Nikki Ballard v. Chattooga County Board of Tax Assessors , 615 F. App'x 621 ( 2015 )

Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 1 of 15
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 14-14475
________________________
D.C. Docket No. 4:12-cv-00012-HLM
NIKKI BALLARD,
CINDY CLARK,
Plaintiffs-Appellants
Cross Appellees,
versus
CHATTOOGA COUNTY BOARD OF TAX
ASSESSORS, CHATTOOGA COUNTY,
Defendants-Appellees
Cross Appellants.
________________________
Appeals from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Georgia
________________________
(July 7, 2015)
Before HULL, ANDERSON, and FARRIS,* Circuit Judges.
___________
* Honorable Jerome Farris, United States Circuit Judge for the Ninth Circuit, sitting by
designation.
Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 2 of 15
PER CURIAM:
This appeal raises two primary issues that have been resolved by two en
banc decisions of this Court. The first issue requires that we decide whether two
local governmental entities within the state of Georgia should be treated as a single
“employer” for purposes of Title VII and the Family and Medical Leave Act
(“FMLA”). This issue is controlled by our decision in Lyes v. City of Riviera
Beach, Florida, 166 F.3d 1332 (11th Cir. 1999) (en banc). The second issue
requires that we decide whether the Board of Assessors of Chattooga County,
Georgia (“Board”) is entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity from plaintiffs’
§ 1983 claims. This issue is controlled by our decision in Manders v. Lee, 338
F.3d 1304 (11th Cir. 2003) (en banc).
Because the issues in this case are clearly controlled by the above-mentioned
en banc decisions of this Court, this opinion is written only for the benefit of the
parties. We address each issue in turn.
I. PLAINTIFFS’ TITLE VII AND FMLA CLAIMS
FAIL BECAUSE PLAINTIFFS’ “EMPLOYER” EMPLOYS
LESS THAN THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES REQUIRED
FOR APPLICATION OF TITLE VII OR FMLA
Because the relevant facts were set forth comprehensively in the magistrate
judge’s Report and Recommendation (Docket 194) and in the district court’s Order
(Docket 198), we refer to the facts only as appropriate in our application of the law
2
Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 3 of 15
to the relevant facts. Both plaintiffs were employed by the Board, not by
Chattooga County. The Board employs fewer than fifteen employees, the required
number for applicability of Title VII, and far fewer than the requisite number for
applicability of FMLA. Plaintiffs’ argument that the Board employed at least
fifteen employees fails because the members of the Board itself are not employees.
Rather, they are the employer.
Plaintiffs can satisfy the numerosity requirement only if they could succeed
in their argument that the Board and the County constitute a single “employer” for
purposes of Title VII and FMLA. 1 However, plaintiffs’ argument fails because
plaintiffs cannot satisfy the test set forth in Lyes.
1
As a threshold matter, plaintiffs urge us to decline to entertain the merits of either the
single employer numerosity issue or the Eleventh Amendment issue. They argue that the district
court abused its discretion in allowing the Board to amend its pleadings after the magistrate
judge raised these issues. After careful consideration of the briefs, the record, and full
exploration at oral argument, we cannot conclude that there has been an abuse of discretion
under the particular facts and circumstances here, where the issue raised by the parties is closely
related to the issues raised by the magistrate judge; where the magistrate judge was led inevitably
to the new, closely-related issues by the plaintiffs’ own position with respect to the issue raised
by the parties; and where additional discovery was allowed and the new issues were fully briefed
by the parties. The cases relied on by plaintiffs are distinguished from the instant case, not only
by the foregoing facts, but also because the Board here is a public agency such that strong
federalism and comity concerns counsel against ignoring the fact that the Georgia legislature has
declared that such boards of tax assessors shall be separate entities and almost entirely
independent of the respective county governments. Moreover, with respect to the numerosity
issue, we note that it is an element of plaintiffs’ cause of action – not an affirmative defense –
and that it was pled only implicitly in plaintiffs’ complaint. And, with respect to the Eleventh
Amendment immunity issue, plaintiffs never argued in the district court that the Board’s failure
to assert it in its initial pleadings constituted a waiver. Indeed, even on appeal, the waiver
argument was neither raised in a straightforward manner nor briefed.
