PETER J. MESSITTE, District Judge.
Eileen Hylind won a jury verdict against Xerox Corporation on claims of sexual discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and the jury awarded her compensatory damages, subsequently capped at the statutory maximum of $300,000. The Court now addresses various post-trial motions of the parties.
Hylind has filed:
Xerox has filed:
The Court has considered the parties' briefs and has heard oral arguments as to the first two motions. The Court decides the other motions on the papers, finding a further hearing unnecessary. Local Rule 105.6 (D. Md.).
For the reasons that follow, Hylind's Motion for Economic Damages is
The Court set out the facts and history of this case in its Order of August 18, 2008 [Paper No. 341], when it addressed a previous set of post-trial motions. That factual recitation remains operative, and to the extent additional factual or procedural matters are relevant, the Court will refer to them in the course of this Opinion.
As a general rule, back pay is awarded to successful Title VII plaintiffs. Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 421-22, 95 S.Ct. 2362, 45 L.Ed.2d 280 (1975). This furthers the objectives of Congress in enacting Title VII to create incentives for employers to provide equality of employment opportunities and to make persons whole for injuries suffered on account of unlawful discrimination. Id. at 418-19, 95 S.Ct. 2362. An award of back pay ensures that victims of unlawful employment practices are "restored to a position where they would have been were it not for the unlawful discrimination.'" Id. at 421, 95 S.Ct. 2362. "To make the plaintiff whole, the award of back pay
With these objectives in mind, the Court calculates back pay in this case guided by four considerations: 1) the time period for which the back pay should be awarded, 2) the appropriate salary and fringe benefit rates for that period, 3) whether Xerox is entitled to an offset for amounts paid to Hylind as disability pay, and 4) the appropriate rates of pre-judgment and postjudgment interest.
Both parties accept that Xerox's conduct contributed to Hylind sustaining disabling migraine headaches in 1995 and affected her ability to work, such that she is clearly entitled to some amount of back pay. They dispute, however, the length of time for which Xerox's conduct contributed to her disability, and thus differ as to the appropriate period for which she should be awarded the back pay. Hylind contends that Xerox's conduct left her permanently disabled and unable to work, such that she is entitled to back pay from the time she stopped working at Xerox, i.e., 1995, through judgment in 2007, as well as front pay for the rest of her working life. Xerox submits that Hylind returned to her preincident ability to work by 1999, and that that year should be the cutoff date for any back pay.
As an initial matter. Hylind argues that the Court is obliged to give greater weight to the testimony of her treating physician over that of other medical experts in evaluating her medical condition, which is to say that the Court should give more credit to the testimony of her expert and treating physician, Dr. Blake, than to that of Xerox's expert. Dr. Ammerman. While it is true that testimony by treating physicians may be accorded greater weight in Social Security disability benefits cases, see 20 C.F.R. § 416.927(d)(2), this rule does not automatically transfer to other areas of the law where not mandated by statute or regulation. See Black & Decker Disability Plan v. Nord, 538 U.S. 822, 834, 123 S.Ct. 1965, 155 L.Ed.2d 1034 (2003) (rejecting application of "treating physician rule" in ERISA cases since not required by statute or relevant regulations). The treating physician rule is not mandated either under the language of Title VII nor under any relevant regulations, nor does there appear to be any Fourth Circuit caselaw mandating application of the rule in Title VII cases. In fact, the Fourth Circuit has declined to give dispositive weight to the conclusions of treating doctors in other contexts. See Nichols v. Ashland Hosp. Corp., 251 F.3d 496, 504 (4th Cir.2001) (determining in FMLA case that District Court was not bound to follow plaintiffs treating psychiatrist's opinion). The Court, therefore, declines to apply a rule according greater weight to the treating physician's testimony and will instead weigh the testimony of Hylind's and Xerox's medical experts based on the same factors that ordinarily affect the credibility and reliability of expert medical witnesses.
Reviewing the testimony of both Dr. Blake and Dr. Ammerman, the Court concludes that the period of disability attributable to Xerox's actionable conduct in this case, and thus the period of back pay, should be 8 years. In determining this
The Court finds Dr. Ammerman credible in his testimony that, based upon his experience. Hylind's disabling migraines would not last for the rest of her life, but that she would eventually return to her pre-1995 baseline level of work capability.
