Opinion ID: 3004435
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: analysis

Text: We review the district court’s legal determinations de novo, and its findings of fact for clear error. Pro’s Sports Bar & Grill, Inc. v. City of Country Club Hills, 589 F.3d 865, 870 (7th Cir. 2009). 6 No. 10-3396
“The Fourteenth Amendment’s procedural protection of property is a safeguard of the security of interests that a person has already acquired in specific benefits.” Bd. of Regents v. Roth, 408 U.S. 564, 576 (1972). To prevail on a claim for deprivation of property without due process, a plaintiff must establish that she holds a protected property interest. Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532, 546-47 (1985). Property interests are not created by the Constitution, but are “created and their dimensions are defined by existing rules or understandings that stem from an independent source such as state law.” Id. at 561. Property interests may arise by way of statutes, regulations, municipal ordinances, or by way of an express or implied contract, such as “rules or understandings that secure certain benefits and that support claims of entitlement to benefits.” Covell v. Menkis, 595 F.3d 673, 675-76 (7th Cir. 2010). An individual has a property interest in a benefit if she has more than an “abstract need” for, or “unilateral expectation” of, that benefit. Roth, 408 U.S. at 577. The individual must have a legitimate claim of entitlement. Id. In the employment context, a property interest exists “when an employer’s discretion is clearly limited so that the employee cannot be denied employment unless specific conditions are met.” Buttitta v. City of Chicago, 9 F.3d 1198, 1202 (7th Cir. 1993). If a court determines that an individual holds a protected property interest, the question becomes what process is due. Loudermill, 470 U.S. at 541. No. 10-3396 7 In Illinois, tenured teachers cannot be discharged except for cause: Appointments and promotions of teachers shall be made for merit only, and after satisfactory service for a probationary period . . . appointments of teachers shall become permanent, subject to removal for cause in the manner provided by Section 34-85. 105 ILCS 5/35-84 (emphasis added). Section 34-85 provides: “No teacher employed by the board of education shall after serving the probationary period specified in section 34-84 be removed except for cause.” (emphasis added). Thus, tenured teachers in Illinois have a property interest in their continued employment. See Loudermill, 470 U.S. at 535-39 (state statute providing that classified civil service employees were entitled to retain their positions during good behavior and prohibiting dismissal except for bad behavior created a property interest in continued employment); Perry v. Sindermann, 408 U.S. 593, 601 (1972) (written contract with an explicit tenure provision evidenced a formal understanding that supported a teacher’s claim of entitlement to continued employment). If a tenured teacher is fired without cause, this is a deprivation of property, and the teacher need only show that it was done without due process of law to prove a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. See Bigby v. Chicago, 766 F.2d 1053, 1056 (7th Cir. 1985). “The usual though not exclusive modern meaning of [due process] is notice of charges and an opportunity for a 8 No. 10-3396 hearing . . . .” Id. at 1058. We have, however, recognized that there is “an exception to a hearing right when [a] discharge is caused by reorganization.” Misek v. City of Chicago, 783 F.2d 98, 100-01 (7th Cir. 1986). Illinois courts have also found that pre-termination hearings are unnecessary before good faith economic layoffs. See Land v. Bd. of Educ. of Chi., 757 N.E.2d 912 (Ill. App. Ct. 2001) (“Land I”) (finding that teachers who were placed in reassignment pool for 10 months but could not find jobs were not entitled to pre-termination hearings before being terminated). Similarly, we have found that a pretermination hearing is not necessary before a layoff so long as adequate post-termination procedures are available “to [determine] whether the termination under the auspices of a [layoff is] permissible or not” and whether it is “being used to mask an individualized, merit-based action.” Lalvani v. Cook County, 396 F.3d 911, 915-17 (7th Cir. 2005) (“Lalvani II”). But the teachers here do not claim (although they suggest) that the layoffs were pretextual. Instead, they argue that they are entitled to an opportunity to show that they are qualified for vacancies that continue to arise within the Chicago Public School system. We have not yet considered whether tenured teachers are entitled to consideration for reassignment. We came close to answering that question in Mims v. Bd. of Educ., 523 F.2d 711, 715 (7th Cir. 1975). The plaintiffs in Mims were female civil service employees of the Board who were laid off because of a shortage of funds and sought an opportunity to demonstrate their