Opinion ID: 71953
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the scope of the anti-retaliation provision

Text: 15 The district court did not hold, and Dillard does not contend, that sexual harassers are per se excluded from the scope of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a), the anti-retaliation provision of Title VII. Instead, the district court stated: It is entirely conceivable that the day will come when a discriminator or harasser crosses the line from denials with grudging admissions to willing disclosure and assistance and by doing so could be regarded as having participated 'in the process of vindicating civil rights through Title VII.'  However, the district court held that, [i]t could not rationally be concluded that this plaintiff participated in the process of vindicating Ms. Moore's civil rights, because he did not voluntarily participate, was personally opposed to her position in the lawsuit, and only reluctantly gave answers that were helpful to her side of the case. 16 An examination of the record bears out the district court's characterization of the nature of Merritt's participation in Moore's lawsuit. Merritt did nothing that assisted Moore in her lawsuit other than give the deposition. He never volunteered to be a witness for Ms. Moore, and he did not voluntarily attend the deposition and testify; his supervisor told him when and where to show up for it. As the district court observed, during Merritt's deposition he was essentially defending himself against Ms. Moore's claims that he was one of the employees who had sexually harassed her. In his deposition in the present case, Merritt stated that he was displeased that Dillard had settled with Ms. Moore, and gave his opinion that he had not violated Dillard's policy against sexual harassment. 17 In his deposition in Moore's case against Dillard, Merritt also testified that, in his opinion, Ms. Moore had not been sexually harassed. When asked in that deposition if he had made any statements concerning sexual organs or sexual acts to any of the female employees, Merritt first testified that the only thing he could remember saying was scratch my nuts, which he admitted saying to Moore on a number of occasions. Moore's attorney had to engage in what the district court accurately characterized as a significant amount of further inquiry to elicit evidence of additional misconduct by Merritt. Despite Merritt's lack of candor and reluctance, Moore's attorney through further questioning did succeed in extracting from Merritt deposition testimony useful to Moore in proving her Title VII claim. The district court listed that testimony as follows: 18 Occasionally I'd say mark me out, bitch. 19 In connection with a fishing trip, he told her I guarantee you can come back with a red snapper. 20 After talking with a customer on the telephone, he said to her, Janet, he sure is taken with you, why don't you take care of him sometime.He probably has communicated jokes containing sexual content to female employees. 21 He shared an article about oral sex with Gencie McCann. 22 He possibly has made reference to a female employee's private parts directly to her. 23 He made the statement to Gencie McCann I had a dream about you last night and it was so good I feel I owe you money. 24 It is possible he said to Janet Moore in the presence of another person, Janet, why don't you feel my nuts. 25 In answer to the question Have you ever made the statement to Janet Moore, ooh, baby, I love it when you talk mean to me, he testified That sounds like something I could have said. He probably has said that to other female employees also. 26 In answer to the question Did you ever recently go into an office where Teresa Cummings was located and immediately close the door, then reopen the door and make the statement was it as good for you as it was for me, he replied, 'Could have.'  27 (Citations to deposition omitted) As is apparent from that listing, Merritt's deposition testimony provided building blocks Moore could use to construct a winning hostile environment case against Dillard. Indeed, the president of Dillard, who authorized the settlement of Moore's lawsuit, characterized Merritt's deposition testimony as the most damning to Dillard's case. 1 28 Therefore, what we have is a case of an employee who involuntarily participated in a Title VII proceeding by reluctantly giving deposition testimony which, in spite of his own personal wishes, assisted the claimant. We must decide whether that type of participation and testimony falls within the scope of the anti-retaliation provision, which provides: 29 It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate against any of his employees ... because he has opposed any practice made an unlawful employment practice by this subchapter, or because he has made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this subchapter. 30 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a). This provision has two components, an opposition clause and a participation clause. See Payne v. McLemore's Wholesale & Retail Stores, 654 F.2d 1130, 1135 (5th Cir. Unit A Sept.1981). Merritt obviously can find no refuge under the opposition clause, because he did not oppose in any sense of the word the sexual harassment Moore suffered. To the contrary, he inflicted some of it. For that reason, Merritt relies solely on the participation clause, contending that he testified ... or participated in any manner in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing. 31 The district court rejected Merritt's argument, reasoning that because he had not voluntarily assisted in Moore's suit, he did not participate in a Title VII proceeding within the meaning of the statutory language. The district court's factual premise stacks up well against the evidence, but its legal premise, that involuntary participation and unwilling assistance are not conduct protected from retaliation, will not stand up against the statutory language. 