Dr. Blake's testimony also bears on the appropriate length of the period of back pay. Dr. Blake testified that, in her capacity as Hylind's physician, she cleared Hylind to work part-time for up to 20 hours per week in 1999. See Blake Test. (June 12, 2007) 48:5-:20, 88:16-:22. The Court finds the determination that Hylind could begin working up to 20 hours per week in 1999 credible since it reflected Dr. Blake's pre-litigation observations of Hylind made in a treatment context. This evidence also reflects, however, that Hylind's migraines, though exacerbated by Xerox's actions, were capable of improvement. The Court finds this testimony at odds with Hylind's contention that Xerox's conduct has left her permanently disabled. Finding that Hylind was steadily improving 4 years after the events sued upon in this case, the Court, in its discretion, considers 8 years to be the appropriate duration of the disability to attribute to Xerox's actionable conduct. Accordingly, the Court will award Hylind back pay for the years of 1995 to 2002.
Hylind believes that the Court should calculate its award of base salary based upon promotions she feels she would have received and sales goals she feels she would have met if the incidents in this case had not happened and she had continued working. Her numbers are based in large
Thus:
Based upon her W-2 forms, Hylind's annual earnings from 1991 through 1994 were $100,565, $56,670, $58,541, and $68,866, respectively. Using a 3% annual rate of increase, the Court converts these salaries into 1995 dollars, making the respective adjusted salaries $113,187, $61,925, $62,106, and $70,932. These salaries average out to a 1995 base salary of $77,037. For each of the 8 years subsequent to 1995, the Court will increase this base salary by 3% to account for inflation and wage growth.
As for lost benefits, the Court will add to each year's base salary a percentage of that base salary representing employer contributions to Hylind's 401(k) and her cash balance retirement account. For the 401(k). the contribution rate was 3% per year from 1995 to 2002. For the cash balance retirement account, the contribution was 5% per year from 1995 to 2002. Combined, these two percentages result in additional yearly benefits of 8% of salary.
Xerox argues that it is entitled to an offset against the back pay award for payments Hylind received under Xerox's disability plan, while Hylind argues that these payments were from a collateral source and therefore should not be offset against the back pay award. The Court
The "collateral source rule" provides that "when the victim of a tort receives payment for his injuries from a collateral source, that is, a source independent of the tortfeasor, the payment should not be deducted from the damages owed by the tortfeasor." Ward v. Allied Van Lines, Inc., 231 F.3d 135, 139 (4th Cir. 2000). Collateral funds are "those received from a source distinct from the employer." Szedlock v. Tenet, 61 Fed. Appx. 88, 93 (4th Cir.2003). In light of the "make-whole" purpose of the back pay award, "[i]f an employer's payment would not have been made had the employee continued working, it exceeds the damages necessary to make the plaintiff whole, and failure to offset it would necessarily lead to a windfall." Fariss v. Lynchburg Foundry, 769 F.2d 958, 966 (4th Cir.1985). "Otherwise, plaintiff would enjoy the rewards from the employer both of working and not working." Id. at 967.
Hylind has requested that the Court employ the five-part Allen test, which weighs various factors,
The evidence on this issue suggests that the disability payments received by Hylind came from Xerox. The disability plan was a benefit she received as an employee of Xerox, and she herself admitted that Xerox was the payor of the disability benefits, as reflected in her annual earnings statements. See Hylind Test. (June 14, 2007) 136:2-138:11. Beyond Hylind's suggestion that insurance companies provided the benefits—a suggestion that, even if true, would not necessarily require a finding that the funds came from a collateral
Hylind's annual disability payments were $34,819 ($2,901.55 per month). See Hylind Test. (Aug. 28, 2007) 88:21-:23; 100:19-101:3. While the take-home amount she received has fluctuated in some years due to various unrelated deduction or additions, the amount representing her disability pay has remained constant at $34,819. The Court will therefore use that amount as the offset amount.
The Court notes that Hylind has received disability pay up through the present, i.e., through September 2010. Although the Court has decided to offset the disability payments for the years 1995 to 2002—the back pay period—the Court will not offset any disability payments made after the back pay period, i.e., after 2002. As the Court emphasizes in footnote 2, supra, the determination of the back pay period is based solely upon the wrongful conduct at issue in this case and the applicable legal standards for back pay awards in Title VII cases. Emphatically, this does not mean that Hylind has not been and is not currently disabled due to causes outside the scope of this case, such as alleged
Pre-judgment interest is a matter within the court's discretion, taking into account the "make-whole" policy of Title VII. Maksymchuk v. Frank, 987 F.2d 1072, 1077 (4th Cir.1993) (quoting Albemarle, 422 U.S. at 421, 95 S.Ct. 2362). While not bound by state law, the court may choose to apply the interest rate provided for by state law. See Quesinberry v. Life. Ins. Co. of N. Am., 987 F.2d 1017, 1031 (4th Cir.1993) (upholding application of Virginia pre-judgment interest rate); E.E.O.C. v. Liggett & Myers Inc., 690 F.2d 1072, 1074 (4th Cir.1982) (upholding application of North Carolina pre-judgment interest rate). The legal rate of interest in Maryland is 6% per annum, Md. Const, art. III, § 57, which reflects the lost time-value of money in this State. Hylind has lost the time-value of considerable sums of money. The Court will therefore apply a 6% per annum rate for pre-judgment interest in this case.
