the constitutional claims.5 Named plaintiffs allege on behalf of themselves and the certified class discriminatory treatment at the hands of MIB violative of the fourteenth amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1976).6 First, they allege the existence of an unwritten policy at MIB to the effect that the visually impaired cannot work in supervisory and nonmanual labor positions.7 This policy is said to constitute an "irrebuttable presumption" in violation of the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment. See generally Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur, 414 U.S. 632, 94 S. Ct. 791, 39 L. Ed. 2d 52 (1974); Vlandis v. Kline, 412 U.S. 441, 93 S. Ct. 2230, 37 L. Ed. 2d 63 (1973).
Whatever the present vitality of the "irrebuttable presumption" doctrine as distinct from traditional equal protection concerns, see generally Elkins v. Moreno, 435 U.S. 647, 658-61, 98 S. Ct. 1338, 1345-47, 55 L. Ed. 2d 614 (1978); J. Nowak, R. Rotunda & N. Young, Handbook on Constitutional Law 497 (1978), we agree with the district court that there is no such presumption operative at MIB. Visually impaired persons have held supervisory and nonmanual labor positions at MIB in the past and continue to do so today. Even if there were some "presumption" as to the inability of these people to hold such positions, it obviously is "rebuttable," as demonstrated by the past and present employment of the visually impaired in those positions.
Named plaintiffs' request for strict judicial scrutiny under the equal protection clause is misplaced. No court has ever declared that handicapped persons constitute a suspect class for purposes of equal protection analysis, and we decline to do so today. Since neither can they claim the benefits of a suspect classification nor were they subjected to the deprivation of any fundamental constitutional right, see San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez, 411 U.S. 1, 93 S. Ct. 1278, 36 L. Ed. 2d 16 (1973), the only inquiry is whether MIB's alleged classification scheme is "rationally related to the (state agency's) objective." Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia, 427 U.S. 307, 315, 96 S. Ct. 2562, 2568, 49 L. Ed. 2d 520 (1976). "The constitutional safeguard is offended only if the classification rests on grounds wholly irrelevant to the achievement of the (state agency's) objective." McGowan v. Maryland, 366 U.S. 420, 425, 81 S. Ct. 1101, 1104, 6 L. Ed. 2d 393 (1961).
Analyzing their claims under the rational relationship test, we find that MIB's conduct does not offend the fourteenth amendment. After noting the various supervisory and nonmanual labor positions formerly or currently held by visually impaired persons, the district court found that certain aspects of the remaining supervisory and nonmanual labor positions involved detailed reading and writing, driving of vehicles, quality control duties, pattern cutting skills, or careful inventorying of materials. These findings were not clearly erroneous. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 52(a); United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395, 68 S. Ct. 525, 541, 92 L. Ed. 746 (1947). MIB's underlying assumption that sight is required for certain of the skills demanded of its supervisory and nonmanual labor employees is certainly not irrational: in terms of likelihood, MIB reasonably could assume that a sighted person could more safely and proficiently perform those skills than could one with a disabling visual impairment. MIB "is not compelled to verify logical assumptions with statistical evidence" in order to pass muster under the rational relationship test. Hughes v. Alexandria Scrap Corp., 426 U.S. 794, 812, 96 S. Ct. 2488, 2499, 49 L. Ed. 2d 220 (1976).
