Opinion
CASE NO.: 1:12-cv-130 (WLS)
04-03-2013
DOROTHY DOWDELL Plaintiff, v. DOLGENCORP, LLC, Defendant.
ORDER
This is a race and age discrimination case under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. and 29 U.S.C. § 629 et seq. against Dolgencorp, LLC ("Dollar General"). Plaintiff Dorothy Dowdell, an African-American woman over forty years old, claims that Dollar General reduced her hours and eventually fired her because of her race and age.
Dollar General now moves the Court for an order requiring the Georgia Department of Labor ("GDOL") to comply with a subpoena for the release of the GDOL's employment file on Dowdell. (Doc. 18-1.) Dollar General asserts that Dowdell's employment file is relevant because she applied for unemployment compensation after her termination from Dollar General. (Id. at 1.) According to Dollar General, the GDOL refuses to comply with the subpoena without a court order. (Id.) Dowdell has not responded to the motion. (See Docket.)
The Court finds that the GDOL's file is relevant to this cause of action and Dollar General's need for the records outweighs Dowdell's need for privacy. See O.C.G.A. § 34-8-126 (noting that GDOL files are available to parties in judicial proceedings when the court makes a finding that the need for the records outweighs any concerns for privacy). Dowdell has placed her employment history at issue by claiming that Dollar General terminated her because of her age and race. Because claims under Title VII and the ADEA involve shifting burdens of proof, Sims v. MVM, Inc., 704 F.3d 1327, 1332 (11th Cir. 2013), Dowdell's application for unemployment insurance may reveal information about whether, for example, Dollar General's reasons were pretextual, Washburn v. Hoover Chrysler Jeep of Savannah, Inc., No. CV412-005, 2012 WL 2191711, at *1-2 (S.D. Ga. Jun. 14, 2012).
Therefore, the Georgia Department of Labor is ORDERED to produce to Anderson Scott of Fisher & Phillips, LLP, the records pertaining to the unemployment insurance request of Dorothy Dowdell, as requested in the subpoena served by the same on the Georgia Department of Labor.
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THE HONORABLE W. LOUIS SANDS ,
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT