Court Opinion

ID: 9534826
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:42:58.730399+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:32:44.365797
License: Public Domain

MULLARKEY, Justice,
dissenting:
Although I agree with the majority’s formulation of the four-step analysis used to examine Kemp’s First Amendment claim, I do not agree with the application of that test to the facts of this case. In addition, I would address Kemp’s due process claims and hold that CSU’s actions violated Kemp’s procedural due process rights. Accordingly, I respectfully dissent.
In this case Kemp alleged that she suffered racial and sexual discrimination both at work and during the grievance procedure. Kemp’s husband wrote a letter to Senator Armstrong in connection with Kemp’s complaint of racial and sexual discrimination before Colorado State University’s (CSU’s) Equal Employment Opportunity Office (EEO) and suggested that Senator Armstrong investigate “possible civil rights violations.” The letter referred to “irregularities practiced by the EEO office” during the grievance proceedings and pointed out that a university official had suggested to Kemp that she quietly resign. See maj. op. at n. 4 (full text of letter). The letter to Senator Armstrong also included a complaint from another CSU employee alleging discrimination.
CSU “voided” Kemp’s grievance because she contacted Senator Armstrong after completion of the hearing but before the hearing panel issued its decision. In its decision, the hearing panel found that Kemp’s workplace was organized in a way that promoted both institutional sexism and racism.1 The panel recommended, in addition to transferring Kemp to a comparable position elsewhere in the Extension Service, that Kemp’s office review its personnel policies with the aid of an outside reviewer. Because the grievance was voided, however, the panel’s decision had no effect.
Under the four-part test adopted by the majority, Kemp must first show that her speech “touched upon a matter of public concern.” Maj. op. at 502 (quoting Con-nick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 149, 103 S.Ct. 1684, 1691, 75 L.Ed.2d 708 (1983)). In this case Kemp’s speech directly addressed a matter of extreme public concern. Allegations of race- and sex-based discrimination by a government employer are “a matter inherently of public concern.” Id. at 148 n. 8, 103 S.Ct. at 1691 n. 8 (discussing Givhan v. Western Line Consolidated School District, 439 U.S. 410, 99 S.Ct. 693, 58 L.Ed.2d 619 (1979)).
The crucial question in this case is whether the State has met its burden of showing that its interest in maintaining the integrity of its grievance procedure outweighs Kemp’s interests, “as a citizen, in commenting upon matters of public concern.” Maj. op. at 502 (quoting Pickering v. Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563, 568, *50788 S.Ct. 1731, 1734, 20 L.Ed.2d 811 (1968)). The State argues, and the majority agrees, that Kemp violated CSU’s grievance procedure by contacting an outside individual after choosing the formal, closed proceeding to pursue her discrimination complaint. The majority concludes that the State’s interest in the integrity of its procedure, which Kemp allegedly violated, outweighs Kemp’s interests in commenting upon the racial and sexual discrimination she allegedly suffered.2 I disagree.
Initially, I note that CSU’s grievance procedure manual contained no prohibition preventing Kemp from contacting Senator Armstrong. CSU’s grievance manual, in describing its policy, merely states: “Although the use of this procedure may obviate the necessity for complainants to resort to outside procedures in some cases, complainants may pursue remedies in other agencies and the courts while simultaneously invoking the procedure informally.” The manual does not state that an employee who chooses to file a formal complaint may not seek remedies in other agencies or courts during the formal procedure. Moreover, even if this procedure prevents complainants who file formal complaints from simultaneously pursuing remedies in other agencies or courts, the provision does not prohibit Kemp from writing her senator. Senator Armstrong is not an agency or court.
The majority, without analysis, also chooses the most restrictive definition of a “closed” hearing: that “closed” means no outside forces may be involved in the proceedings until after the EEO has reached a decision. As the majority concedes, however, the manual does not define what a “closed” hearing is. Kemp argues that the hearing was completed before she contacted Senator Armstrong and that the “closed” hearing restriction did not continue until the panel rendered its decision. Given the absence of any definition of “closed” hearing, Kemp’s construction is not unreasonable and it is consistent with language in the policy indicating the panel will issue its decision within ten days “after the close of the hearing.” The manual also does not specify sanctions for failure to follow the procedure for a “closed” hearing: When CSU wanted to impose sanctions elsewhere in the manual, it did so expressly. Therefore, it is unfair to read into the manual such a drastic sanction as the voidance of the grievance where neither guidelines for a “closed” hearing nor any sanctions are specified.
In this case, then, I would conclude that the integrity of the grievance procedure was not impugned. Kemp violated no regulations justifying the State’s terminating her grievance proceeding. In addition, if the State had a strong interest in the integrity of its grievance procedure, the State could have issued more specific guidelines to govern the procedure. The State’s interest in maintaining the integrity of the grievance procedure in this case therefore is minimal.
In concluding that the State’s interest outweighed Kemp's interest, the majority also emphasizes that Kemp, in the letter to Senator Armstrong, sought help in her dispute with CSU rather than to communicate a racial and sexual discrimination problem to the public. Maj. op. at 504-505. Kemp’s primary purpose of alerting Senator Armstrong to her alleged problems with racial and sexual discrimination at work and during the grievance proceedings, however, does not resolve the balancing of interests in the State’s favor. The fact that the employee has a personal stake in the controversy that is the subject of the speech in question does not mean that the State’s interest in fulfilling its responsibilities to the public outweighs the employee’s interests in commenting upon matters of public concern.3 Rode v. Del-*508larciprete, 845 F.2d 1195, 1202 (3d Cir. 1988) (holding that an employee suspended because of the employee’s participation in an interview concerning her employment problems with a state police department “did not impermissibly affect the State’s interest in the efficiency and performance of the police department” and that the employee therefore was entitled to damages arising from the suspension).
