Cassel, J.
A nurse formerly employed by the State of Nebraska filed suit against a supervisor who terminated her employment, alleging violations of the 1st and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The supervisor asserted that she was entitled to qualified immunity and moved for summary judgment. The district court denied the motion, and the supervisor seeks an immediate appeal. We conclude that the employee did not establish a viable violation of her 14th Amendment rights and that the supervisor is entitled to qualified immunity on that claim. We reverse the district court's order to the extent that it denied the supervisor qualified immunity on the 14th Amendment claim. Because the employee's alleged First Amendment claim necessitates resolving a fact-related dispute, we conclude that the supervisor's appeal is not immediately reviewable under the collateral order doctrine on this issue and we dismiss the appeal as to this issue.
In June 2002, Jeanette Carney began her employment as a "Community Health Nurse III" with Every Woman Matters, a program of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Her job duties included initiating a Medicaid treatment application upon receipt of documentation of a qualifying diagnosis from a physician, verifying that a potential recipient met the eligibility requirements under the Every Woman Matters policies and protocols, and
In November 2004, Jacquelyn Miller became a deputy director at DHHS. At all relevant times, Miller was either Carney's second- or third-line supervisor. Melissa Leypoldt was Carney's immediate supervisor from June 2002 until June 20, 2006, and Leypoldt's immediate supervisor was Kathy Ward. Miller was Ward's immediate supervisor.
On several occasions in 2005, Carney informed Miller of issues relating to the Every Woman Matters program. Carney told Miller that certain individuals who had been determined to be eligible for Medicaid were disqualified by Leypoldt. In May, Carney wrote to and spoke with Miller regarding Leypoldt's removal of an individual from Medicaid eligibility during the midst of treatment, which Carney claimed was contrary to law and regulation. In December, she spoke with Miller about Leypoldt's alleged misapplication of statutes, regulations, and policies.
On February 10, 2006, Leypoldt placed Carney on investigatory suspension with pay. According to the suspension letter, Leypoldt was concerned about Carney's judgment in approving claims for payment of medical expenses. On February 16, Carney filed a grievance regarding the suspension. Following a hearing, the hearing officer ultimately found, among other things, that DHHS had properly applied the provisions of the labor contract with regard to Carney's investigatory suspension and had acted in good faith and not exceeded its authority in suspending Carney.
On March 16, 2006, Carney was served with a "Written Notice of Allegations." The allegations included that Carney failed to consistently follow program protocols for assessing and certifying individuals for Medicaid, that she inappropriately extended eligibility for Medicaid benefits without the proper documentation to make an informed decision, that she used her state e-mail for personal reasons, and that she used her state computer and Internet access for purposes unrelated to her work. Leypoldt noted on the document that "Carney refused to sign stating[,] `This is retaliation.'"
On May 5, 2006, Carney filed a charge of discrimination with the Nebraska Equal Opportunity Commission (NEOC) alleging retaliation, discrimination based on disability, and whistleblower violations. She claimed that beginning in approximately 2003, she made multiple requests to work from home as an accommodation due to her disability and the disability of her husband. Carney also stated that Leypoldt asked her to violate "Nebraska Code 469," that Carney refused, that Carney reported Leypoldt to Medicaid, and that Carney was "written up" by Leypoldt as a result. Carney further stated that she reported Leypoldt's use of money to Nebraska's Auditor of Public Accounts in March 2006 and reported Leypoldt's overruling of doctors' decisions about cancer treatment to Nebraska's Board of Nursing in approximately April.
On June 19, 2006, a notice of discipline was issued to Carney based on her failure to consistently follow program protocols for assessing and certifying clients for Medicaid under the Medicaid treatment program, her inappropriately extending eligibility for Medicaid benefits without proper documentation, and her inappropriate use of the worksite computer. The notice of discipline subjected her to a salary reduction and 6 months' probation. Carney filed a grievance. Following a hearing, the hearing officer found that the discipline was not based on just cause and
On July 10, 2006, Carney filed a third grievance, alleging retaliation, disrespectful treatment, and discrimination. Following a hearing, the hearing officer found that DHHS had not violated the labor contract and had not discriminated against Carney. The hearing officer reasoned that although the majority of employees are allowed to work from home, "it is management's right to approve/disapprove a request to work from home" and that "management has chosen to display close supervision of [Carney] and has denied her request to work at home based on this."
On August 2, 2006, Carney filed a second charge with the NEOC against DHHS alleging retaliation and discrimination based on disability. She amended the charge on January 3, 2007, to add claims of disability by association and failure to accommodate.
