Appellant Edward Wojcik (“Wojcik”) and his wife, Debra, brought suit against the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission (“Lottery Commission”) and a handful of Lottery Commission officials for damages arising out of Wojcik’s termination as a Lottery Commission employee. After dismissing the claims against one defendant on Eleventh Amendment grounds, the district court granted the remaining defendants’ motion for summary judgment on all of the claims under federal law. 1 The leftover state-law claims were dismissed without prejudice. On appeal, Wo-jcik claims error in the district court’s Eleventh Amendment and summary judgment rulings. Finding none, we affirm.
I.
A.
We recite the facts in the light most favorable to appellant, drawing all reasonable inferences in his favor.
See McIntosh v. Antonino,
Wojcik was hired by the Lottery Commission in 1976. In 1999, he held the position of Field Service Manager in the Lottery Commission’s office in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. His employment history with the Lottery Commission was largely uneventful until August 30, 1999. On that day, he was confronted in the Fairhaven office by the Lottery Commission’s General Counsel, Internal Auditor, and Chief Investigator. These officials were accompanied by a Massachusetts state police officer.
Wojcik was interrogated concerning allegations that he had been playing scratch tickets in violation of a Massachusetts law that prohibits “any member or employee of the [Lottery] commission or ... any spouse, child, brother, sister or parent residing as a member of the same household in the principal place of abode of any member or employee of the commission” from purchasing a Massachusetts lottery ticket or a share of a ticket, and from being paid any prize from a lottery ticket. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 10, § 31.
*97 Wojcik was also interrogated concerning his possible knowledge of eleven books of scratch tickets that had recently been discovered missing from the Fairhaven office. At the end of the interrogation, the officials informed Wojcik that he was suspended without pay.
At the time of these events, the Lottery Commission was the object of intense media scrutiny caused by allegations of theft and embezzlement by Lottery Commission employees. The media also picked up on the story of the missing scratch tickets in the Fairhaven office and linked the story to the recent suspension of Wojcik and two other employees in the same office. Articles appeared in the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, New Bedford Standard Times, and Brockton Enterprise. The Lottery Commission’s stated position in the articles was that Wojcik and the others were under investigation for “violation of Lottery policies and procedures and applicable statutory provisions.”
Wojcik was a member of the Service Employees International Union, Local 254 (“Union” or “Local 254”), which had a collective-bargaining agreement with the Lottery Commission. Under that agreement, employees could not be terminated “without just cause.” According to Wojcik, immediately following his suspension, Local 254 contacted the Lottery Commission on Wojcik’s behalf, requesting specifics of the allegations against him, but the Lottery Commission provided no details, such as dates, places, and witness names.
On September 20, 1999, Wojcik received a letter of termination, signed by the Executive Director of the Lottery Commission, appellee Jay Mitchell. The letter states that Wojcik was terminated for “violation of Lottery policies and procedures and applicable statutory provisions.”
Again, publicity appeared in the news media. In particular, the Boston Globe and Boston Herald both reported that two Lottery Commission employees had been terminated and another had resigned under suspicion of stealing winning scratch tickets. The Lottery Commission’s official stance remained that Wojcik was terminated “for failing to meet standards and for violating lottery policies and procedures.”
Shortly after his termination, Wojcik filed a grievance through the Union to contest his termination and obtain a hearing on the allegations against him. After several months, during which Wojcik claims that the Lottery Commission failed to give him specific notice of the allegations against him, the Lottery Commission finally denied the grievance. Wojcik then filed for arbitration, as provided in the collective-bargaining agreement.
The arbitration hearings began on August 9, 2000, and continued on a scattered basis for several months. At the hearing, Wojcik had personal counsel representing him. The arbitration addressed only whether the Lottery had “just cause” under the collective-bargaining agreement to terminate Wojcik for playing lottery tickets; it did not address whether he had engaged in the theft. However, it is now undisputed that Wojcik did not steal lottery tickets and that he was not connected to the eleven missing books of scratch tickets. The arbitration proceedings were not open to the public.
On May 23, 2001, twenty-one months after the suspension, the arbitrator issued his decision. The arbitrator upheld the discharge, concluding that Wojcik had played scratch tickets in violation of both state law and an agreement he signed at the beginning of his employment with the Lottery Commission. In particular, the arbitrator credited the testimony of a Lottery Commission security officer and an administrative assistant from the Fairha- *98 ven office establishing that Wojcik and others played lottery scratch tickets on a frequent basis. The arbitrator concluded that Wojcik and others “chased books of tickets,” meaning that they kept purchasing tickets from a particular book until one of them won a prize or until they were told that another person had won a large prize from a ticket in that book. The arbitrator also found that Wojcik once hit a large prize and had his mother-in-law cash the ticket on his behalf. Finally, although Wo-jcik ultimately admitted to his wrongdoing, the arbitrator concluded that he had engaged in dishonesty by initially denying that he violated the prohibition on playing-lottery tickets.
Wojcik did not seek review of the arbitrator’s decision. See Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 150C, § 11 (providing grounds for vacatur of arbitrator’s award).
