Sherry Ross v. Jefferson County Department of Health
701 F.3d 655
| 11th Cir. | 2012Background
- Ross, a former dental assistant with the Jefferson County Health Department, alleged disability discrimination under ADA and race discrimination under Title VII.
- She claimed the Health Department approved FMLA leave but later refused a reasonable accommodation, denied light duty, and terminated her for using FMLA leave.
- She alleged a similarly situated white coworker (Jennifer Glover) was not terminated after exhausting leave.
- The district court granted summary judgment for immunity and, alternatively, for failure to request an accommodation; it also ruled Ross waived racial discrimination claims.
- The appellate court sua sponte reconsidered and affirmed immunity and waiver, rejecting liability under Title I and addressing the race-discrimination issue.
- The Health Department is treated as the state for Eleventh Amendment purposes, and injunctive relief could not lie against a state agency via the Health Department alone.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Is the Health Department immune from disability discrimination claims under the Eleventh Amendment? | Ross argued not immune; sought relief under ADA. | Health Department is a state entity/arm of the state immune from Title I claims. | Yes, immune from disability-discrimination claims under Eleventh Amendment. |
| Did Ross waive her racial discrimination claim under Title VII? | Ross asserted racial discrimination; argued it remained claimable. | Ross conceded race had no relation to termination; claim waived. | Ross waived the racial-discrimination claim. |
Key Cases Cited
- Board of Trustees of Univ. of Ala. v. Garrett, 531 U.S. 356 (2001) (Eleventh Amendment immunity applies to state and state-agency defendants; Congress did not validly abrogate Title I.)
- Manders v. Lee, 338 F.3d 1304 (11th Cir. 2003) (Four-factor test for determining state-entity immunity; control and funding considerations.)
- Versiglio v. Bd. of Dental Exam’rs of Ala., 686 F.3d 1290 (11th Cir. 2012) (State treatment of the entity as an arm of the state governs immunity.)
- Regents of the Univ. of Calif. v. Doe, 519 U.S. 425 (1997) (State status and agency treatment inform arm-of-the-state analysis.)
- Tuveson v. Fla. Governor’s Council on Indian Affairs, Inc., 734 F.2d 730 (11th Cir. 1984) (State-actor analysis in immunity determinations.)
- McMillian v. Monroe Cnty., 520 U.S. 781 (1997) (Funding and control factors do not alone defeat immunity.)
- Silverberg v. Paine, Webber, Jackson & Curtis, Inc., 710 F.2d 678 (11th Cir. 1983) (Considerations in state-entity immunity analysis (courts’ treatment matters).)