32 In construing a statute we must begin, and often should end as well, with the language of the statute itself. See Good Samaritan Hosp. v. Shalala, 508 U.S. 402, 409, 113 S.Ct. 2151, 2157, 124 L.Ed.2d 368 (1993); see also Bailey v. United States, 516 U.S. 137, ----, 116 S.Ct. 501, 506, 133 L.Ed.2d 472 (1995). As the Supreme Court has admonished, We have stated time and again that courts must presume that a legislature says in a statute what it means and means in a statute what it says there. Connecticut Nat'l Bank v. Germain, 503 U.S. 249, 253-54, 112 S.Ct. 1146, 1149, 117 L.Ed.2d 391 (1992); see also, e.g., United States v. LaBonte, 520 U.S. 751, ----, 117 S.Ct. 1673, 1677, 137 L.Ed.2d 1001 (1997) (We do not start from the premise that this language is imprecise. Instead, we assume that in drafting this legislation, Congress said what it meant.). When the words of a statute are unambiguous, then, this first canon [of statutory construction] is also the last: judicial inquiry is complete. Connecticut Nat'l Bank, 503 U.S. at 254, 112 S.Ct. at 1149 (internal quotation marks omitted). 33 The anti-retaliation provision is straightforward and expansively written. Congress chose the language testified and participated in any manner to express its intent about the activity to be protected against retaliation. The word testified is not preceded or followed by any restrictive language that limits its reach. As to participated in any manner, the adjective any is not ambiguous; it has a well-established meaning. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court explained, Read naturally, the word 'any' has an expansive meaning, that is, 'one or some indiscriminately of whatever kind.'  United States v. Gonzales, 520 U.S. 1, ----, 117 S.Ct. 1032, 1035, 137 L.Ed.2d 132 (1997) (citation omitted). Here, as in Gonzales, Congress did not add any language limiting the breadth of that word, so any means all. See id. 34 By giving deposition testimony, albeit reluctantly, Merritt testified in Moore's Title VII proceeding. Merritt was asked questions about whether certain sexually harassing activity occurred, and he gave answers under oath. Simply put, that is how one testifies. By the same token Merritt also participated in Moore's Title VII proceeding. One who has participated as a reluctant deponent has participated in any manner, i.e., in the manner of a reluctant deponent. Thus Merritt testified and participated in any manner in Moore's Title VII lawsuit. See Pettway v. American Cast Iron Pipe Co., 411 F.2d 998, 1006 n. 18 (5th Cir.1969) (noting exceptionally broad protection afforded by Title VII's inclusion of assistance and participation in any manner); see also Johnston v. Harris County Flood Control Dist., 869 F.2d 1565, 1571-73 (5th Cir.1989) (affirming judgment on retaliation claim where plaintiff testified in coemployee's administrative hearing concerning charge of discrimination); Truelove v. Trustees of Univ. of Dist. of Columbia, 744 F.Supp. 307, 313 (D.D.C.1990) (holding that protected activity includes testifying in federal court in another employee's discrimination case). Cf. Smith v. Georgia, 684 F.2d 729, 730, 733 (11th Cir.1982) (recognizing as undisputed district court's holding that plaintiff made out prima facie case where he testified at coemployee's sex discrimination grievance hearing). 35 The district court thought that Title VII's anti-retaliation provision does not cover an involuntary witness who is opposed to the claimant's position, because that provision was designed to protect those who aid and assist Title VII claimants. There are two insurmountable problems with that reasoning. First, whatever design might be perceived behind the provision, the actual design put forward through the language of the provision does not require that the testimony or other participation aid or assist the claimant. Instead of making assistance to the claimant a prerequisite for protection against retaliation, Congress chose to make assistance only one of four alternative means of qualifying for such protection. Congress prohibited retaliation against anyone who made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in any manner. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a) (emphasis added). Under the plain language of the provision, those who testify or otherwise participate in a Title VII proceeding are protected from retaliation for having done so, even if it turns out they were not of any assistance to the Title VII claimant. 