B.
Edward Wojcik and his wife filed the instant action in district court on June 30, 2000. They named as defendants the Lottery Commission; appellee Shannon O’Brien, the Massachusetts State Treasurer and Chairman of the Lottery Commission; Mitchell; and appellee Dwight Robson, a spokesperson for the Lottery Commission. The amended complaint contained claims for violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983; violation of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 12, § 111; defamation; tortious interference with contractual relations; invasion of privacy; and loss of consortium.
On February 23, 2001, the district court dismissed all claims against the Lottery Commission as barred by the Eleventh Amendment. Later, the district court also dismissed alL claims asserted against the remaining defendants in their official capacities.
Shortly after the arbitrator rendered his decision, the remaining defendants moved for summary judgment on all claims. On June 27, 2001, the district court, in a ruling from the bench, granted the motion for summary judgment as to the § 1983 claims. Exercising its discretion under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c), the district court also dismissed the remaining state-law claims without prejudice, giving Wojcik and his wife an opportunity to refile these claims in Massachusetts Superior Court. Although they did not avail themselves of this opportunity, a timely appeal to this Court followed.
II.
Wojcik seeks review of several of the district court’s rulings. He asserts error in the district court’s conclusion that the Lottery Commission is immune from suit under the Eleventh Amendment. He also challenges the district court’s grant of summary judgment with respect to each of his three claims of a constitutional violation.
A.
The standard of review is not in dispute. Whether the district court correctly applied the immunity doctrine under the Eleventh Amendment is a question of law that engenders
de novo
review on appeal.
Arecibo Cmty. Health Care, Inc. v. Puerto Rico,
Likewise, we review the district court’s ruling on summary judgment
de novo. Straughn v. Delta Air Lines, Inc.,
B.
As a general matter, “states are immune under the Eleventh Amendment from private suit in the federal courts, absent their consent.”
Greenless v. Almond,
To determine whether an entity is an “arm of the state” entitled to immunity, we apply a multi-factor analysis comprised of the following inquiries:
(1) whether the agency has the funding power to enable it to satisfy judgments without direct state participation or guarantees; (2) whether the agency’s function is governmental or proprietary; (3) whether the agency is separately incorporated; (4) whether the state exerts control over the agency, and if so, to what extent; (5) whether the agency has the power to sue, be sued, and enter contracts in its own name and right; (6) whether the agency’s property is subject to state taxation; and (7) whether the state has immunized itself from responsibility for the agency’s acts or omissions.
Metcalf & Eddy, Inc. v. P.R. Aqueduct & Sewer Auth.,
With respect to its ability to satisfy a judgment,
see Metcalf & Eddy,
As for whether the Lottery Commission’s “funetion[s][are] governmental or proprietary,”
Metcalf & Eddy,
The Lottery Commission exercises certain ancillary powers that also support this conclusion. For instance, the Lottery Commission has quasi-judicial powers to resolve disputes involving “any matter over which it has jurisdiction,' control or supervision,” Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 10, § 24, and its decisions in such disputes are subject to judicial review by the state courts pursuant to the Massachusetts Administrative Procedure Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 30A, § 14.
See Bretton,
It is also clear under Massachusetts law that the Lottery Commission “is [not] separately incorporated.”
Metcalf & Eddy,
Furthermore, the structure of the Lottery Commission reflects the significant degree of control the state retains over its operations.
See Metcalf & Eddy,
The Lottery Commission’s ability to enter into contracts is limited.
See Metcalf & Eddy,
Lastly, we detect nothing in Massachusetts law evincing the state’s, intention to immunize itself from responsibility for the Lottery Commission’s acts or omissions. See id.
Viewed in their totality, the relevant factors clearly point in the direction of recognizing the Lottery Commission as an “arm of the state” entitled to immunity under the Eleventh Amendment.
2
Appellant, however, disputes this conclusion by relying on a district court case which held that, under Rhode Island law, the Rhode Island Lottery Commission is not an “arm of the state” entitled to sovereign immunity.
R.I. ACLU v. R.I. Lottery Comm’n,
We are obviously not bound by the decisions of our lower courts.
See Calaf v. González,
Regardless of whether the Rhode Island decision is correct on its own facts, it is clearly distinguishable from the case at hand. There, the court held that the Rhode Island Lottery Commission “is fiscally and operationally autonomous from the State of Rhode Island.”
R.I. ACLU,
C.
Having determined that the Lottery Commission is immune from suit, we now turn to appellant’s federal constitutional claims against the individual appellees. Appellant advanced three federal claims, all under the umbrella of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. First, Wojcik contends that he was deprived of a protected property interest without due process. Second, he claims a deprivation of a protected liberty interest without due process. And third, he argues a violation of the constitutional guarantee of equal protection. We address each claim separately.
1.
In order to maintain a constitutional due process claim arising out of the termination of his employment, a public employee must first demonstrate that he has a reasonable expectation, arising out of a statute, policy, rule, or contract, that he will continue to be employed.
Perkins v. Bd. of Dirs.,
We determine the claim of a protected property interest “by reference to state law.”