qualifications after No. 10-3396 9 learning that six men were hired to temporarily fill their positions. Id. at 713-15. We found that although “a layoff is less drastic than a discharge and may not require all the procedural safeguards necessary before termination through discharge, [the laid off] plaintiffs had a property interest in their continued employment, not just in their status as civil servants.” Id. at 715. We stated: Plaintiffs at least were entitled to an oppor- tunity to demonstrate that they were capable of performing the work assigned to the six tempo- rary employees. The issue of whether plaintiffs could perform the work, unlike that of the need to cut back due to loss of federal funding, was one on which plaintiffs might have been able to contribute information and valid persuasion, possibly resulting in a temporary continuation of employment. Id. In Mims, however, the plaintiffs, unlike the teachers here, also claimed that they were entitled to a pre-layoff hearing. Id. at 714. We found that the Board failed in its duty to establish a procedure by which an employee could obtain review of a layoff decision to ensure that it was not for an impermissible reason or to demon- strate that he or she should have been retained. Id. at 715. Therefore, Mims, while guiding our analysis, does not provide a definitive answer. To determine whether the teachers have a property interest that entitles them to an opportunity to be con10 No. 10-3396 sidered for new vacancies, we look to Illinois law. See Loudermill, 470 U.S. at 546-47. Prior to 1995, Section 34-84 of the Illinois School Code provided that “reserve teachers” had various recall rights. A reserve teacher was defined as “a teacher not on administrative payroll, who has a rating of satisfactory or better and whose service is no longer required because of a decrease in student membership, a change in subject requirements within the attendance center organization, or the closing of an attendance center.” 105 ILCS 5/34-1.1 (1994). Reserve teachers were given the opportunity to apply for filling new and vacant teaching positions in the school system through a process collectively bargained by the Board and the Union. 105 ILCS 5/34-84 (1994). If a reserve teacher was not selected to fill a vacant position, the teacher would be employed by the Board in a position that was collectively bargained. A certified reserve teacher not selected for a vacancy would be ap- pointed on an interim basis for a teaching position. Reserve teachers also had the right to remain employed by the Board and receive full salary and benefits for a period of 25 school months, after which time they could be honorably terminated from service.2 Id. 2 Although these protections were removed from Section 34-84, both Appendix H of the parties’ collective bargaining agreement and Section 504.2 of the Chicago Public Schools Policy Manual (“Layoff Policy”) provide for a retention procedure for teachers whose services are no longer required due to a drop in student enrollment or the closure of an attendance (continued...) No. 10-3396 11 In 1995, the Illinois School Code underwent a sig- nificant revision. All statutory references to reserve teachers, along with their recall rights under Section 34-84, were deleted, and 105 ILCS 5/34-18(31) was added. Section 5/34-18(31) provides in relevant part that: The board . . . shall have power . . . to promulgate rules establishing procedures governing the layoff or reduction in force of employees and the recall of such employees, including, but not limited to, criteria for such layoffs, reductions in force or recall rights of such employees and the weight to be given to any particular criterion. 2 (...continued) center. The Layoff Policy provides that teachers whose services are no longer required are to be given a “notice of removal.” Teachers continue to receive full pay and benefits for a limited period of time. Upon notice of removal, the teacher receives a list of all unencumbered vacant positions for which he or she is qualified. During the first thirty school days after notice of removal, the tenured teacher is permitted to interview at schools of his or her choosing without being assigned additional duties. School principals are obligated to interview tenured teachers who apply unless the position is filled before the interview takes place. The Board is also obligated to offer teachers “interim assignments.” If the teacher remains in the interim position for more than 60 days, he or she is permanently assigned to that position. Even if the teacher does not have an interim assignment, the teacher may work as a substitute teacher. If after 10 school months the tenured teacher has not been appointed to a permanent position, he or she is honorably terminated. 