36 The second problem with the district court's reasoning is that it equates the objective effect of participation--whether it aids or assists a claim--with the subjective intent of the participant. The assumption appears to be that an involuntary participant cannot be of any use to an enterprise. That is no more true of conscripted deponents than it is of conscripted soldiers. Even if assistance were a sine qua non for coverage under the anti-retaliation provision, a Title VII claimant can be assisted as much or more by the testimony of a hostile co-employee from whom the truth must be wrenched as by an employee who earnestly desires to help (but may not be in the position to do so). The point is well illustrated in this case. He hated to do so, and he tried every way to avoid it, but Merritt's reluctant deposition testimony did assist Moore in her claim against Dillard. Indeed, in the words of Dillard's president, that testimony was the most damning to Dillard's case. So, even if assistance were a prerequisite to coverage under the anti-retaliation provision, Merritt did assist Moore's lawsuit, even though it was against his wishes. 37 The gist of the district court's holding and Dillard's position goes beyond the question of assistance per se. The underlying proposition is that no conduct qualifies for protection under the anti-retaliation provision unless it is done voluntarily for the purpose of assisting the claimant. Congress could have crafted the statutory provision that way. But it did not. Congress said testified and participated in any manner, not voluntarily testified and voluntarily participated. There is no mention of motive in the statutory provision. Courts have no authority to alter statutory language. We cannot add to the terms of Title VII's anti-retaliation provision what Congress left out: the requirement of a good motive, a pure heart, a happy face. 38 None of the authority cited by Dillard persuades us to the contrary. Dillard points to McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 796, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1821, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), for the proposition that the anti-retaliation provision forbids discrimination against applicants or employees for attempting to protest or correct allegedly discriminatory conditions of employment. That statement from the facts and procedural history of the opinion is true as far as it goes, but it does not require a different result in this case. McDonnell Douglas was concerned solely with the opposition clause and left the participation clause out of its discussion of the anti-retaliation provision. 411 U.S. at 796 n. 4, 93 S.Ct. at 1821 n. 4. The opposition clause by its very nature focuses upon the motive of the employee, covering only one who has opposed any practice which violates Title VII. By contrast, the participation clause, which is what the present case is about, is not so limited. See Booker v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co., 879 F.2d 1304, 1312 (6th Cir.1989) (explaining how the participation clause provides wider and stronger protection than the opposition clause). Whatever fetters McDonnell Douglas clamped onto the anti-retaliation provision, they were put on the opposition clause only; the broad language of the participation clause was left unfettered. 39 Dillard also relies on Whatley v. Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Auth., 632 F.2d 1325, 1328 (5th Cir.1980), in which this Court's predecessor explained that [section 2000e-3(a) ] is the primary source of protection against retaliation for those who participate in the process of vindicating civil rights through Title VII. This statement from Whatley, which is descriptive dictum instead of a holding construing the anti-retaliation provision, is like the statement Dillard relies upon from McDonnell Douglas. It is true insofar as it goes. But nowhere in Whatley does the court confine anti-retaliation protection only to those who vindicate rights under Title VII. In fact, the next sentence of the opinion talks of the broad protection [ ] afforded to the participant. Id. (citing Pettway, 411 F.2d at 1006 n. 18). Nothing in either McDonnell Douglas or Whatley restricts the broad protection afforded by the plain language of the participation clause only to those who volunteer in the war against discrimination. 40 We finish up this part of our discussion by addressing two concerns that the district court had about the undesirable consequences which would flow from interpreting the statute in the manner in which we believe it must be interpreted. The first consequence the district court foresaw is that such an interpretation would mean that employers would be on dangerous ground in disciplining or discharging employees who have engaged in discriminatory conduct or are believed in good faith to have done so. The reason is that once such an employee responded to an EEOC investigation or a lawsuit by making a statement or giving testimony, he would be protected from any retaliation and would claim that any adverse employment action against him was retaliation. That set of circumstances would, the district court feared, have a chilling effect on compliance with Title VII by making employers more reluctant to fire sexually harassing employees like Merritt once they have given a deposition or otherwise participated in a Title VII proceeding. While the district court's reservation is a legitimate one, such policy concerns cannot alter our interpretation and application of clear statutory language. Through its enactments Congress sets the federal policy of this nation in the employment discrimination area as well as in other areas, and it is up to Congress to make policy judgments about concerns such as this one. Once Congress has expressed its resolution of such concerns in a statute, it is the duty of the courts to give effect to that resolution by applying the statute according to its terms. We cannot refuse to give effect to the legislative will merely because we think Congress has acted unwisely. 