In light of the "make-whole" purpose of Title VII, the Court will also compound the interest annually instead of awarding simple interest. "Common sense and the equities dictate an award of compound interest." Cooper v. Paychex, Inc., 960 F.Supp. 966, 975 (E.D.Va.1997) (Title VII case where court applied state pre-judgment interest rate but compounded interest to reflect fact that "an award of interest on interest, i.e., compound interest, is necessary to make [plaintiff] whole"), aff'd, 163 F.3d 598, 1998 WL 637274 (4th Cir.1998) (table decision). But for Xerox's conduct, Hylind would have had access to this money during the back pay period and would have been able to earn interest not only on the principal amounts, but also on accumulated interest. Compounding the interest reflects this economic reality and reasonably furthers the goal of placing Hylind in the position where she would otherwise have been.
Unlike pre-judgment interest, which is left to the Court's discretion, post-judgment interest is governed by statute, see 28 U.S.C. § 1961; Quesinberry, 987
Based on the above determinations, the Court calculates Hylind's back pay award as follows:
Offset Compensation + 6% Pre-judgment Interest Compensation Compounded Offset by Annually Base Salary Compensation Disability Pay Through (Adjusted 3% (Base Salary + ($34,819/ Judgment Year Annually) 8% Benefits) Year) (Sept. 2010) 1995 $77,037 $ 83,200 $48.381 $115,949 1996 $79,349 $ 85,696 $50,877 $115,029 1997 $81,729 $ 88,267 $53,448 $114,001 1998 $84,181 $ 90,915 $56,096 $112,877 1999 $86,706 $ 93,643 $58,824 $111,665 2000 $89,308 $ 96,452 $61,633 $110,376 2001 $91,987 $ 99,346 $64,527 $109,016 2002 $94,746 $102,326 $67,507 $107,596Total $896.509
The Court, then, awards Hylind $896,509 in back pay and will enter judgment in that amount in her favor with respect to economic damages.
Hylind seeks two types of injunctive relief. First, she seeks to enjoin Xerox from retaliating against her or any other Xerox employees (current or former) who testified on her behalf or otherwise supported her case. Second, she wants the Court to order Xerox to take company-wide steps to prevent situations like hers from occurring in the future. These steps would include; giving employees written "receipts" whenever they engage in protected activity; informing company employees about the receipt policy; notifying employees of the statute of limitations of potential legal claims they might have; encouraging employees who are not given receipts to file charges with the EEOC or some other appropriate administrative agency; allowing employees who engage in protected activities with respect to their managers to change managers; appointing an ombudsman to oversee discrimination policies; establishing a "hotline" for employees to make complaints of discrimination; keeping discrimination-related matters confidential
The Court declines to issue injunctive relief.
The Court understands it has certain discretion in this matter. "If the court finds that the respondent has intentionally engaged in or is intentionally engaging in an unlawful employment practice charged in the complaint, the court may enjoin the respondent from engaging in such unlawful employment practice, and order such affirmative action as may be appropriate." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(g)(1). "Injunctive relief is a matter left to the discretion of a trial court," though the trial court must "exercise its discretion in light of the prophylactic purposes of the Act to ensure that discrimination does not recur." Spencer v. General Elec. Co., 894 F.2d 651, 660 (4th Cir.1990). Injunctive relief is most appropriate "[i]n cases presenting abundant evidence of consistent past discrimination." See Cox v. Am. Cast Iron Pipe Co., 784 F.2d 1546, 1561 (11th Cir. 1986). Conversely, injunctive relief is least appropriate where there is "no indication that defendants have indulged in any similar discrimination in the past, or that they are likely to do so in the future," such as in a case which "appears to represent an isolated incident." See E.E.O.C. v. Financial Assurance, Inc., 624 F.Supp. 686, 695 (W.D.Mo.1985).
