Opinion ID: 2093682
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Did Simonson have a protected liberty interest at stake?

Text: The University also contends that the district court wrongfully concluded that the stigma Simonson allegedly suffered as a result of being placed on paid administrative leave was serious enough to implicate his liberty interests. The district court made no conclusions concerning whether University officials had publicized the reasons for the suspension.
A state may deprive an employee of his or her liberty interest by damaging the employee's reputation so severely that associational or employment opportunities are impaired or foreclosed. Bennett, 446 N.W.2d at 470. We have said that in order to establish a liberty interest due process claim in connection with termination from employment, the employee must prove the following: that the employer published false, stigmatizing charges in connection with the discharge which were denied by the claimant and which seriously damaged the [employee's] employment opportunities or standing and associations in the community, all without notice and opportunity to be heard in a name clearing hearing requested by the [employee]. Bennett, 446 N.W.2d at 471 (footnotes and citations omitted). We assume that the same rules apply when an employee is placed on paid administrative leave pending investigation of sexual harassment complaints against an employee. An employee's liberty interests are implicated when the employer levels accusations at the employee which are so damaging as to make it difficult or impossible for the employee to escape the stigma of those charges. Shands v. City of Kennett, 993 F.2d 1337, 1347 (8th Cir.1993). The requisite stigma will be found when an employer has accused an employee of dishonesty, immorality, criminality, racism, and the like. Winegar, 20 F.3d at 899. Liberty interests are not violated by the private disclosure of reasons for discharge from public employment `when there is no public disclosure of the reasons for the discharge.' Poynton v. Special Sch. Dist. of St. Louis County, 949 F.Supp. 1407, 1414 (E.D.Mo.1996) (quoting Bishop v. Wood, 426 U.S. 341, 348, 96 S.Ct. 2074, 2079, 48 L.Ed.2d 684, 692 (1976)); see also Bennett, 446 N.W.2d at 471. Unpublicized accusations do not infringe constitutional liberty interests because by definition, they cannot harm the employee's good name, reputation, honor, or integrity. Wasson v. Sonoma County Junior College, 4 F.Supp.2d 893, 907 (N.D.Cal. 1997).
Upon our review, we find no evidence in the record that any of the University officials involved in the investigation of the sexual harassment complaints against Simonson publicly disclosed the reasons why Simonson was placed on paid administrative leave. We note that there is some evidence in the record that faculty membersnot University officials involved in the investigationmade comments overheard by students to the effect that Simonson would not be back or otherwise disclosed that the charges against Simonson were sexual harassment. However, we do not believe these comments constituted a public disclosure by University officials that would cause a violation of any liberty interest Simonson had in employment. Cf. Poynton, 949 F.Supp. at 1414 (discharged substitute teacher failed to allege or show that defendants made the reasons for his removal public and thus failed to establish a liberty interest that would trigger due process), and Bennett, 446 N.W.2d at 471 (terminated city employee failed to show that reasons for discharge were stigmatizing in nature and thus employee was not deprived of liberty interest due process), with Winegar, 20 F.3d at 899, n. 3 (fact that information concerning allegations that high school teacher physically abused student was disseminated to the point that an outside private investigator was hired and students were interviewed satisfied the publication requirement and was sufficient to implicate teacher's liberty interests). We therefore conclude that Simonson was not deprived of a constitutionally protected liberty interest when the University placed him on paid administrative leave pending the investigation of the sexual harassment complaints against him.