COURT OF APPEALS DECISION DATED AND FILED November 9, 2010 A.
John Voelker Acting Clerk of Court of Appeals |
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NOTICE |
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This opinion is subject to further editing. If published, the official version will appear in the bound volume of the Official Reports. A party may file with the Supreme Court a petition to review an adverse decision by the Court of Appeals. See Wis. Stat. § 808.10 and Rule 809.62. |
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APPEAL
from an order and a judgment of the circuit court for
Before Fine, Kessler and Brennan, JJ.
¶1 PER CURIAM. Theresa Garner appeals the
circuit court’s order and judgment dismissing her action against the State of
¶2 Garner first argues the defendants retaliated against her by refusing
to rehire her in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. See 42 U.S.C.
§ 2000e. Garner has failed to name
any defendants against whom a claim under Title VII may be brought. Garner’s Title VII claim against the
individual defendants fails because Title VII does not provide for individual
liability of employees within an organization; it holds the employer liable. See
¶3 Garner argues that the defendants “thwarted [her] efforts to
enforce her employment rights” in violation of the Wisconsin Fair Employment
Act, Wis. Stat. § 111.322(2m)
(“[I]t is an act of employment discrimination to … discriminate against any
individual because … [t]he individual files a complaint or attempts to enforce
any right under … [Wis. Stat. § ]103.13.”).
Garner has not adequately developed this argument. See Roehl v. American Family Mut. Ins. Co.,
222
¶4 Garner argues that the defendants violated the Open Records
Law. An action under the Open Records
Law must be commenced by petition for writ of mandamus. See Wis.
Stat. § 19.37; see also Newspapers,
Inc. v. Breier, 89
¶5 Garner contends that the defendants refused to comply with the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552. The Freedom of Information Act applies only to federal agencies; it does not apply to state agencies. Grand Central P’ship, Inc. v. Cuomo, 166 F.3d 473, 484 (2nd Cir. 1999). The circuit court properly dismissed Garner’s claim against the defendants for allegedly violating the Freedom of Information Act because the defendants are not federal agencies.
¶6 Garner argues that the defendants violated Wis. Stat. § 103.13 by refusing to
remove documents from her personnel file at her request. That statute does not vest an employee with a
private remedy against an employer; the penalty for violating the statute is a
forfeiture enforceable by an action in the name of the State. Section 103.13(8) (“Any employer who
violates this section may be fined not less than $10 nor more than $100 for
each violation. Each day of refusal or
failure to comply … is a separate violation.”).
Since Garner has no enforceable private remedy for the alleged actions
of the defendants, the circuit court properly dismissed this claim.
¶7 Finally,
Garner argues that the defendants defamed her by informing the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission Investigator Wendy Martin and Intake Supervisor Marian
Drew that she “was terminated” and had “several performance deficiencies.” A defamatory communication is a false
statement communicated by speech, conduct, or in writing that “tends to harm
one’s reputation so as to lower him or her in the estimation of the community
or to deter third persons from associating or dealing with him or her.” Torgerson v. Journal/Sentinel, Inc.,
210
By the Court.—Judgment and order affirmed.
This opinion will not be published. See Wis. Stat. Rule 809.23(1)(b)5.