Opinion ID: 4521976
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: DDP Salary Determinations

Text: Three full-time DDPs are relevant to this appeal: (1) Reddy (female) was hired in 2009 at Step 3; (2) Sellman (female) was hired in 2010 at Step 3; and (3) Sims (male) was hired in 2014 at Step 14. Reddy, a board-certified neurologist, initially applied for a DDP position in March 2008, but withdrew her application to accept a position elsewhere, and later resumed the DDP application process in 2009. Reddy was hired at Step 3, earning $122,232 annually. Reddy’s application indicated that she practiced neurology at Birmingham Neurology, P.A. from July 1980 until her retirement in August 2005. As part of her practice, she occasionally performed physical examinations for DDS on a non-contractual basis. Between 2007 and 2008, she worked as a residential day of that pay period shall be the employee’s anniversary date for future salary administration purposes. The salary advance may be one or two steps, depending upon the manner of performance of the employee during probation, as recommended by the employee’s immediate supervisor and approved by the appointing authority, with report to the Director of the action to be taken. 5 The only exceptions to this process are Special Merit Raises. Pursuant to Ala. Admin. Code r. 670-X-8-.04(3), a State agency or department may request a Special Merit Raise for an employee who has performed above and beyond their normal duties. These requests must be sent directly to the State Personnel Board and are rarely granted. Special Merit Raises were frozen from January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2013 and DOE has not requested any Special Merit Raises since the 2009 freeze. 6 Case: 18-14433 Date Filed: 04/02/2020 Page: 7 of 23 worker caring for three mentally disabled men and as an office worker in a city parks and recreation department. Reddy did not provide medical care in either of those positions. In May 2008, Reddy started a job as a clinical research coordinator in the Department of Nephrology at the University of Alabama Birmingham (“UAB”). Normally, a registered nurse would staff this position. In the latter half of 2008, Reddy began spending every other Saturday at the VA, examining veterans for neurological conditions. Reddy resumed the application process in 2009 but did not amend her 2008 application to include her more recent experience as a research coordinator at UAB and diagnostician at the VA. Nor did she include information pertaining to her salary in 2008, which she testified was $57,000 at UAB and $230 per hour at the VA. She did submit a 2005 W-2 form, indicating that before she retired from private practice, she was on track to earn $155,817 that year. Sellman was hired as a DDP in 2010 at Step 3, with an annual salary of $122,232. Since becoming a board-certified anesthesiologist in 1987, Sellman held concurrent academic and clinical positions at Georgetown University School of Medicine, the National Institute of Health, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine, and the Children’s Hospital of Alabama. Between August 2008 and 7 Case: 18-14433 Date Filed: 04/02/2020 Page: 8 of 23 September 2010, she worked as a contract medical consultant with DDS.6 In 2009 and the first eight months of 2010, Sellman earned $101,232 and $71,854 respectively. She submitted this salary information as part of her application process with DDS. Sims, a board-certified psychiatrist, was hired as a DDP in 2014 at Step 14, with an annual salary of $160,440. His background reflected that he specializes in child and adolescent psychiatry. He graduated from medical school in 1985 and completed his residencies and fellowship in 1991. In the 14 years preceding to his DDP appointment, Sims worked under contract as a part-time medical consultant for DDS. In addition, since the early to mid-1990s, he maintained a private psychiatry practice. He submitted documentation with his DDP application showing an annual salary of $198,950.00. Reddy, Sellman, and Sims each received a two-step increase at the end of their six-month probationary periods. In addition, based on their performance reviews, they all qualified for, and received, two-step salary increases each year they were eligible.7 6 In addition to the full-time DDPs, DDS employs over 60 hourly, part-time medical consultants who perform similar work to DDPs. These consultants are not subject to the Merit System: their hourly salary is uniformly set by DDS and they do not receive any state benefits. 