United States Fourth Circuit

In a Title VII and 42 U.S.C. section 1981 action arising from defendant's refusal to hire plaintiff, dismissal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and for failure to state a section 1981 claim is affirmed in part and vacated in part where: 1) section 213(f) of the Health Professions Education Partnerships Act does not bar Title VII claims by applicants to the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC); 2) the waiver of sovereign immunity granted by section 2000e-16(a) does not encompass the PHSCC, and thus, neither commissioned officers nor applicants to the PHSCC may bring Title VII claims; and 3) plaintiff's section 1981 claim was properly dismissed since that statute does not provide a remedy against federal officials. The case is vacated and remanded in order to determine whether plaintiff can bring a cognizable Title VII claim considering that the hiring process for PHSCC involves both the PHSCC and an executive agency.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/06/2008
• Published 05/06/2008

Judges

• Before MOTZ and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges, and LEONIE M. BRINKEMA, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974,ARGUED:  David Joseph Arkush, Public Justice, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Supporting Appellant.  Melanie L. Glickson, Office of the United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.   ON BRIEF:  Steven H. Goldblatt, Director, Ari Hershowitz, Student, Gregory J. Langlois, Student Counsel, Georgetown University Law Center, Appellate Litigation Program, Washington, D.C., for Amicus Supporting Appellant.  Rod J. Rosenstein, United States Attorney, Neil R. White, Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.