On December 26, 2006, Carney submitted an "Application for Work at Home" for the first time. On January 8, 2007, she sent an e-mail to Miller and others complaining that she was being punished and retaliated against. On January 11, Carney sent Ward an e-mail at the end of the day stating: "`Everything I did here today I could have done from anywhere else in the world. Including my home.'" On that same day, a coworker sent Ward an e-mail complaining about difficulty in getting Carney to cover the nurses' voicemail box.
On January 29, 2007, Carney sent Miller an e-mail regarding a client's not being sent an application from the Every Woman Matters program and, as a result, having her wages garnished to pay for tests which should have been covered by the program. On February 13, Carney sent an e-mail to Miller which began:
Carney then stated that she overheard the "`host'" of a conference call with the "CDC" tell Leypoldt that Nebraska had not participated in the last three calls. In another e-mail to Miller on the same date, Carney complained about a misapplication of policy by Leypoldt with regard to women diagnosed with "HPV."
On February 20, 2007, Carney communicated to Miller further alleged breaches of policy application by Leypoldt and Ward. On February 21, Carney's work computer was audited for usage for the period of January 31 through February 21. Results showed that Carney used her state e-mail account and state computer for personal purposes.
On March 12, 2007, Miller denied Carney's December 2006 home office request.
On March 22, 2007, Ward gave Carney a "Written Notice of Allegations." The document stated that Carney's behavior was causing continuous disruption in the workplace, resulting in a failure to maintain appropriate working relationships with coworkers and supervisors. It identified e-mails sent by Carney indicating intent to cause disruption. Another allegation in
On May 1, 2007, Ward received an e-mail from Carney asking why Carney was not allowed to work at home. Ward responded that she had concerns about Carney's work performance and was not willing to have her work independently at home.
On July 12, 2007, a coworker reported to Ward that she was helping Carney enter patient data from file drawers assigned to Carney and that some documents dated back to May 23. The timeline standard for data entry was 2 weeks from the date that documents were received.
On July 25, 2007, Carney met with Ward, Miller, and a representative from human resources and was given her "Notice of Discipline — Termination." Miller ultimately made the decision to terminate Carney's employment.
On June 11, 2008, the NEOC found that the evidence was insufficient to support Carney's allegations of discrimination and made determinations of "no reasonable cause" on each of Carney's cases.
On July 18, 2011, Carney filed a lawsuit against Miller in Miller's individual capacity. She filed an amended complaint on October 28. Carney stated that she brought the action to redress her civil rights under (1) the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing protection for free speech; (2) the 14th Amendment, providing for due process and equal protection; (3) 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2006), providing for redress of deprivation of her civil rights and providing for damages; (4) 42 U.S.C. § 1988 (2006), providing for attorney fees; and (5) the common law of Nebraska, providing for protections from any deprivation of rights. She subsequently moved to dismiss all due process claims and reserved for trial the claims involving First Amendment speech and retaliation and equal protection under the federal and state Constitutions.
Carney alleged that she spoke out on matters of public concern by opposing wrongful cancellation of services to clients and by filing grievances and claims of discrimination. She alleged that she was treated differently than similarly situated employees who had not opposed unlawful activity. Carney alleged that Miller knew at the time of Carney's termination of employment that Carney had been treated differently than other similarly situated employees who had not engaged in protected speech. Carney claimed that she had been subjected to retaliatory discipline actions because of the protected speech and that other similarly situated employees who had not engaged in protected speech were allowed to work at home, contrary to articulated policies.
Miller filed a motion to dismiss under Neb. Ct. R. Pldg. § 6-1112(b)(1) and (6). She alleged that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over her because as a state employee, she was entitled to claim qualified immunity. Miller also claimed that the amended complaint failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted and that some or all of the claims were barred by the statute of limitations. The district court overruled the motion.
Miller subsequently filed a responsive pleading and set forth a number of affirmative defenses. She alleged that her actions were objectively reasonable and that, therefore, as a state employee, she was entitled to the defense of qualified immunity. Miller again alleged that Carney's claims were barred by the statute of limitations. Miller subsequently moved for
Carney testified in a deposition that sometime in 2005 and also on February 10, 2006, she formed the opinion that Miller was violating her right of free speech. She testified that she first became aware that Miller had violated her right to equal protection in the spring of 2005 and February 10, 2006.
Evidence adduced during the summary judgment hearing established that Carney claimed Miller violated her constitutional right to free speech by providing advice to Ward and Leypoldt regarding preparation of the "Written Notice of Allegations," imposition of probation, and termination of Carney's employment. Carney asserted that Miller violated her constitutional right to equal protection by, among other things, not allowing her to work from home as other employees were allowed, consenting to the imposition of the "Written Notice of Allegations" and disciplinary action, consenting to require Carney to produce more documentation than other employees to be able to receive sick-time pay, communicating negative information to human resources to prevent Carney from being able to work at home, and terminating her employment. According to Carney, most employees who had been permitted to work from home did not fill out an application to do so. When asked what Miller did that violated Carney's right to equal protection, Carney answered, "She knew that I had requested reasonable accommodation, she knew that I had felt that I was singled out and treated differently, she knew that I felt that other women were being denied service, and she didn't do anything about it, and that's a violation."