As to Hylind's request for an injunction preventing Xerox from retaliating against Hylind or those who helped her in this case, Title VII already prevents employers from retaliating against individuals who pursue or assist others in pursuing discrimination claims. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a) ("It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to discriminate against any of his employees or applicants for employment . . . 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."). This protection extends not just to current employees, but also to former employees. Robinson v. Shell Oil Co., 519 U.S. 337, 346, 117 S.Ct. 843, 136 L.Ed.2d 808 (1997). Absent evidence suggesting that Xerox intends to retaliate against Hylind or those who assisted her by participating in the suit, a further layer of protection in the form of an injunction is not necessary. See Does 1-7 v. Round Rock Indep. Sch. Dist., 540 F.Supp.2d 735, 745-46 (W.D.Tex.2007) (declining to grant an injunction which "would be nothing more than an injunction to `follow the law'" where it was unclear whether unlawful conduct would reoccur).
Hylind has suggested that Xerox can still retaliate against her by cutting off her disability benefits and that any decision to change or terminate her disability payments must be construed as retaliation. The Court, however, declines to rewrite the provisions of the disability plan or to dictate how it is to be administered. As indicated in footnote 2, supra, the Court makes no determination as to Hylind's continued eligibility for disability payments and leaves that determination to the plan administrator or other appropriate decisional authority in light of the terms and conditions of the plan, Hylind's medical status, applicable law, and any other relevant factors. Apart from this, again, Hylind remains protected against retaliation by both 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-3(a), as well as applicable provisions of the Employee
As for Hylind's request for an injunction requiring Xerox to set new company-wide policies and procedures for handling discrimination cases, the Court finds such global injunctive relief inappropriate. This was not a "pattern or practice" suit brought under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-6, and the suit did not address sex discrimination concerns at a company-wide level. Rather, the case focused on Hylind's singular experience. Wholesale injunctive relief might have been appropriate in a "pattern or practice" case or a class action with broad evidence shedding light upon company-wide conduct, if indeed there was any suggestion that Xerox had been engaged in widespread unlawful conduct. The unlawful conduct in the present case, however, was directed at only one individual, and it occurred over 15 years ago in a limited timeframe (early 1995) in a limited geographic area (suburban Maryland), and was committed by at most a few of Xerox's managers. In other words, this suit is not an appropriate vehicle for the type of broad injunction Hylind seeks. See Spencer, 894 F.2d at 660 (stating that "[t]his is not a case of systematic company-wide discrimination, but rather this case presents an isolated incident of one supervisor run amok" and declining to grant injunctive relief); Brown v. Trs. of Boston Univ., 891 F.2d 337, 361 (1st Cir.1989) (vacating as too broad injunction applying to all faculty members of school when plaintiff's case only "established that she alone had been the victim of sex discrimination").
To be sure, the Court recognizes that one of the purposes of Title VII is to prevent conduct such as that suffered by Hylind from occurring in the future. See Kolstad v. Am. Dental Ass'n, 527 U.S. 526, 546, 119 S.Ct. 2118, 144 L.Ed.2d 494 (1999) (noting "Title VII's objective of motivating employers to detect and deter Title VII violations") (quotation marks and brackets omitted). But that deterrence will certainly flow from the magnitude of the jury verdict and the Court's decision in this case. Hylind has been awarded $300,000 in compensatory damages and $896,509 in back pay, and Xerox now faces the further prospect of attorney's fees. Though not as direct as an injunction, substantial awards such as these unquestionably motivate companies to ensure that their employment practices conform with the law, lest they face similar judgments in the future. See Albemarle, 422 U.S. at 417-18, 95 S.Ct. 2362 (discussing how monetary judgments can provide "the spur or catalyst which causes employers and unions to self-examine and to self-evaluate their employment practices and to endeavor to eliminate, so far as possible, the last vestiges of an
Hylind has filed miscellaneous additional motions, including; Motion for the Court to Take Notice of New Legislation [Paper No. 353]. Motion for the Court to Take Judicial Notice of New Supreme Court Decision [Paper No. 372], and Motion for Sanctions (Paper No. 363). The first two seek various forms of relief, including permission for Hylind to amend her Complaint to add new claims, permission to reopen discovery and evidence, reconsideration of various prior decisions of the Court, and judgments notwithstanding the verdict (JNOVs) with respect to the claims for which the jury found in favor of Xerox and against Hylind. The final motion seeks sanctions against Xerox for alleged discovery violations. All these motions lack merit and may be denied with minimal discussion.