12 No. 10-3396 Such criteria shall take into account factors in- cluding, but not limited to, qualifications, certifications, experience, performance ratings or evaluations, and any other factors relating to an em- ployee’s job performance. The Board concedes that “[p]rior to the 1995 amendments, if CPS honorably dismissed or laid off a teacher, the teacher had a clearly delineated property interest in continued employment, which was set forth in Section 34-84.” The Board argues, however, that Section 3418(31) is an authorizing statute and does not compel it to promulgate regulations, and therefore, the teachers are not entitled to be recalled. The Board also contends that the teachers cannot have a property interest in a recall procedure because a procedural safeguard for a property interest cannot itself create a property interest. While it is true that Section 34-18(31) is not crystal clear, it contemplates that the Board will promulgate rules “governing the layoff . . . and the recall of such employees,” not layoffs alone. (emphasis added); see also Powell v. Jones, 305 N.E.2d 166, 171 (Ill. 1973) (explaining that a layoff is “not, ordinarily, viewed as a permanent situation”). The statute further limits the Board’s discretion by requiring it to take various criteria (qualifications, certifications, experience, performance ratings, and evaluations) into account. Although there are no Illinois cases directly on point, those cases that have examined the relationship between Sections 34-84, 34-85, and 34-18(31) do not suggest that tenured teachers do not have a right to be con- No. 10-3396 13 sidered for vacancies, but, rather, that it is now the Board’s responsibility, instead of the legislature’s, to formulate procedures governing layoff and recall. In Land I, the Illinois Appellate Court considered whether tenured teachers who were allowed 10 months to find alternate employment pursuant to the Board’s layoff policy but were unable to find new positions during that time were entitled to a hearing prior to being terminated. 757 N.E.2d at 915-16. The court explained that prior to the 1995 amendments, Section 34-84 gave the Board the authority to lay off tenured teachers, but that this authority was subject to “an explicit set of restrictions,” which gave “reserve teachers” 25 months to obtain an alternative position before they could be honorably terminated from service. Id. at 920. The 1995 amendments “simply eliminated all provisions referring to ‘reserve teachers’ and added subsection 31 to section 3418, granting the power to the Board to promulgate its own procedures ‘governing the layoff or reduction in force of employees.’ ” Id. After examining the Illinois School Code both before and after the 1995 amend- ments, the court concluded that “the amendments regarding layoffs were procedural changes, not substantive changes.” Id. The court also made two relevant findings. First, it concluded that the layoffs were not governed by sections 34-84 and 35-85 and the hearing procedures contained in those sections. Id. Second, the court found that neither the Board’s policy nor Section 34-18(31) created a property interest in the teachers’ continued employ14 No. 10-3396 ment, meaning that the notice and hearing procedures required in cases of discharges “for cause” were inapplicable to layoffs. Id. at 925. The court emphasized that to require a pre-layoff hearing would “hang an anvil” around the Board’s neck. Id. The Illinois Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court’s finding that the Board had the authority to lay off tenured teachers.3 In Land v. Bd. of Educ. of Chi., 781 N.E.2d 249, 256 (Ill. 2002), (“Land II”), the Court explained that it had long been established that among the unenumerated powers of the Board was the authority to lay off employees in good faith for lack of work. Prior to 1995, “limits on that power were set out in section 3484.” Id. The 1995 amendments did not eliminate or reduce the Board’s power. Id. “Instead, by deleting the layoff provision from section 34-84 and adding section 34-18(31), the legislature gave the Board the authority to formulate and implement its own procedures regarding layoffs rather than binding the Board to a legislatively mandated procedure.” Id. Neither the 1995 amendments nor the Illinois cases construing them suggest that tenured teachers are not entitled to an opportunity to show that they are qualified for vacancies after an economic layoff. Although 3 The Court reversed in part for the trial court to determine whether the Board properly delegated its authority to decide whom to lay off. Id. at 261. The Court also noted that the Board’s policy was not a “procedure” as provided in Section 3418(31). Id. No. 10-3396 15 in Land I the court found that the teachers could not hold on to their positions indefinitely by virtue of being tenured, the court did not decide whether the teachers were entitled to be recalled, as the teachers in that case were placed in a reassignment pool for 10 months and only argued that they could not be subsequently terminated. Land I, 757 N.E.2d at 925. Further, Land I is not controlling on the question of whether the teachers have