3
Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 4 of 15
The Lyes opinion summarized the test as follows:
To summarize, we hold that in assessing whether multiple
governmental entities are a single “employer” under Title VII, we
begin with the presumption that governmental subdivisions
denominated as separate and distinct under state law should not be
aggregated for purposes of Title VII. That presumption may be
rebutted by evidence establishing that a governmental entity was
structured with the purpose of evading the breach of federal
employment discrimination law. Absent an evasive purpose, the
presumption against aggregating separate public entities will control
the inquiry, unless it is clearly outweighed by factors manifestly
indicating that the public entities are so closely interrelated with
respect to control of the fundamental aspects of the employment
relationship that they should be counted together under Title VII.
The standard we adopt is not whether a fact finder reasonably could
conclude the plaintiff has overcome the presumption. Instead, the
standard is whether the fact finder reasonably could conclude the
plaintiff has clearly overcome the presumption. The adverb “clearly,”
which derives from the federalism concerns we have discussed, is
meant to be limiting. It is a thumb on the scale and sometimes it will
be decisive because federalism concerns should sometimes be
decisive.
166 F.3d at 1345. The Lyes opinion also set forth several factors that guide our
determination of whether one entity “exerts or shares control over the fundamental
aspects of the employment relationship of another entity to such a substantial
As will be apparent from our discussion below, Georgia’s statutory scheme and case law
reveals a clear intent that Georgia’s boards of tax assessors are separate from, and independent
of, the respective local county governments. The boards of assessors are subject to extensive
controls from the state level, but little to no control by the local county government, all in service
of the State’s purpose to equalize statewide the valuation of real estate for ad valorem tax
purposes. Strong federalism and comity concerns persuade us that we should not ignore this
clear legislative intent of the State, as plaintiffs would have us do.
4
Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 5 of 15
extent that it clearly outweighs the presumption that the entities are distinct.” Id.The factors include: (1) interrelationship of operations and centralized control of
labor operations; (2) the authority to hire, transfer, promote, discipline or
discharge; (3) the authority to establish work schedules or direct work assignments;
and (4) the obligation to pay or the duty to train the charging party. Id. The four
listed factors are not intended to be all inclusive; rather, the analysis is based on the
totality of the circumstances. Id.Our analysis begins with the state law. As set forth both by the district court
and the magistrate judge below, Georgia law clearly establishes the Board as a
separate and independent entity. The obvious purpose of the state legislation was
to equalize the assessment of property for ad valorem taxation statewide, and thus
to subject the process to controls from the state level, independent of control by the
local county-level government. Georgia’s statutory scheme and its case law make
clear that it is the Board – not the County – that has “control over the fundamental
aspects of the employment relationships” with respect to these plaintiffs. See id.Chambers v. Fulford, 495 S.E.2d 6 (Ga. 1998), holds:
O.C.G.A. § 48-5-260 establishes a comprehensive system for the
administration and equalization of property taxes. The statute was
enacted to
Create, provide, and require a comprehensive system of the
equalization of taxes on real property within this state by the
establishment of uniform state-wide forms, records, and
5
Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 6 of 15
procedures, and by the establishment of a competent full-time
staff for each county of this state to:
(A) Assist the board of tax assessors of each county …
Id. at (1). O.C.G.A. § 48-5-290 creates a county board of assessors
for each county in the State . . . . O.C.G.A. § 48-5-262(c)(1)
establishes the minimum tax appraiser staffing requirement for each
county . . . . The rate of compensation payable to a staff appraiser is
determined by the state revenue commissioner and payable from
county funds. O.C.G.A. § 48-5-263(c).
...
[I]n all matters dealing with county tax appraisers it is the board of
tax assessors and not the board of commissioners which acts as the
“governmental board [which] has the authority to act for the county.”
Spell v. Blalock, supra, at 462, 254 S.E.2d 842 (“[t]he authority to
hire and fire appraisers . . . is not a power vested in the [county board
of] commissioners.”). Because the power to hire and fire Powell as a
tax appraiser rests with the Wheeler County Board of Tax Assessors,
see id.; O.C.G.A. § 48-5-298(a), it follows that the authority to alter
the duration of the employment contract remains with that body, not
with the board of commissioners, which previously approved the
contract.