41 Of course, if giving the words of a statute their plain and ordinary meaning produces a result that is not just unwise but is clearly absurd, another principle comes into the picture. That principle is the venerable one that statutory language should not be applied literally if doing so would produce an absurd result. See, e.g., Rowland v. California Men's Colony, 506 U.S. 194, 200 & n. 3, 113 S.Ct. 716, 720 & n. 3, 121 L.Ed.2d 656 (1993); United States v. Oboh, 92 F.3d 1082, 1085 (11th Cir.1996) (en banc) (citation omitted), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 1257, 137 L.Ed.2d 337 (1997). Though venerable, the principle is rarely applied, because the result produced by the plain meaning canon must be truly absurd before this principle trumps it. Otherwise, clearly expressed legislative decisions would be subject to the policy predilections of judges. 42 This is not a case where the absurd results principle is operative, because we cannot say that application of the plain meaning of the anti-retaliation provision's language produces an absurd result. Congress could well have decided that encouraging truthful testimony by even the sexual harassers themselves was important enough to vindication of Title VII claims to justify whatever deleterious effect it might have on the vigor with which employers discipline guilty employees. Congress could well have decided that even with a broadly written anti-retaliation provision employers would still have enough room and sufficient incentive to discipline miscreant employees. We may not have made the same policy decision had the matter been ours to decide, but we cannot say that it is absurd, ridiculous, or ludicrous for Congress to have decided the matter in the way the plain meaning of the statutory language indicates it did. 43 An admittedly extreme hypothetical will illustrate the point. Suppose an employee has been guilty of sexually harassing another employee who, as a result, brings a Title VII lawsuit against the employer. The miscreant employee is subpoenaed and with great reluctance testifies truthfully about his misbehavior, thereby unwillingly assisting the victim with her Title VII lawsuit. Suppose further that the employer makes it known to all his other employees that the reason that employee is being fired is not his egregious sexually harassing behavior, but instead his truthful testimony under subpoena. We don't mind sexual harassment, the employer says, after all, boys will be boys. But one thing we will never tolerate is anyone stupid enough to admit it in sworn testimony that damages the company. If you get caught and want to keep your job, you'd better lie. If we adopted Dillard's position concerning the anti-retaliation provision, an employer could do just that. However, we reject that position, because it is contrary to the plain statutory language, and it is not absurd to believe Congress decided that the net effect of prohibiting such retaliatory policies and practices would be to advance the goals of Title VII. 44 Nothing we say is intended to imply that the anti-retaliation provision in Title VII prohibits an employer from imposing discipline, including termination, on any employee who sexually harasses or otherwise discriminates against other employees. The employer may take adverse action against such an employee because of a feeling that justice demands it, or for the more parochial reason of minimizing future liability, but not because the employee testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in another employee's Title VII proceeding. 45 The second policy concern the district court had was that interpreting the anti-retaliation provision as we have would have the potential for inundating the federal judiciary with lawsuits by employees alleging that they could not be disciplined or discharged for their wrongdoing because they had responded to an EEOC investigation or participated in a Title VII lawsuit. It is within the authority of Congress to decide what federal causes of action should exist. Because Congress has never shown an overarching concern about the size of federal court dockets, caseload considerations do not provide a valid basis for questioning whether the statutory language at issue in this case accurately reflects congressional intent. For good or ill, Congress has decided that individuals who have testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in a Title VII proceeding are entitled to protection from retaliation because of that participation, and we must make room on our dockets for any resulting cases. 46 In summary, neither Dillard's arguments nor the district court's reasoning convinces us that Merritt's deposition testimony is outside the protection afforded by the plain language of the anti-retaliation provision's participation clause. Merritt participated in Moore's Title VII lawsuit. He testified as a witness. As a result, he was entitled to protection, although not from being fired because of his sexually harassing behavior and its ill effects on the company. He was entitled to protection only from retaliation against him because of his participation as a deponent. We turn now to Dillard's argument, and the district court's holding, that Dillard was entitled to summary judgment on the ground Merritt was fired because of his sexually harassing behavior, not his deposition testimony.