Opinion ID: 72878
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Retaliation Claims Arising after 1991 Act

Text: Against this background and shortly after Rivers, the district courts in this circuit began addressing the effect of the 1991 Act on post-enactment retaliation claims. Although the district court in this case held that post-enactment retaliation claims are not cognizable even after the 1991 Act, numerous district courts in this Circuit for several years consistently have concluded that the amended section 1981 now covers post-hiring retaliation claims arising after the 1991 Act. Most have relied primarily on the expanded language of section 1981 in the 1991 Act. See Collins v. Executive Airlines, Inc., 934 F.Supp. 1378, 1382 (S.D.Fla.1996); Cabiness v. YKK (USA), Inc., 859 F.Supp. 582, 588 (M.D.Ga.1994), aff'd without opinion, 98 F.3d 1354 (11th Cir.1996); Lightner v. Ariton, 902 F.Supp. 1489, 1495-96 (M.D.Ala.1995). Others have cited the legislative history of the 1991 Act, replete with expressions of Congress's intent to broaden section 1981 specifically to cover race-based retaliation in all phases of contractual relations. See Williams v. Carrier Corp., 889 F.Supp. 1528, 1530 (M.D.Ga.1995); Patterson v. Augat Wiring, 944 F.Supp. 1509, 1519-21 (M.D.Ala.1996).12 One district court viewed the 1991 Act as restoring this Circuit's pre-Patterson 11 Section 101 of the 1991 Act adds the new subsection (b) defining make and enforce contracts in subsection (a). Civil Rights Act of 1991, Pub.L. No. 102-166 § 101, 105 Stat. 1071 § 101 (1991). 12 For example, the House Committee's Report states that the list in subsection (b) is illustrative and not exhaustive and that subsection (b) includes claims for race-based harassment, discharge, demotion, promotion, transfer, retaliation, and hiring, as follows: Section 210 would overrule Patterson by adding at the conclusion of section 1981 a new subsection (b).... The Committee intends this provision to bar all race discrimination in contractual relations. The list set forth in subsection (b) is intended to be illustrative rather than exhaustive. In the context of employment discrimination, for example, this would include, but not be limited to, claims of law, which recognized in Pinkard a retaliation claim under section 1981. Crumpton v. St. Vincent's Hospital, 963 F.Supp. 1104, 1118-19 (N.D.Ala.1997) (citing Pinkard, 678 F.2d at 1229 n. 15). This Circuit Court did not address the effect of the 1991 Act on post-hiring retaliation claims until 1997.13 This Court's first published section 1981 retaliation decision involving conduct after the 1991 Act was Little v. United Technologies, 103 F.3d 956 (11th Cir. Jan.22, 1997). Appellees in this case contend that Little suggests that the amended section 1981 still does not encompass post-enactment retaliation claims. However, Little concludes only that a prima facie case was not presented by the white plaintiff because the plaintiff did not allege discrimination due to his race; that is, Little [did] not contend that [his employer] discriminated against him because he was white. Id. at 961. Instead, Plaintiff Little alleged retaliation occurred because he complained that a coworker on one occasion had made a comment to him that was a racial slur derogatory toward blacks. Id. at 956, 959. Moreover, in a case shortly after Little, this Court noted that the Eleventh Circuit had not yet addressed the types of retaliation claims cognizable under § 1981 in light of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Reynolds v. CSX Transportation, Inc., 115 F.3d 860, 868 n. 10 (11th Cir.1997). Thus, the issue remained open when this Court briefly discussed retaliation claims under section 1981 in a third 1997 decision: Jackson v. Motel 6 Multipurpose, Inc., 130 F.3d 999 (11th harassment, discharge, demotion, promotion, transfer, retaliation, and hiring. H.R.Rep. No. 40(I), 102d Cong., 1st Sess. 92 (1991) reprinted in 1991 U.S.C.C.A.N. 549, 630. 13 No other circuit has discussed the issue directly. However, two cases from other circuit courts appear to presume a retaliation claim may be brought under the amended section 1981. See Steverson v. Goldstein, 24 F.3d 666, 670 (5th Cir.1994) (affirming a jury verdict finding retaliation in a claim brought under the amended section 1981); Barge v. Anheuser-Busch, Inc., 87 F.3d 256, 258 (8th Cir.1996) (listing the elements of a section 1981 retaliation claim before holding that the plaintiff had failed to establish a prima facie case). Cir.1997). The main issues in Jackson were whether the district court abused its discretion in certifying a class and in allowing communication with proposed class members before class certification. Id. at 1104-07. The Jackson court did state that Plaintiffs' claim for retaliation, however, may proceed under section 1981(b). Id. at 1007. The Court then cited with approval both Pinkard and Augat Wiring as allowing section 1981 retaliation claims after passage of Civil Rights Act of 1991 and enactment of section 1981(b). Id. at 1007 (citing Pinkard, 678 F.2d at 1229 n. 15; Augat Wiring, 944 F.Supp. at 1518-21). Thus, Jackson's recognition of post-hiring retaliation claims under section 1981 appears based not only on the pre-Patterson law of this Circuit in Pinkard, but also on the 1991 Act expanding section 1981. We have reviewed the history of section 1981 from Pinkard to Patterson and Sherman, to the 1991 Act and Rivers, and finally to Little and Jackson, so that the differing results in these retaliation cases can be put in the context of the prevailing law at the time of each decision. This review reveals that despite the changing definition of make and enforce, retaliation claims have remained viable to some limited extent throughout this time period. Nonetheless, this history also indicates that the type of retaliation claims that may be proved still depends on when the retaliation occurred and the specific nature of the retaliation claim. As to retaliatory conduct occurring before the effective date of the 1991 Act, only a limited class of claims is cognizable because of Patterson's narrow definition of make and enforce. See Sherman, 891 F.2d at 1534-35 (explaining that because of Patterson, an employer's retaliatory conduct falls under section 1981 only when the employer aims to prevent or discourage an employee from using the legal process to enforce a specific contract right). Even as to retaliation after the 1991 Act, not all retaliation claims are necessarily cognizable. See Little, 103 F.3d at 961 (finding no prima facie case of retaliation under section 1981 when a white plaintiff claimed he was fired for complaining about a co-worker's derogatory remark against blacks). But see Jackson, 130 F.3d at 1007 (indicating that plaintiffs' section 1981 retaliation claim may proceed based on plaintiffs' allegations that they were fired for refusing to participate in employer's discrimination against non-white customers). Turning to the particular facts here, Plaintiff Andrews claims that her employer retaliated by terminating her in February 1994 for filing a December 1992 EEOC claim for discrimination based on her race. Plaintiff's claim alleges discrimination based on her race and retaliation due to filing a race-based claim with the EEOC. Thus, Plaintiff's retaliation claim differs markedly from the retaliation claim in Little.14 The above history indicates that this specific type of post-1991 retaliation claim brought by Plaintiff Andrews is cognizable under the amended section 1981. See Jackson, 130 F.3d at 1007; Pinkard, 678 F.2d at 1229 n. 15. Thus Plaintiff's retaliation claim may proceed under section 1981.