495 S.E.2d at 8.
From the foregoing recitation of Georgia law, it is clear that Georgia has
established the Board as a separate entity, independent of the local county
government, thus triggering the Lyes presumption. Pursuant to Lyes, that
presumption can be rebutted only if “it is clearly outweighed by factors manifestly
indicating that the public entities are so closely interrelated with respect to control
of the fundamental aspects of the employment relationship that they should be
6
Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 7 of 15
counted together under Title VII.” 166 F.3d at 1345. Applying Lyes’s four
guiding factors to the facts of this case as established by Georgia law, it is clear
that the presumption is not rebutted. Rather, application of the factors
overwhelmingly indicates that it is the Board – not the County – which has
“control over the fundamental aspects of the employment relationships.” See id.Chambers makes it clear that it is the Board – not the County – which has control
of labor operations [Lyes factor number 1]; the authority to hire, transfer, promote,
discipline or discharge [factor number 2]; and the authority to establish work
schedules or direct work assignments [factor number 3]. See 495 S.E.2d at 8.
With respect to factor number 4 – the obligation to pay or the duty to train the
charging authority – the rate of compensation for each appraiser, O.C.G.A. § 48-5-
263(a)(1), and the training, id. § 48-5-268, are determined at the state level. While
county funds comprise the major source of funding, at least the minimum level of
funding is established, O.C.G.A. § 48-5-263(a)(1), and mandated, id. § 48-5-
263(c), at the state level. Thus, the four factors listed by Lyes overwhelmingly
establish that it is the Board – not the County – that controls the fundamental
aspects of the employment relationships.
Looking at the totality of the circumstances, it is true that the County
provides the building in which the tax appraisers work, maintains the building,
provides payroll and human resources services, and other administrative services.
7
Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 8 of 15
However, such administrative services are tangential to the “fundamental aspects
of the employment relationships” and fall far short of creating a genuine issue of
fact with respect to plaintiffs’ heavy burden to “clearly overcome the
presumption.” See Lyes 166 F.3d at 1345.
For the foregoing reasons, plaintiffs’ Title VII and FMLA claims fail for
failure to satisfy the numerosity requirements of the respective statutes. 2
II. PLAINTIFFS’ SECTION 1983 CLAIMS FAIL
BECAUSE THE BOARD OF ASSESSORS IS
ENTITLED TO ELEVENTH AMENDMENT IMMUNITY
Plaintiffs’ claims relate to alleged gender discrimination. We cannot address
the merits of those claims because we agree with the district court that the Board is
entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity.
As we stated in Manders:
In Eleventh Amendment cases, this Court uses four factors to
determine whether an entity is an “arm of the state” in carrying out a
particular function: (1) how state law defines the entity; (2) what
degree of control the State maintains over the entity; (3) where the
entity derives its funds; and (4) who is responsible for judgments
against the entity.
338 F.3d at 1309. In determining whether a defendant is an “arm of the state,”
Manders directs us to focus on the particular function in which the defendant was
2
Although Lyes addressed only the single employer issue in the context of Title VII,
plaintiffs make no argument indicating that the corresponding FMLA analysis should be
different. Also, we summarily reject plaintiffs’ other arguments in support of their Title VII and
FMLA claims. For example, their argument that the Board is a mere agent of the County is
simply inconsistent with Georgia’s statutory scheme.
8
Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 9 of 15
engaged when taking the actions out of which liability is alleged to arise. Id. at
1308. The particular function at issue in this case involves the discipline and
termination of plaintiffs who were either working as, or training for, appraiser
positions. We address the Manders factors in turn. 3
A. How Georgia law defines boards of assessors
As the above discussion indicates, Georgia law establishes the Board as a
separate entity, independent of the local county government. Indeed, the creation of
the boards of assessors by the state legislature was part of a state-level effort to
equalize taxes on real property throughout the state. Georgia Code § 48-5-260,
entitled “Purpose of Part” provides in relevant part:
It is the purpose and intent of this part to:
(1) Create, provide, and require a comprehensive system for the
equalization of taxes on real property within this state by the
establishment of uniform state-wide forms, records, and procedures
3
Plaintiffs’ argument against Eleventh Amendment immunity in this case is that the Board
is a division of the County and is acting for the County – not the State. For the first time in
plaintiffs’ reply brief, they cite our recent decision in Lightfoot v. Henry County School District,
771 F.3d 764 (11th Cir. 2014) (holding that Georgia school districts are political subdivisions of
the State like a municipality or county, thus holding that they are a division neither of the State
nor the County, and accordingly are not an “arm of the state” entitled to Eleventh Amendment
immunity). However, even in their reply brief, plaintiffs do not argue in a straightforward
manner that the Board is an independent entity that is neither part of the State nor the County.