On December 3, 2012, the court entered an order overruling Miller's motion for summary judgment. The court found that numerous material factual disputes existed, which prevented judgment as a matter of law. Specifically, the court stated:
Thus, the court overruled Miller's motion for summary judgment. Miller appealed.
Miller assigns that the district court erred when it failed to (1) conduct an appropriate qualified immunity analysis and (2) find that Carney's claims are barred by the statute of limitations.
An appellate court determines jurisdictional questions that do not involve a factual dispute as a matter of law.
The district court's denial of summary judgment on grounds of qualified immunity is subject to de novo review.
Before reaching the legal issues presented for review, it is the duty of an appellate court to determine whether it has jurisdiction over the matter before it, irrespective of whether the issue is raised by the parties.
An order denying summary judgment is not a final order under § 25-1902.
The collateral order doctrine is an exception to the final order rule.
Qualified immunity provides a shield from liability for public officials sued under § 1983 in their individual capacity,
In order to determine whether a case presents an order reviewable under the collateral order doctrine, an appellate court engages in a three-part inquiry.
We first consider whether Carney alleged a viable violation of a constitutional right. In Carney's complaint, she asserted violations of her 1st Amendment right to freedom of speech and her 14th Amendment right to equal protection under the law. She claimed that she spoke out on matters of public concern by opposing wrongful cancellation of services to clients and by filing grievances and claims of discrimination, that she was treated differently than similarly situated employees who had not opposed unlawful activity, and that Miller acted intentionally to deprive Carney of her rights to equal protection while engaging in protected speech. Carney further claimed that she had been subjected to retaliatory disciplinary actions because of protected speech, that other similarly situated employees who had not engaged in protected speech were allowed to work at home contrary to articulated policies, and that Miller willingly participated in the unlawful termination of Carney's employment despite knowing that the termination was a violation of equal protection.
The identification of protected conduct is a two-step process. As a threshold matter, the speech must have addressed a matter of public concern. Then, the interest of the employee in so speaking must be balanced against the interest of the State, as an employer, in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees.
A threshold question is whether the employee's speech may be fairly characterized as constituting speech on a matter of public concern.
The content, form, and context of a given statement must be considered in determining whether an employee's speech addresses a matter of public concern.
Carney's complaints about the cancellation of services to clients were made to Miller and were not aired in a public forum. First Amendment protection is not lost when a public employee communicates privately with his or her employer rather than choosing to spread his or her views before the public.
Carney claimed that her internal grievances and her claims filed with
"The fundamental question is whether the employee is seeking to vindicate personal interests or bring to light a matter of political, social, or other concern to the community."
Because we determined that Carney's speech on the cancellation of services to clients was a matter of public concern, we proceed to balance her employer's interest in "promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees."
We are not entirely clear on the basis for Carney's 14th Amendment claim, and unfortunately, her brief contains no argument concerning an alleged violation of that amendment. Carney does not assert in her complaint that she is a member of a protected class on the basis of her race, color, religion, sex, disability, or national origin. The district court stated in its order that whistleblower status has been recognized as a protected class, but the court made no finding regarding whether Carney was a whistleblower. We observe that the Fifth Circuit has rejected an argument that whistleblowers are a protected class for purposes of 42 U.S.C. § 1985 (2006).
Because Carney alleged a cognizable First Amendment violation, we must determine whether her free speech rights were clearly established at the time. "A Government official's conduct violates clearly established law when, at the time of the challenged conduct, `[t]he contours of [a] right [are] sufficiently clear' that every `reasonable official would have understood that what he [or she] is doing violates that right.'"
Finally, we reach the last step in the three-part inquiry into whether the collateral order doctrine applies.
The district court found, and we agree, that genuine issues of fact exist. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that "a defendant, entitled to invoke a qualified immunity defense, may not appeal a district court's summary judgment order insofar as that order determines whether or not the pretrial record sets forth a `genuine'
We conclude that Carney did not allege a viable violation of her 14th Amendment rights and that Miller is entitled to qualified immunity on that claim. We therefore reverse in part the district court's order denying Miller's motion for summary judgment. We conclude that Carney alleged a cognizable First Amendment violation and that the right was clearly established. However, we conclude that the district court's order denying Miller's motion for summary judgment on that issue is not immediately reviewable under the collateral order doctrine, because the matter presents factual issues and not a purely abstract issue of law.
REVERSED IN PART, AND IN PART DISMISSED.
