Plaintiff Shar Issa Murphy sued defendants Denis McDonough, Department of Veterans Affairs Agency, Aurora, CO, and Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of General Counsel in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado raising claims of employment discrimination. The district court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss her amended complaint for failure to state a claim, and Murphy appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.
Factual Overview
Murphy, a black woman, worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs for several years. She alleged that she constantly complained about harassment from her supervisor, David Spurgin. As a result, her work area was declared a hostile work environment, and she was stationed in a different part of the hospital. Management decided that Spurgin and another employee, Christine Robbins, were to stay away from Murphy until a fact-finding process concluded. However, Spurgin and Robbins continued to enter Murphy’s workstation.
Murphy also alleged that a white woman made a similar complaint about harassment from Spurgin and Robbins, and management intervened immediately. At one point, Spurgin left the agency but returned about a year later, causing Murphy’s mental health to deteriorate. She began therapy and learned she had symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Murphy informed her new supervisor, Eric Maestas, about her symptoms and that Spurgin’s presence triggered them. Maestas attempted to keep Spurgin away from Murphy, but Spurgin approached her desk on one occasion. Murphy eventually took medical leave and resigned.
Legal Analysis
Title VII Discrimination: The court found that Murphy failed to allege either direct evidence of discrimination or facts suggesting that the defendants took any action against her based on her race or sex. While Murphy alleged harassment, she did not describe the alleged harassment or the circumstances surrounding it. The court noted that Murphy’s allegation about a white woman complaining about similar harassment actually worked against an inference of race-based discrimination.
Title VII Hostile Work Environment: The court concluded that Murphy failed to offer facts suggesting that the alleged harassment against her was related to her race or sex.
Rehabilitation Act Failure to Accommodate: The court found that Murphy failed to allege facts supporting an inference that she had been denied a requested reasonable accommodation. The court noted that Murphy did not allege she requested a specific accommodation for her posttraumatic stress disorder, and that her supervisor had attempted to accommodate her concerns by taking steps to keep Spurgin away from her workstation.
Rehabilitation Act Hostile Work Environment: The court determined that Murphy’s allegations did not support a plausible inference that the alleged harassment she suffered was based on a disability. The court noted that Murphy’s complaint suggested her disability was the result, not the cause, of the alleged harassment.
The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of all of Murphy’s claims.
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