Hylind's first miscellaneous motion is based on the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(c)(3). That law altered the statute of limitations for filing claims of compensation discrimination. The present case, however, is not about compensation discrimination. Hylind's initial Complaint contained four counts: 1) hostile work environment sexual harassment; 2) quid pro quo sexual harassment; 3) retaliation; and 4) sex discrimination. There was no count for compensation discrimination. In any ease, to the extent that Hylind suggests she may have been discriminated against in her pay, she never was able to flesh out such a claim in a timely fashion and none of the Court's prior decisions addressed the interplay between discriminatory compensation claims and the statute of limitations. The Court finds no reason to amend any of its previous decisions in light of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Insofar as Hylind suggests the Act affects evidentiary matters, the Act deals only with the specific issue of the time for filing a compensation discrimination claim. It does not change or expand the rules of evidence, nor does it pertain to other types of claims. Finally, to the extent Hylind seeks leave to amend her Complaint to add new compensation discrimination claims, that request is denied. It is far too late to begin anew a case that began in this Court in January 2003 and is now at the post-trial stage. To quote the Court's Opinion of August 18, 2008 [Paper No. 340], which denied Hylind's previous post-trial motion to add claims, "[t]his case is over and will not be re-tried based on additional causes of action." Op. at 8. "This case has been fully litigated and is ready for closure." Id.
In her second miscellaneous motion. Hylind contends that the Supreme Court's decision in Gross v. FBL, Financial Services, ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 2343, 174 L.Ed.2d 119 (2009), renders improper one of the jury instructions given by the Court. Specifically, she claims the Court should not have given a "pretext" instruction to the jury (requiring it to find that Hylind's gender was the determinative or but-for reason for Xerox's negative employment action or actions), but, instead, should have given the jury a "mixed-motive" instruction (which would have allowed the jury to find that the negative employment action was based on a mix of lawful and unlawful reasons, but which also would have provided Xerox a defense to the effect that it would have taken the same action against Hylind even if the discriminatory factors had not been present). In Gross, the Supreme Court determined that a mixed-motive instruction is not appropriate in an Age Discrimination
In her Motion for Sanctions. Hylind claims Xerox committed various discovery violations over the life of the case. Many of these claims appear to have been previously raised and rejected. See September 30, 2004 Order [Paper No. 115]; December 5, 2006 Order [Paper No. 200]. They are rejected here again. To the extent this motion raises new claims, they are denied as untimely. See Brandt v. Vulcan, Inc., 30 F.3d 752, 756 (7th Cir. 1994) (noting that while sanctions rule "does not establish any time limits within which a motion for sanctions must be filed,. . . unreasonable delay may render such a motion untimely," and denying post-trial motion for sanctions based on discovery violations); Mercy v. County of Suffolk, New York, 748 F.2d 52, 56 (2d Cir.1984) (holding that a "motion for Rule 37 sanctions should be promptly made, thereby allowing the judge to rule on the matter when it is still fresh in his mind," and that "the motion should normally be deemed waived if it is not made prior to trial").
Summing up:
Plaintiff's Motion for Economic Damages [Paper No. 298] is
The Court will entertain a motion from Hylind's former attorney for attorney's fees, to be filed as expeditiously as possible.
A separate Order will
1991 1992 1993 1994 Average $ 100,565.00 $ 56,670.00 $ 58,541.00 $ 68,866.00 $ 71,160.50Actual salaries (1995 dollars): 1991 1992 1993 1994 Average $ 113,186.79 $ 61,924.84 $ 62,106.15 $ 70,931.98 $ 77,037.44Adjusted base salaries: 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Base amount $ 77,037.44 $ 77,037.44 $ 77,037.44 $ 77,037.44 $ 77,037.44 $ 77,037.44 $ 77,037.44 $ 77,037.44 With annual increase: $ 77,037.44 $ 79,348.56 $ 81,729.02 $ 84,180.89 $ 86,706.32 $ 89,307.51 $ 91,986.73 $ 94,746.33 With benefits: $ 83,200.44 $ 85,696.45 $ 88,267.34 $ 90,915.36 $ 93,642.82 $ 96,452.11 $ 99,345.67 $ 102,326.04 Disability offset: $ (34,819.00) $ (34,819.00) $ (34,819.00) $ (34,819.00) $ (34,819.00) $ (34,819.00) $ (34,819.00) $ (34,819.00) Net: $ 48,381.44 $ 50,877.45 $ 53,448.34 $ 56,096.36 $ 58,823.82 $ 61,633.11 $ 64,526.67 $ 67,507.04 With interest. $ 115,948.92 $ 115,029.02 $ 114,001.48 $ 112,876.90 $ 111,665.18 $ 110,375.51 $ 109,016.45 $ 107,595.97Total, with interest: $ 896,509.43 Annual increase%: 3.00% Pre-judgment interest%. 6.00% Benefits%: 8.00%
Upon Consideration of the various pending motions in this case, and the corresponding opposition thereto, it is, for the reasons stated in the accompanying Opinion, this 17th day of September, 2010
It is, for the reasons stated in the accompanying Opinion, this 17th day of September, 2010