PHILADELPHIA – A federal judge has labeled as moot a dismissal motion brought by the United States Postal Service (USPS), in response to a lawsuit filed by a former USPS worker who claimed he was discriminated against and fired for being gay and HIV-positive.
John Doe first filed a complaint on Dec. 13 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, versus the USPS and Postmaster General Megan Brennan, alleging wrongful termination based on disability and sexual orientation.
Doe said he began working for the USPS in 2007 as a letter carrier and alleges in his complaint that he was bullied, disciplined more harshly than other employees and experienced verbal abuse by co-workers, including being called a “fruitcake” and “homo.”
He alleged he was fired on Aug. 9 over allegations of harassment, for which he was later found not guilty.
On Feb. 14, the USPS and Brennan filed a motion to dismiss the complaint with prejudice for failure to state a claim, charging that exclusive remedies provided by Title VII and the Rehabilitation Act cover the plaintiff’s discrimination claims and neither defendant was personally involved in the conduct alleged.
Further, the defendants sought to dismiss the complaint for failure to (a) timely initiate the Equal Employment Opportunity process by making contact with an EEO counselor within 45 days of either receiving the Notice of Removal or its original effective date, and (b) exhaust the administrative process by waiting 180 days from the filing of the formal EEO complaint before filing the complaint in this Court.
In addition, the defendants claimed the head of the agency is the only proper defendant to Title VII and Rehabilitation Act claims, that punitive damages are not available under Title VII or the Rehabilitation Act against federal defendants, that the plaintiff failed to plausibly allege severe or pervasive discrimination that detrimentally affected him during his tenure with the postal service as is required to state a hostile work environment claim and finally, that the plaintiff failed to plausibly allege that he was terminated because of his alleged disability.
However, the plaintiff filed an amended complaint on Feb. 28, which removed the USPS as a defendant.
As a result, U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. rendered the dismissal motion as moot on March 4.
Doe seeks reinstatement, back and front pay, a trial by jury and all other just relief.
The plaintiff is represented by Justin Robinette of The Law Offices of Eric Shore, in Philadelphia.
The defendant is represented by Rebecca Santoro Melley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, also in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 5:19-cv-05885
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com