Williams v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC

581 S.E.2d 415

357 N.C. 170

Mary WILLIAMS, Plaintiff v. BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF NORTH CAROLINA, Defendant v. Orange County, Orange County Board of Commissioners, and Orange County Human Relations Commission, Counterclaim Defendants.

No. 277PA01.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

June 13, 2003.

Maupin Taylor & Ellis, P.A. by Thomas A. Farr, M. Keith Kapp, Kevin W. Benedict, and Terence D. Friedman, Raleigh, for defendant-appellee Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.

Coleman, Gledhill & Hargrave, P.C. by Geoffrey E. Gledhill and S. Sean Borhanian, Hillsborough; and The Brough Law Firm by Michael B. Brough, Chapel Hill, for defendant-appellants Orange County, Orange County Board of Commissioners, and Orange County Human Relations Commission.

Office of the City Attorney by Emanuel McGirt, for City of Durham, amicus curiae.

Elliot, Pishko, Gelbin & Morgan, P.A. by Robert M. Elliot and J. Griffin Morgan, on behalf of the North Carolina Academy of Trial Lawyers; and Seth H. Jaffe, for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation, Inc., amici curiae.

Van Hoy, Reutlinger & Adams by Philip Marshall Van Hoy and Stephen John Dunn, on behalf of Employers Association and Capital Associated Industries, Inc., amici curiae.

Edwards, Ballard, Clark, Barrett and Carlson, P.A. by Kenneth P. Carlson, Jr., on behalf of North Carolina Society of Human Resource Management, amicus curiae.

North Carolina Association of County Commissioners by C. Ronald Aycock, Counsel and Executive Director; and S.C. Kitchen, Durham County Attorney, amicus curiae.

Office of the County Attorney by E. Holt Moore, III, for New Hanover County Human Relations Commission, amicus curiae.

City of Asheville by Robert W. Oast, Jr., City Attorney, amicus curiae.

City of Durham, by Emanuel McGirt, City Attorney, amicus curiae.

Moore & Van Allen, PLLC by George M. Teague, on behalf of North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry; and P. Andrew Ellen for the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association, amici curiae.

EDMUNDS, Justice.

In this action, we are called upon to determine: (1) whether the North Carolina General Assembly violated Article II, Section 24 of the North Carolina Constitution by ratifying enabling legislation permitting Orange County, the Orange County Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Human Relations Commission (collectively, counterclaim defendants) to enact and enforce the employment provisions of an antidiscrimination ordinance entitled the Orange County Civil Rights Ordinance (the Ordinance); and (2) whether counterclaim defendants acted illegally in enacting and enforcing the employment provisions of that Ordinance. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the trial court's grant of partial summary judgment to defendant Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) and denial of summary judgment to counterclaim defendants.

Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 160A-492, the Orange County Board of Commissioners (the Board of Commissioners) in 1987 established the Orange County Human Relations Commission (the HRC). See N.C.G.S. § 160A-492 (2001) ("[t]he governing body of any city, town, or county is hereby authorized to undertake... human relations, community action and manpower development programs... [and] may appoint such human relations, community action and manpower development committees or boards and citizens' committees, as it may deem necessary in carrying out such programs and activities"). The Board of Commissioners' mandate to the HRC was that it

(1) study and make recommendations concerning problems in the field of human relationships; (2) anticipate and discover practices and customs most likely to create animosity and unrest and to seek solutions to problems as they arise; (3) make recommendations designed to promote goodwill and harmony among groups in the County irrespective of their race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, affectional preference, disability, age, marital status or status with regard to public assistance; (4) monitor complaints involving discrimination; (5) address and attempt to remedy the violence, tensions, polarization, and other harm created through the practices of discrimination, bias, hatred, and civil inequality; and (6) promote harmonious relations within the county through hearings and due process of law....

Orange County Civil Rights Ordinance, art. II, sec. 2.1(a), at 1 (effective 1 January 1995) [hereinafter Ordinance].

Thereafter, the HRC advertised and conducted public hearings on discrimination in the areas of employment, housing, and public accommodation and determined that discrimination in those areas existed in Orange County on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, familial status, marital status, sexual orientation, and veteran status. See Ordinance, art. II, sec. 2.1(b), (c). As a result of these findings, the Board of Commissioners requested that the North Carolina General Assembly adopt enabling legislation allowing Orange County to enact a comprehensive civil rights ordinance.