a federal constitutionally protected property interest because, although the teachers’ rights derive from state law, it is federal law that determines whether those rights constitute a property interest for purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment. See Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748, 757 (2005). Contrary to the Board’s contention, the language used in Land I and Land II suggests that the Board now has the authority to formulate its own procedure for layoff and recall, not that the Board may simply have no procedure whatsoever. These limits on the Board’s discretion, along with tenure, which, as we recognized in Mims, gave plaintiffs a property interest in their continued employment and entitled them to an opportunity to demonstrate that they were capable of performing temporary work, give rise to a legitimate expectation that tenured teachers who are laid off will be given the opportunity to show that they are qualified for new vacancies for a reasonable period of time. For, as Mims implicitly recognizes, if a “permanent” appointment means anything, it at least means that if vacancies arise during or shortly after a layoff, the teachers who originally held “permanent” appointments should be given 16 No. 10-3396 a meaningful opportunity to show that they remain qualified to fill those positions. And, although it is true that an entitlement to nothing but procedure cannot be the basis for a property interest, detailed procedural requirements are relevant to whether a substantive property interest exists. Teigen v. Renfrow, 511 F.3d 1072, 1081 (10th Cir. 2007); see also Buttitta, 9 F.3d 1198, 1202-04 (7th Cir. 1993) (holding that a provision in the Illinois Pension Code setting forth the procedure to be followed in determining whether an officer receiving disability benefits should be returned to active duty created in police officers “an interest in being returned to the department for an opportunity to demonstrate their fitness for active duty”); Deen v. Darosa, 414 F.3d 731, 735-36 (7th Cir. 2005) (holding that policy directive that gave officers a right to appear before a board to show that they could return to full duty gave officer an interest in an opportunity to show that he could return to full duty). Here, the limits on the Board’s discretion found in Section 34-18(31) along with the teachers’ right to a “permanent” appointment, give rise to a legitimate expectation that laid-off teachers will be considered for vacancies for a reasonable period of time.4 4 The Board also contends that Section 4.5 of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act, 115 ILCS 5/4.5, also suggests that tenured teachers have no property interest following an economic layoff. Section 4.5 concerns “subjects of collective bargaining” and states that a decision to lay off employees is (continued...) No. 10-3396 17 Having found that the teachers have a cognizable property interest, we now turn to the question of what process is due to them. Whether an employee has received all the process that would have been due in connection with his or her termination is a question of federal law. Lalvani v. Cook County, 269 F.3d 785, 793 (7th Cir. 2001) (“Lalvani I”). The fundamental requirement of due process is “the opportunity to be heard at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner.” Baird v. Bd. of Educ. for Warren Cmty. Unit Sch. Dist. No. 205, 389 F.3d 685, (7th Cir. 2004) (quoting Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319, 348-49 (1976)). The flexible approach to due process adopted in Mathews requires the court to weigh “the significance of the private interest at issue and the risk of an erroneous deprivation of that interest under the procedures employed by the state, against the probable benefits of any additional procedural protections and the state’s interest in avoiding the fiscal and administrative burdens that those additional protections would impose.” Lalvani I, 269 F.3d at 793; see generally Chaney v. Suburban Bus Div. of the Reg’l Transp. Auth., 52 F.3d 623, 627 (7th Cir. 1995) (“We apply the Mathews analysis to both the pre-deprivation and post-deprivation phases of [a plaintiff’s] case.”). 4 (...continued) a “permissive” subject of bargaining between the Board and the Union. 