We now turn to named plaintiffs' claims under section 504 of the Act. The first prong of the inquiry here is whether there exists a private cause of action directly under section 504. Until recently, the short-lived law on this question in this circuit held that such a direct private cause of action did exist. In Camenisch v. University of Texas, 616 F.2d 127, 135 (5th Cir. 1980), an appeal from the granting of a preliminary injunction conditioned by a bond, we held that private individual suits to enforce section 504 rights can be brought without previous resort to administrative remedies. On appeal, however, the Supreme Court vacated as moot the judgment of this court concerning the propriety of the preliminary injunction and remanded the case to the district court for trial on the merits of Camenisch's claim. University of Texas v. Camenisch, -- U.S. --, 101 S. Ct. 1830, 68 L. Ed. 2d 175 (1980). There is thus no Fifth Circuit precedent clearly controlling the outcome on this issue. Since the Supreme Court did not address the question of the existence vel non of a direct private cause of action under section 504, however, we assume arguendo that such a right does exist.9
The overwhelming similarity of these quoted passages is no accident. Congress expressly modeled the discrimination prohibition contained in section 504 after the prohibitory language contained in Title VI and Title IX. See S. Rep. No. 93-1297, 93d Cong., 2d Sess. (1974), reprinted at (1974) U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 6373, 6390-91. Moreover, in 1978 Congress added section 505 to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,12 expressly affording to handicapped persons suffering discrimination under section 504 the rights, remedies, and procedures of Title VI. See 29 U.S.C. § 794a(a) (2) (Supp. III 1979).
As a confirmatory matter, we note the reach of the regulations promulgated "to effectuate section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which is designed to eliminate discrimination on the basis of handicap in any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." 45 C.F.R. § 84.1 (1980). Those regulations define the term "Federal financial assistance" as "any grant, loan, contract (other than a procurement contract), or any other arrangement by which the Department provides or otherwise makes available assistance " Id. § 84.3(h) (emphasis added). Cf. Rogers v. Frito-Lay, Inc., 433 F. Supp. 200, 204 (S.D. Tex. 1977) (the term "federal financial assistance" as used in section 504 does not comprehend government procurement contracts), aff'd on other grounds, 611 F.2d 1074 (5th Cir. 1980).
Inclusion of class action allegations in a complaint does not relieve a plaintiff of himself meeting the requirements for constitutional standing, even if the persons described in the class definition would have standing themselves to sue. If the plaintiff has no standing individually, no case or controversy arises. This constitutional threshold must be met before any consideration of the typicality of claims or commonality of issues required for procedural reasons by Fed. R. Civ. P. 23.
As we have seen, named plaintiffs were not involved with or excluded from any program or activity for which MIB received federal financial assistance for purposes of section 504. They are not members of some potential class of people who were excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise subjected to discrimination under programs or activities covered by section 504. Thus, in alleging discrimination under section 504, named plaintiffs are attempting to represent a class of which they are not members. "A person simply cannot represent a class of which he is not a member." Long v. District of Columbia, 469 F.2d 927, 930 (D.C. Cir. 1972). See Kauffman v. Dreyfus Fund, Inc., 434 F.2d 727, 734 (3rd Cir. 1970). Chief Justice Burger has analyzed the situation in the following terms:
Allee v. Medrano, 416 U.S. 802, 828-29, 94 S. Ct. 2191, 2206-07, 40 L. Ed. 2d 566 (1974) (Burger, C. J., concurring).
Named plaintiffs have advised this court that they do not feel they can overturn the adverse findings of the district court with respect to their individual claims. In their view, the proof below demonstrates that it is those visually impaired persons who are handicapped to the extent that they cannot read or drive automobiles who are discriminated against by MIB. Accordingly, named plaintiffs purport to pursue relief on this appeal on behalf of only those members of the plaintiff class who are legally and totally blind. As authority for the proposition that we can limit our review to some subset of the certified class never considered or certified by the district court, named plaintiffs cite Califano v. Yamasaki, 442 U.S. 682, 99 S. Ct. 2545, 61 L. Ed. 2d 176 (1979). In the light of our disposition of the constitutional claims with respect to the class that the district court did certify, we neither reach nor express any opinion on this proposition
See Rehabilitation Comprehensive Services and Developmental Disabilities Amendments of 1978, Pub. L. No. 95-602, § 120, 92 Stat. 2955, 2983
See generally 45 C.F.R. § 84.5(b) (3) (1980)
See generally 45 C.F.R. § 84.5(b) (2) (1980)