7 Occasionally, the Governor orders merit-raise “freezes” for budgetary reasons. On January 1, 2009, then-Governor Bob Riley ordered a merit-raise freeze which remained in place until December 31, 2013. During that period, no state agency, including those funded by the 8 Case: 18-14433 Date Filed: 04/02/2020 Page: 9 of 23 In August 2015, Reddy learned that Sims was earning a higher salary. She shared her concerns with Sellman, and together they made a formal grievance to the current DDS Director, Jim Methvin. Methvin investigated and determined that their grievance was “unfounded.” In his September 18, 2015 letter to Reddy and Sellman regarding their grievance, Methvin explained the factors DDS considers in recommending that an applicant receive an above the minimum initial salary: (1) The doctor’s current clinical work. It is important to determine whether the doctor is working in a clinical setting providing medical treatment and interacting with patients[;] (2) Past work experience. This can be experience with DDS and other employers[;] (3) Communication skills. The doctor must work one-on-one with disability examiners and DDS medical staff[;] (4) Overall medical knowledge[;] and . . . [(5) the chosen candidate’s current salary].8 Tommy Warren, the Director of DDS at the time of Reddy’s and Sellman’s appointments, and Norman Ippolito, the DDS Director at the time of Sims’s appointment, confirmed they considered these factors in recommending appointment above the minimum step of the applicable pay grade. federal government, could issue any merits raises. On January 1, 2014, employees were once again eligible for raises, but could not increase their steps retroactively. Accordingly, Reddy and Sellman were not eligible to receive step increases from 2009 through 2014. Without the freeze, Reddy and Sellman would have reached Step 18 by 2019. Because of the freeze, they cannot reach Step 18 until 2024. Sims reached Step 18 in 2016. 8 Reddy and Sellman never disputed that Sims’s current income was higher than theirs at the time they applied for the DDP position. All three received (at least) the maximum-allowable initial salaries according to their current salaries and the SPD rules. In fact (and inexplicably), Reddy received a salary greater than the maximum allowable based on her application. 9 Case: 18-14433 Date Filed: 04/02/2020 Page: 10 of 23 In particular, whether a physician, at the time of his or her appointment works in a clinical setting (i.e. providing medical treatment to and interacting with patients) is “extremely important” in considering an above-the-minimum appointment. At the time of her appointment, Reddy had not performed clinical work since her retirement from private practice four years prior.9 Similarly, Sellman had not performed clinical work for 12 years prior to her appointment. In contrast, at the time he was appointed, Sims was seeing patients at his private practice—as he had since the mid-1990s. Another consideration in determining the applicant’s initial salary is the applicant’s specialty and whether DDS struggles to recruit and retain physicians in that field. According to Ippolito and Methvin, DDS has difficulty recruiting and retaining psychiatrists, such as Sims. Further, DDS benefits from having a fulltime psychiatrist to evaluate mental health claims, especially a psychiatrist who has as much experience with such claims as Sims. On the other hand, Reddy and Sellman did not have a specialization that DDS had difficulty recruiting. 9 In her response to DOE’s motion to dismiss, Reddy argued that she performed clinical work in her position as a clinical research coordinator at UAB. But Reddy’s testimony concerning her job responsibilities in that role belies her assertion. She testified that she reviewed patient records, talked to patients, performed lab data, and performed cost studies. Reddy did not diagnose or otherwise provide medical care to patients as a physician. Reddy did perform some clinical work every other Saturday as a diagnostician at the VA, but she only began that work a few months before joining DDS. 10 Case: 18-14433 Date Filed: 04/02/2020 Page: 11 of 23 On November 16, 2016, Reddy and Sellman filed the underlying complaint against DOE. They alleged DOE discriminated against them on the basis of their sex by failing to pay them the same salary as Sims, who performed similar work. After discovery, Reddy, Sellman, and DOE filed cross-motions for summary judgment. DOE asserted, in relevant part, that Reddy and Sellman were not entitled to relief because the Alabama Merit System and factors other than sex explained the pay discrepancy—including clinical experience, experience with DDS, and current salary upon hire.