In response, the General Assembly ratified chapter 246 of the 1991 Session Laws on 10 June 1991, effective that same day. Act of June 10, 1991, ch. 246, sec. 6, 1991 N.C. Sess. Laws 456, 460. This legislation was passed both to aid Orange County in addressing the concerns raised by the HRC and to authorize Orange County to create or designate a commission to assist in the implementation of the Ordinance. Section 6 of chapter 246 authorized the Board of Commissioners to adopt an ordinance to be referred to either as a "Civil Rights Ordinance" or a "Human Rights Ordinance." Id.

On 23 March 1993, the Board of Commissioners adopted a resolution requesting that the Orange County delegation to the General Assembly introduce a rewrite of the 1991 legislation to provide for "local administration of federal and [s]tate laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, familial status, and veteran status." The General Assembly made the requested amendments by enacting section 14 of chapter 358 of the 1993 Session Laws, effective upon ratification on 16 July 1993. Act of July 16, 1993, ch. 358, sec. 14, 1993 N.C. Sess. Laws 1158,1169.

After the General Assembly passed this enabling legislation, the Board of Commissioners, on 6 June 1994, adopted the Ordinance. On 18 April 1995, the Board of Commissioners adopted another resolution requesting from the General Assembly an amendment to the enabling legislation authorizing the HRC to serve as a deferral agency for cases deferred by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), pursuant to planned "worksharing agreements" with those agencies. These agreements would authorize transfer by the EEOC to Orange County of employment discrimination complaints filed with it originating in the county and transfer by HUD to Orange County of housing discrimination complaints arising in the county. Accordingly, the General Assembly enacted section 2, chapter 339 of the 1995 Session Laws, effective upon ratification on 28 June 1995. Act of June 28, 1995, ch. 339, sec. 2, 1995 N.C. Sess. Laws 802, 803.

In its current form, the Ordinance is an antidiscrimination law applicable only in Orange County and administered by counterclaim defendants. The employment provisions of the Ordinance provide in pertinent part:

(a) It is unlawful for an employer:

(1) To fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to that individual's compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, familial status, or veteran status.

Ordinance, art. IV, sec. 4.1(a)(1), at 9 (effective 1 January 1996).¹ The Ordinance is enforceable by a private cause of action that permits those affected to recover injunctive relief, back pay, and compensatory and punitive damages up to $300,000. Ordinance, art. VIII, sec. 8.3.2, at 50-53; art. X, at 54-55. Different sections of the Ordinance prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, and public accommodations, as well as the infliction of bodily injury or property destruction on account of the factors listed above. The employment discrimination provision of the Ordinance became effective 1 January 1996 and applies to all employers engaged in an industry affecting commerce who have fifteen or more employees in Orange County. Ordinance, art. III, at 4. Specifically excepted employers include the State of North Carolina and the United States. Id. at 4-5. The Ordinance provides that when the HRC receives individual complaints of employment discrimination, it may begin its investigation by requesting a statement of the employer's position regarding the allegations. Ordinance, art. VIII, sec. 8.1, at 39-42. HRC may also issue subpoenas to obtain documents and materials from the employer. Id. After completing its investigation, the HRC issues either a finding of cause to believe discrimination occurred or a finding that reasonable cause does not exist. Ordinance, art. VIII, sec. 8.2, at 42-46.

If the HRC finds cause to exist, attempts are made to resolve the complaint by conference, conciliation, and/or persuasion. Ordinance, art. VIII, sec. 8.1, at 42. If these efforts fail, the HRC issues a right-to-sue letter, Ordinance, art. VIII, sec. 8.2, at 45, allowing the complainant to litigate the matter in the Superior Court, Orange County, within one year of receipt of the letter, Ordinance, art. X, at 54. As an alternative if cause is found to exist, the HRC itself can instead choose to litigate the employment discrimination claim before a state administrative law judge (ALJ). Ordinance, art. VIII, sec. 8.2(j)(1), at 45. In such a case, the employer has no...