In addition, in balancing Kemp’s interests against those of the State, the majority, relying heavily on Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138, 103 S.Ct. 1684, sidesteps several important factors for determining whether the State’s interest outweighs Kemp’s interests. Most importantly, the majority bypasses the importance of the content of Kemp’s statements, the crucial factor in balancing the State's and the employee’s interests. Connick, 461 U.S. at 150, 152, 103 S.Ct. at 1691, 1693 (“the State’s burden in justifying a particular [action] varies depending upon the nature of the employee’s expression_ We caution that a stronger showing [of the employer’s justification for its actions in response to the employee’s speech] may be necessary if the employee’s speech more substantially involve[s] matters of public concern.”). All of the statements for which Kemp seeks protection concerned alleged racial and sexual discrimination, a matter of inherently public concern. In Connick, on the other hand, all but one question of fourteen questions on the employee’s questionnaire dealt with matters not of public concern. Id. at 148, 103 S.Ct. at 1690.
The Supreme Court also emphasized that the employee in Connick did not seek in distributing the questionnaire to bring to light any “breach of public trust.” Id. at 148, 103 S.Ct. at 1690. The Connick employee’s questions, all but one of which dealt with internal office policy, focused on “gathering] ammunition for another round of controversy with her superiors.” Id. The situation in this case is altogether different. It is a breach of the public trust when a government employer practices racial and sexual discrimination and Kemp’s letter to Senator Armstrong dealt exclusively with allegations of such discrimination.
There also is no evidence that Kemp’s letter reduced her abilities to perform her duties at work, nor is there any evidence that Kemp’s speech disrupted her workplace, both important considerations in Connick. Id. at 151-52, 103 S.Ct. at 1692-93. Kemp, unlike the plaintiff in Connick, did not exercise her right of speech while at work. Id. at 153, 103 S.Ct. at 1693. As discussed above, the letter on behalf of Kemp to Senator Armstrong also did not violate any State policy. Id. at 153 n. 14, 103 S.Ct. at 1693 n. 14 (“The violation of such a rule would strengthen [the State’s] position.”) (citation omitted).
When all of these relevant factors are considered, I believe Kemp’s interests in commenting upon racial and sexual discrimination at work and during the grievance procedure outweigh the State’s interest in maintaining the integrity of its grievance procedure in this case. The two remaining issues from the four-part test adopted by the majority are questions of fact not before this court. Thus, I would reverse the judgment of the court of appeals with directions to remand the case to the trial court for resolution of the remaining issues of the majority’s four-part test.
The majority also does not address the resolution of the plaintiff’s due process claims. I would hold that CSU’s actions violated Kemp’s right to due process.4
This court previously has held that a public employer’s failure to provide an employee with the benefits of a procedure as required by policies which it has adopted is a violation of the employee’s procedural due process rights. Department of Health v. Donahue, 690 P.2d 243, 249 (Colo.1984). In Donahue, this court found that the Department of Health’s failure to accord an *509employee with a predisciplinary hearing as required by a personnel rule was a violation of that employee’s procedural due process rights. We stated: “When the state, however, promulgates a regulation that imposes on governmental departments more stringent standards than are constitutionally required, due process of law requires those departments to adhere to those standards in discharging employees.” Id. Once the State promulgated the rule, the employee had a right to that procedure before being discharged. The rule was binding until amended and was enforceable by an employee to whom it applied. See also Ness v. Glasscock, 781 P.2d 137 (Colo.Ct.App.1989) (police officer had right to be terminated only after strict compliance with the applicable termination procedures). All ambiguities in the policy should be construed against CSU as the drafter of the policy.
The grievance procedure involved in this case was approved by the State Board of Agriculture which oversees the operation of CSU. Once approved and adopted, the procedure became binding upon CSU. Thus, as in Donahue, Kemp had the right to have her grievance heard pursuant to the procedure. As discussed above, Kemp’s letter to Senator Armstrong did not violate the grievance procedure. CSU’s termination of Kemp’s grievance proceedings thus violated Kemp’s right to procedural due process as required by CSU’s grievance procedure manual. In addition, even if Kemp violated the grievance procedure, the policy does not specify that such violation would result in the forfeiture of Kemp’s right to pursue the proceeding altogether. Because of the importance of Kemp’s right to have her grievance heard, I see no reason to read such a harsh penalty into the terms of the grievance procedure.
For the foregoing reasons, I respectfully dissent.
LOHR and QUINN, JJ., join in this dissent.

. Although Kemp’s grievance procedure was voided prior to the hearing panel's issuing its decision, the panel had reached its decision pri- or to the voiding of the procedure and the decision is part of the record in this case. (Plaintiff's Exhibit 11).

. The majority reasons that, because Kemp was given a choice of proceedings, her interest in commenting upon the racial and sexual discrimination that she allegedly suffered is "slight." It is unclear, especially in light of Kemp's reference to "irregularities" in the process and the suggestion that Kemp resign, why Kemp’s having a choice of proceedings renders her interest in commenting upon this alleged discrimination “slight."

. It should again be noted here that Kemp enclosed another employee's complaint alleging *508previous discrimination at CSU in her letter to Senator Armstrong.

. Although the reviewing court did not address Kemp’s due process claims, this court may still address this issue since the parties raised the issue in their trial court pleadings. Patterson v. Cronin, 650 P.2d 531, 535 n. 9 (Colo.1982).