As in Manders, we decline to address this very different issue which has not been briefed at all –
i.e., whether the Board is a separate entity and neither part of the State nor the County. 338 F.3d
at 1328 n.54. We note, however, that Georgia’s boards of assessors have nothing comparable to
the autonomy of the school district in Lightfoot, which had the authority to levy taxes, issue
bonds, etc., and which was treated in the Georgia statutes as a political subdivision comparable
to a municipality or county.
9
Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 10 of 15
and by the establishment of a competent, full-time staff for each
county of this state to:
(A) Assist the Board of Tax Assessors in each county in
developing the proper information for setting tax assessments on
property:
(B) Maintain the tax assessment records for each county; and
(C) Provide for state-wide duties and qualification standards for
such staffs;
(2) Provide for the examination of county tax digests in order to
determine whether property valuation is uniform between the
counties.
The Georgia statutory scheme obviously contemplates that its boards of
assessors shall not only constitute a separate entity from the local county
government, but the statutes reflect a clear intent that the boards of assessors shall
be independent of the local county government. Georgia Code § 48-5-290
provides that, although members of the boards of assessors are appointed by the
county governing authority, no close relative of a county commissioner is eligible
to serve as a member of a board of assessors. Moreover, once appointed, the local
county government cannot change the length of the term of existing members of
boards of assessors. Id. § 48-5-295(a). And a member of a county board of
assessors may be removed only for cause after a hearing before a judge of the
superior court of the county. Id. § 48-5-295(b). Finally, and significantly in light
of our mandate to assess this Eleventh Amendment issue in light of the particular
10
Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 11 of 15
function giving rise to plaintiffs’ claim, the independence of Georgia’s boards of
assessors is reflected in the Georgia cases holding that local county governments
have no authority at all with respect to the discipline or termination of employees
of the boards of assessors. See Chambers, 495 S.E.2d at 8.
We conclude that the first Manders factor weighs overwhelmingly in favor
of Eleventh Amendment immunity for the Board. We turn now to the second
factor.
B. Georgia statutes and case law vest control over Georgia’s boards of
assessors in the State, not in the local county government
The second Manders factor looks at where the state law vests control. With
respect to the particular function at issue in this case, Georgia’s case law expressly
provides that the local county government shall have no control at all over the
discipline or termination of employees of the boards of assessors. See Chambers,
495 S.E.2d at 8. Moreover, there is extensive state-level control over virtually
every aspect of the work of Georgia’s boards of assessors. State law establishes
the minimum number of appraisers (O.C.G.A. § 48-5-262); the qualifications,
duties, and compensation thereof (Id. § 48-5-263); the training thereof (Id. § 48-5-
268); and the procedures to be followed (Id. § 48-5-269). Finally, and
significantly, the end product of the work of Georgia’s boards of assessors has to
be approved or disapproved at the state level. Id. § 48-5-304 (relating to the state-
level approval of the tax digests).
11
Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 12 of 15
The state-level control in this case is all encompassing; by contrast, there is
no control at all vested in the local county governments. This is especially true
with respect to the particular function giving rise to plaintiffs’ claims; as noted,
Chambers holds that local county governments have no authority at all with respect
to the discipline or termination of the Board’s employees. 495 S.E.2d at 8. This
control factor of Manders points more overwhelmingly toward Eleventh
Amendment immunity than did this factor in Manders itself. We next address the
third Manders factor.
C. Source of funds for the Board
The Georgia statutory scheme for funding its boards of tax assessors very
closely parallels the funding scheme for sheriffs as described in Manders, 338 F.3d
at 1323-24. Although the County “bears the major burden of funding[,]” the Board
here, just as in Manders, is thus funded “because the State so mandates.” Id. at
1323. State law determines the minimum number of appraisers for each county
and sets their qualifications and duties. O.C.G.A. §§ 48-5-262, 48-5-263(a)-(b).
