Opinion ID: 23608
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Defendants and Remedies under 1981

Text: 8 Plaintiffs may plead causes of action under both Title VII and 1981 against private employers to remedy discrimination in private employment contracts. See Runyon v. McCrary, 427 U.S. 160, 174 (1976); Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc., 412 U.S. 454, 459 (1975). Plaintiffs may also pursue a 1983 cause of action against persons acting under color of state law in order to assert their substantive rights under 1981. We must determine whether Oden can assert an independent cause of action under 1981 against Oktibbeha County and the Sheriff in his official and individual capacities. 9
10 In 1989, the Supreme Court held in Jett v. Dallas Independent School District, 491 U.S. 701, 731 (1989), that 1981 did not provide a separate cause of action against local government entities. The Court concluded that plaintiffs must assert a cause of action against state actors under 1983 to remedy violations of civil rights under 1981. See id. Several courts have addressed the continuing significance of the Court's plurality decision after Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1991. The Act amended 1981 by adding subsection (c), which states that the rights protected by 1981 are protected against impairment by nongovernmental discrimination and impairment under color of state law. 42 U.S.C. 1981(c). 2 In order to determine whether Oden could pursue a separate cause of action under 1981 against Oktibbeha County and the Sheriff in his official capacity, we must address whether the 1991 amendment abrogated the Court's holding in Jett and created a separate cause of action against local government entities. 11 Subsection (c) does not expressly create a remedial cause of action against local government entities, and we are not persuaded that such a remedy should be implied. In Jett, the Court held that Congress intended 1983 to be the sole remedy for discrimination by persons acting under color of state law. See Jett, 491 U.S. at 731. The Court reasoned that 1981 implicitly created an independent cause of action against private actors because no other statute created such a remedy. See id. at 732. Because 1983 provided a remedy against persons acting under color of state law, the Court declined to imply a cause of action under 1981 independent of 1983. We are persuaded that the conclusion in Jett remains the same after Congress enacted the 1991 amendments. Subsection (c) addresses only substantive rights. Section 1983 remains the only provision to expressly create a remedy against persons acting under color of state law. The addition of subsection (c) creates no more of a need for the judiciary to imply a cause of action under 1981 against state actors than existed when the Supreme Court decided Jett. 12 The legislative history of the 1991 amendment is supportive of our conclusion. By enacting subsection (c), Congress stated that it intended to codify the Supreme Court's decision in Runyon v. McCrary. See Butts, 222 F.3d at 894 (citing H.R. Rep. No. 102-40(I), at 92 (1991), reprinted in 1991 U.S.C.C.A.N. 549, 630; H.R. Rep. No. 102-40(II), at 37 (1991), reprinted in 1991 U.S.C.C.A.N. 694, 731). See also Anderson v. Conboy, 156 F.3d 167, 179 (2d Cir. 1998). In Runyon, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that 1981 implies a right of action based on racial discrimination against private actors. See Runyon, 427 U.S. at 174-75. There is no congressional statement of intent to overrule Jett. By codifying Runyon, Congress confirmed that 1981 implies a cause of action against private actors. 13 The question follows then why, if Congress only intended to codify Runyon, does subsection (c) include language referring to persons acting under color of state law? The Ninth Circuit reasoned that this allusion to persons acting under color of state law implies Congressional intent to create a remedy in addition to 1983. See Oakland, 96 F.3d at 1213. We disagree. [T]he judicial power to imply or create remedies . . . should not be exercised in the face of an express decision by Congress concerning the scope of remedies available under a particular statute. Jett, 491 U.S. at 732 (citing National R.R. Passenger Corp. v. National Assn. of R.R. Passengers, 414 U.S. 453, 458 (1974). Because Congress neither expressed its intent to overrule Jett, nor explicitly created a remedy against state actors in addition to 1983, we are not willing to deviate from the Supreme Court's analysis of 1981 in Jett. Accordingly, Deputy Oden could not maintain an independent cause of action under 1981 against Oktibbeha County and Sheriff Dolph Bryan in his official capacity. 3
14 Sheriff Dolph Bryan claims that the district court erred by failing to dismiss Oden's claims against him in his individual capacity. The Sheriff does not dispute that 1981 provides an implicit cause of action against private actors in private employment discrimination cases. See Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc., 412 U.S. 454, 459 (1975); Adams v. McDougal, 695 F.2d 104, 108 (5th Cir. 1983). Rather, he argues that he is not a proper party in this suit because he was acting in his official capacity. 4 15 While the Supreme Court has extended 1981 liability to cases involving private employment contracts, it has not imposed personal liability on elected officials for discrimination in the terms and conditions of local government employment contracts. Cf. Brown v. General Servs. Admin., 425 U.S. 820, 835 (1976) (holding that Title VII is the exclusive remedy for seeking money damages against the federal government). In Huckabay v. Moore, this Court concluded that an individual was not an employer for purposes of Title VII when acting in his official capacity. See 142 F.3d at 241. Only officials should be responsible for discriminatory decisions concerning government employment contracts. See id. See also Grant v. Lone Star Co., 21 F.3d 649, 652 (5th Cir. 1994) (Only 'employers,' not individuals acting in their individual capacity who do not otherwise meet the definition of 'employers,' can be liable under Title VII.); Harvey v. Blake, 913 F.2d 226, 227 (5th Cir. 1990) (concluding that an elected official should not be liable for official acts). Likewise, when a plaintiff asserts a cause of action under 1981 for discrimination in the terms and conditions of a municipal employment contract, the proper defendant is the government employer in his official capacity. Because Sheriff Bryan's choice to promote Deputy Carrithers to chief deputy was an official decision, he is not personally liable under 1981. 5 We therefore dismiss the district court's judgment against Sheriff Bryan in his individual capacity.