Opinion ID: 520377
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Parallel Title VII and Sec. 1983 Claims

Text: 12 The appellants argue that Title VII is the exclusive remedy for sex discrimination in employment, and therefore, that the district court erred by submitting to the jury Roberts' section 1983 claim based on a denial of equal protection. The Supreme Court has stated generally that Title VII does not deprive aggrieved parties of other remedies. Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, 421 U.S. 454, 461, 95 S.Ct. 1716, 1720, 44 L.Ed.2d 295 (1975). However, in Great Am. Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n v. Novotny, 442 U.S. 366, 378, 99 S.Ct. 2345, 2352, 60 L.Ed.2d 957 (1979), the Court held that section 1985(3) may not be invoked to redress violations of Title VII because section 1985(3) confers no substantive rights. Thus it cannot be invoked when the only right violated is the Title VII right to be free of discrimination in employment. Since Novotny, courts have attempted to determine whether its rule applies to actions under section 1983 as well. 13 The Ninth Circuit has not expressly decided this question but has implicitly recognized that Title VII and section 1983 are not mutually exclusive. See, e.g., Lowe v. City of Monrovia, 775 F.2d 998, 1010-11 (9th Cir.1985), as amended, 784 F.2d 1407 (9th Cir.1986) (Title VII and section 1983 claims of sex and race discrimination both considered without ruling on exclusivity of Title VII remedies); Padway v. Palches, 665 F.2d 965, 968-69 (9th Cir.1982) (Section 1983 claim of denials of due process and equal protection cognizable in case alleging Title VII violations as well). 14 We agree with the reasoning of those courts that have held that Title VII does not preempt an action under section 1983 for a violation of the fourteenth amendment. See Keller, 827 F.2d at 956-63; Ratliff v. City of Milwaukee, 795 F.2d 612, 623-24 (7th Cir.1986) (the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VII both grant public sector employees independent rights to be free of employment discrimination; a plaintiff may use section 1983 to escape the comprehensive scheme of Title VII even if the same facts suggest a violation of Title VII); Trigg v. Fort Wayne Community Schools, 766 F.2d 299, 301 (7th Cir.1985); Grano v. Department of Development, 637 F.2d 1073, 1075 (6th Cir.1980) (employee may sue under both Title VII and section 1983 when the section 1983 violation rests on a claim of infringement of rights guaranteed by the Constitution). Both the Fourth and Seventh Circuits distinguish Novotny on the ground that the employer in that case was a private entity, so there was no state action element giving rise to a separate constitutional claim cognizable under section 1985(3).