The “rate of compensation for each appraiser grade” is determined by the state
revenue commissioner pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 48-5-263(a)(1), and O.C.G.A. § 48-
5-263(c) mandates that: “Staff appraisers shall be paid from county funds.” And
as in Manders, “both state and county funds are involved[,]” 338 F.3d at 1324,
12
Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 13 of 15
because a portion of the salary of these appraisers is paid by the State. O.C.G.A. §
48-5-267.
Thus, for the same reasons that prevailed in Manders, the “state involvement
is sufficient to tilt the third factor of the Eleventh Amendment analysis toward
immunity.” See 338 F.3d at 1324. We turn next to the fourth Manders factor.
D. Source of funds that will pay any adverse judgment
As with the third factor, the situation of Georgia’s boards of assessors with
respect to the issue of who will pay any adverse federal judgment is very similar to
the situation that existed in Manders. There, Georgia law placed the legal liability
for paying the adverse judgment on neither the County nor the State, and “Sheriff
Peterson thus apparently would have to pay any adverse federal court judgment …
out of the budget of the Sheriff’s Office … [which] would reduce his budget, and
the practical reality is that Sheriff Peterson must recoup that money from
somewhere … [and thus] both county and state funds are implicated.” Manders,
338 F.3d at 1327. The Manders court also noted that
[n]ever has the Supreme Court required an actual drain on the state
treasury . . . because the Eleventh Amendment is rooted in a
recognition that the States . . . maintain certain attributes of
sovereignty, and a purpose of the Eleventh Amendment is to accord
the States the respect owed them . . . and not to affront the dignity or
integrity of a state by requiring a state to respond to lawsuits in federal
courts.
Id. (internal quotations and citations omitted).
13
Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 14 of 15
As in Manders, plaintiffs have pointed to no Georgia statute that makes a
Georgia county liable for an adverse judgment against one of Georgia’s boards of
assessors, and we are aware of no such statute. The Georgia Supreme Court in
Wayne County Board of Commissioners v. Warren, 223 S.E.2d 133 (Ga. 1976),
held that “[a] county is not liable to suit for any cause of action unless made so by
statute.” Id. at 134 (quoting then O.C.G.A. § 23-1502, now codified at O.C.G.A.
§ 36-1-4) (internal quotation marks omitted). Neither are we aware of any statute
making the State liable for an adverse judgment against one of Georgia’s boards of
assessors.
Thus, again as in Manders, the Board itself “apparently would have to pay
any adverse federal court judgment,” and the “practical reality” is precisely the
same because “both county and state funds are implicated.” See 338 F.3d at 1327.
Just as in Manders, in this case too, “[t]he State’s ‘integrity’ is not limited to who
foots the bill, and, at a minimum, the liability-for-adverse-judgment factor does not
defeat [the Board’s] immunity claim.” See id. at 1328.
In summary, our application of the Manders factors to the facts of this case
is as follows. With respect to factors one, three, and four, the relevant facts, as
dictated by the statutory scheme, are virtually indistinguishable from those in
Manders. And with respect to Manders’s second factor – what degree of control
the State maintains over the entity – the facts of this case as dictated by the
14
Case: 14-14475 Date Filed: 07/07/2015 Page: 15 of 15
statutory scheme point more overwhelmingly toward Eleventh Amendment
immunity than in Manders itself. For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that
Manders controls and that the Board is entitled to Eleventh Amendment immunity
from plaintiffs’ § 1983 claims. 4
III. CONCLUSION
Having rejected plaintiffs’ arguments with respect to the two primary issues
on appeal, we also reject any other challenges by plaintiffs to the judgment of the
district court without need for further discussion. We also reject as moot the
Board’s arguments on cross-appeal. Accordingly, the judgment of the district
court is
AFFIRMED.
4
Plaintiffs argue for the first time on appeal that their complaint also sought reinstatement,
and this claim would survive Eleventh Amendment immunity. We decline to entertain this
argument, which was not fairly presented to the district court. See Access Now, Inc. v. Sw.
Airlines Co., 385 F.3d 1324, 1331 (11th Cir. 2004) (“This Court has repeatedly held that an issue
not raised in the district court and raised for the first time in an appeal will not be considered by
this [C]ourt.” (internal quotation omitted)).
15