Opinion ID: 3160472
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Right to Discharge

Text: Casey contends that the DHHS had de facto authority to terminate her employment and is therefore properly viewed as her employer. We have carefully reviewed the record evidence regarding the events of November 14 and 15, 2011, when news of the November 10 confrontation between Casey and Carpenter came to light. In e- mail correspondence during this period, both Holl (an AFMC employee) and Steinman (an FOH Division employee) indicated their belief that Casey's employment should be terminated. Casey suggests that this is evidence that the DHHS had the authority to order her termination. We reject this suggestion. As an initial matter, while Holl and Steinman, as representatives of the two government agencies responsible for the CHPS Program, no doubt had some - 22 - measure of influence, there is simply no record support for the conclusion that anyone other than STG had the ultimate authority to fire Casey. See Barton v. Clancy, 632 F.3d 9, 18-19 (1st Cir. 2011) (finding that the defendant city mayor was not an employer of the plaintiff high school athletics coach where, despite his indirect influence, the mayor did not have the ultimate authority to fire the coach). What is more, we consider the EEOC Manual factors in their specific context. Alberty-Vélez, 361 F.3d at 9. Here, it appears that Steinman and Holl were concerned because Casey was acting unpredictably and was unaccounted for at a secure military facility. While both expressed a belief that Casey's employment should be terminated, both seem to have been principally focused on locating Casey, having her removed from the base, and revoking her security clearance. Mindful of this unique context, we cannot conclude that a government agency is appropriately exposed to Title VII liability merely by voicing concerns about safety risks posed by an employee of a government contractor.6 6This is particularly true here, where Casey's employment at Hanscom was dependent on her having the appropriate security clearance. The record suggests that STG did not have positions available in Massachusetts other than Casey's position at Hanscom. Therefore, once Casey's security clearance was revoked, STG seems to have been left with little choice but to terminate her employment. - 23 -