Where a woman alleged that the City of Lynchburg, its fire chief and its city manager violated Virginia’s Fraud and Abuse Whistle Blower Protection Act, the defendants were entitled to sovereign immunity against this claim.
Background
Mary Lynn Shumate alleges that the City of Lynchburg violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by creating and permitting a work environment to exist that was discriminatory and hostile to female employees (Count One). In Count Two, she contends that the city retaliated against her — in contravention of Title VII — for reporting the gender discrimination.
Finally she pleads in Count Three that the city and two city employees violated Virginia’s Fraud and Abuse Whistle Blower Protection Act. Defendants have filed a motion to dismiss.
Exhaustion
Defendants first argue that Counts One and Two are procedurally barred because they exceed the scope of the allegations in her charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC. The court disagrees.
It does not appear that plaintiff’s constructive discharge claim is, as defendants half-heartedly contend, the “gravamen” of her complaint. Indeed, plaintiff’s Title VII counts do not hinge on her reported constructive discharge. Rather, they focus on her work within “a culture that discriminated against women and rewarded such behavior.” And those claims “are reasonably related to [the allegations in] her EEOC charge.” Therefore, her Title VII counts alleging...
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