115 ILCS 5/4.5. Because this case does not concern the Board’s duty or lack thereof to bargain with the Union, but instead concerns whether the teachers have a right to be considered for vacancies, Section 4.5 is not relevant to the issue before us. 18 No. 10-3396 The teachers contend that they are entitled to a recall procedure.5 We agree. The teachers should be given a meaningful opportunity to show that they are qualified for new vacancies for a reasonable period of time. See Buttitta, 9 F.3d at 1204 (finding that a police officer was given all process due to him because the police department gave him an opportunity to show he was qualified for active duty). We have previously acknowledged that an employee’s interest in retaining his or her job is substantial. Lalvani I, 269 F.3d at 793 (citing Brock v. Roadway Express, Inc., 481 U.S. 252, 263 (1987)). The Board contends that the teachers received all of the process that was due to them because it held two job fairs and a résumé workshop and pointed the teachers to a website 6 listing vacancies. However, the Board’s contention cannot be squared with the Board’s several admissions on the record that it has “no recall procedure in place.” The Board simply has not established a procedure whereby laid-off teachers can demonstrate their qualifications for new teaching positions, nor has the Board announced the 5 The teachers also contend that they are entitled to preference for vacancies. But the availability of a post-termination procedure by which the teachers can show that they are qualified for vacancies is all that is necessary to satisfy due process. There is no guarantee of a particular substantive outcome. 6 The district court found that many vacancies were not listed on the website. No. 10-3396 19 criteria to be used in evaluating teachers who apply for teaching jobs. Without any procedures for recall, the risk of deprivation to the teachers is significant. Recognizing that it lacked the institutional competence to define the exact contours of those procedures, the district court found that the Board, in light of Section 3418(31), would be in a better position to do so. We agree. In enacting Section 34-18(31), the Illinois General Assembly contemplated that the Board would prom- ulgate regulations establishing such procedures, presumably without incurring excessive costs. Requiring the Board to promulgate regulations under Section 34-18(31) gives teachers the benefit of a procedure by which they can demonstrate their qualifications for new positions, without imposing excessive administrative and fiscal costs on the Board.7
We review the district court’s entry of preliminary and permanent injunctive relief for an abuse of discretion. Sierra Club v. Franklin Cnty. Power of Ill., L.L.C., 546 F.3d 918, 935 (7th Cir. 2008). “A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must establish that he is likely to succeed on the merits, that he is likely to suffer 7 This is not an empty formality, as the dissent asserts. While it may turn out that not every laid-off teacher is rehired, the teachers will get the benefit of the recall procedure enacted by the Board pursuant to Section 34-18(31). 20 No. 10-3396 irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest.” Winter v. NRDC, 129 S. Ct. 365, 374 (2008). The standard for a permanent injunction is the same as for a preliminary injunction except that the plaintiff must show actual success on the merits. Id. at 381. Although courts use the terminology “irreparable harm,” when the issue is whether to grant a permanent injunction, the burden is on the plaintiff to show that damages are inadequate. Walgreen Co. v. Sara Creek Prop. Co., 966 F.2d 273, 275 (7th Cir. 1992). The teachers succeeded on the merits. The district court’s evaluation of the other factors was also sound. Damages would not adequately compensate the teachers because it would be difficult to place a value on the opportunity to demonstrate their qualifications for vacant positions. The balance of the equities tips in favor of the teachers because they have a substantial interest in remaining employed and requiring the Board to prom- ulgate the rules contemplated by Section 34-18(31) would not impose significant burdens. Nor would requiring the Board to allow the teachers to show that they are qualified for vacancies negatively impact the public. However, the scope of the district court’s injunction should have been narrower. The district court ordered the Board to consult with the Union in promulgating regulations under Section 34-18(31). Although consultation with the Union may expedite the process of promulgating the rules, there is nothing in Section 34-18(31) that requires cooperation with the Union, and we decline to impose such a requirement. No. 10-3396 21 The district court also ordered that the teachers’ discharges be rescinded. The teachers concede and we agree that they are not entitled to back pay or to be placed on the payroll going forward. However, the teachers must have some connection to the Chicago Public School system in order for the Board’s regulations to apply to them. We do not reverse the decision of the district court in rescinding the discharges, but clarify that the teachers are still considered to be laid-off teachers. As the district court explained, Section 5/34-18(31) contemplates unique rights for laid-off, as opposed to terminated, employees. Rescinding the discharges only allows the teachers to take advantage of the opportunity to show their qualifications for new vacancies for a reasonable period of time. In this context, their “laid-off” status does not implicate past or future payment or benefits.8