Palmer v. Napolitano, 867 F. Supp. 2d 120

Palmer was a contractor (BaseTech) on a CBP database modernization project.
BaseTech contracted with IBM, which contracted with CBP; Palmer was not a government employee.
In December 2009 Palmer was removed from the CBP project and placed on administrative leave; a coworker who was white remained.
EEOC proceedings showed DHS found Palmer was a contractor, not an employee; she filed suit in this court on November 30, 2011.
DHS moved to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6); the court held Palmer cannot sue DHS as a discrimination claimant because she was not a federal employee.
The court applied Spirides/Redd framework and concluded IBM controlled Palmer’s employment, not CBP, thus she was not an employee of the federal government.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Palmer is a federal employee for Title VII purposes	Palmer asserts equal protection/Title VII apply to contractors	Palmer was a contractor, not a federal employee	Palmer is not a federal employee (dismissal warranted)
Whether DHS is a proper defendant for a contractor-discrimination claim	Court should treat contractor discrimination the same as employee discrimination	As a contractor, Palmer cannot sue DHS; BaseTech is proper defendant	DHS not proper defendant; dismissal warranted
Whether Spirides/Redd framework supports employee status for Palmer	Contract status should not bar legal relief	Economic realities show contractor status; CBP did not control Palmer	Contractor status controls; no employee relationship; no Title VII claim against DHS

Spirides v. Reinhardt, 613 F.2d 826 (D.C. Cir. 1979) (controlling test for employee status under Title VII in federal employment)
Redd v. Summers, 232 F.3d 933 (D.C. Cir. 2000) (economic realities framework; four groups of factors for joint employment/independent contractor status)
Rand v. Sec’y of the Treasury, 816 F. Supp. 2d 70 (D.D.C. 2011) (court may consider contract incorporated documents on motion to dismiss)