Bishop v. Wood,
Our inquiry is not at an end, however. There remains the significant question of whether Wojcik was provided with the constitutionally adequate procedural safeguards. We conclude that he was. First, he was given an opportunity to respond to the allegations of misconduct pri- or to his termination.
See Loudermill,
2.
Wojcik argues next that the district court erroneously granted summary judgment on his constitutional liberty-interest claim. The gravamen of this claim is that appellees were responsible for the publication of false and harmful accusations that Wojcik was involved in the theft of lottery tickets.
It is beyond cavil that “defamation, even from the lips of a government actor, does not in and of itself transgress constitutionally assured rights.”
Pendleton v. Haverhill,
In order to successfully establish a claim for the deprivation of a liberty interest without due process, we require the employee to satisfy five elements. First, the alleged statements must level a “charge against [the employee] that might seriously damage his standing and associations in his community” and place his “good name, reputation, honor, or integrity ... at stake.”
Roth
In this case, there is no doubt that an allegation that Wojcik engaged in theft would be sufficiently stigmatizing to satisfy the first element of a liberty-interest claim. Likewise, there is no dispute that such a charge would be false: although Wojcik was found to have played scratch tickets in violation of state law, there was no evidence linking him to the eleven stolen books of tickets. The liberty-interest claim falters, however, at the third hurdle — the requirement that the stigmatizing statements were intentionally publicized by the government.
Wojcik has failed to adduce any evidence that the allegedly stigmatizing statements were disseminated by government actors in a formal setting.
See Silva,
3.
Finally, Wojcik contends that he had a viable equal protection claim based on the selective enforcement of the lottery-playing ban against him. The Supreme Court has “recognized successful equal protection claims brought by a ‘class of one,’ where [a] plaintiff alleges that [he] has been intentionally treated differently from others similarly situated and ... there is no rational basis for the difference in treatment.”
Village of Willowbrook v. Olech,
Wojcik argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment on the equal protection claim because it should have been up to the jury to decide whether there was a rational basis for the Lottery Commission to enforce a rule against Wojcik that allegedly had not been enforced against others. We find these contentions hollow and affirm the judgment of the district court.
The legal test we apply to the appellees’ conduct is an exceptionally deferential one. An equal protection claim will only succeed if the decision to treat an individual differently than those similarly situated is wholly “arbitrary or irrational.”
Me. Cent. R.R. Co. v. Bhd. of Maint. Way Employees,
To begin with, appellant’s claim of selective prosecution was presented to, and rejected by, the arbitrator in his termination grievance. The arbitrator concluded that there was “no credible evidence
*105
... to support [Wojcik’s] contention [that he had received] disparate treatment” from the Lottery Commission. The arbitrator found that the Lottery Commission introduced “significant evidence” during the arbitration hearing demonstrating “that [it had imposed] similar discipline” on others who played lottery games. Although the arbitrator’s factual findings are not dispositive, they may be entitled to great weight.
McDonald v. City of W. Branch,
As for appellees’ allegedly irrational and arbitrary motivation, Wojcik contends that they made the decision to terminate him in order to protect the “public perception” of the Lottery. Although there is some evi-dentiary support for such a claim, there is simply nothing irrational about acting on that basis. The success of the Lottery depends on a widely held belief that the game is fairly and honestly administered. People will not play the game (and no lottery revenues will be raised) if everyone believes that “the fix is in.” Thus, when Lottery Commission officials were notified that one of their offices appeared to be rife with scandal and corruption, the responsible officials rationally decided to take swift and visible action to restore the public’s confidence.
It is noteworthy, too, that appellees were acting on more than mere “perception[s].” Wojcik admits that he violated state law and the Lottery Commission’s rules: he played scratch tickets in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 10, § 31; he took advantage of his position to improve his chances of winning by playing only tickets off of rolls where there had not yet been a winning ticket; and he engaged in dishonesty by having his relative cash a winning ticket. Given such clear instances of abuse, we see nothing irrational motivating appellees’ actions, even though Wojcik was not responsible for outright theft.
III.
For the reasons given above, the judgment of the district court is affirmed. Costs are taxed against the appellant. See Fed. R.App. P. 39(a)(2).
Notes
. The district court granted summary judgment on Debra Wojcik’s federal claims on the ground that they were essentially premised on a loss of consortium.
See Tauriac v. Polaroid Corp.,
. The appellees offer no evidence either way as to the tax treatment of the Lottery Commission’s property.
See Metcalf & Eddy,
. Wojcik contends that some stigmatizing statements in the news media attributed to ''sources” were, in fact, statements made by, or authorized by, the appellees. However,
*104
the summary judgment protocol demands that Wojcik produce actual evidence in support of this claim. Since he offers only speculation, rather than hard facts, we can only view these statements as non-actionable "unauthorized ‘leaks.’ ”
Silva,
. In its ruling from the bench, the district court determined that Wojcik's liberty-interest claim is barred by the so-called
Parratt-Hudson
doctrine.
See Parratt
v.
Taylor,