Long v. US Attorney

1 Chief Judge David G. Estudillo [6] 7 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 AT TACOMA [9] MINNA R. LONG, CASE NO. 3:23-cv-05822-DGE [10] Plaintiff, STIPULATED MOTION AND ORDER 11 v. REGARDING SCHEDULING AND DEADLINES 12 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, OFFICE OF LABOR-MANAGEMENT Noted for Consideration: 13 STANDARDS, December 8, 2023 14 Defendant. [15] 16 JOINT STIPULATION 17 Pro Se Plaintiff Minna R. Long filed this case against the U.S. Department of Labor, 18 Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) requesting the Court to grant her an exemption 19 under 29 U.S.C. § 504 , which bars her from serving in certain union positions due to a prior 20 conviction for robbery. The applicable statute prohibits, inter alia, individuals with a robbery 21 conviction from serving “as an officer, director, trustee, member of any executive board or 22 similar governing body, business agent, manager, organizer, employee, or representative in any 23 capacity of any labor organization” for a period of “thirteen years after such conviction or after 24 the end of such imprisonment, whichever is later. . . .” 29 U.S.C. § 504 (a); see also see United 1 States v. Cullison, 422 F. Supp. 2d 65, 67-68 (D.D.C. 2006). The statute empowers United 2 States District Courts in the District where the offense was committed to grant exemptions from 3 the prohibition after holding a hearing and considering the purpose of the statute. Id. 4 Ms. Long initially filed a Complaint on September 9, 2023, seeking an exemption to 5 serve as the Executive Secretary for the Columbia Pacific Building & Construction Trades 6 Council. Dkt. 1. Although her initial Complaint named the U.S. Attorney for the Western 7 District of Washington as the defendant, she later amended the Complaint to name OLMS as the 8 sole defendant. Dkt. 6. Ms. Long also clarified that she seeks an exemption for two separate 9 positions, both the Executive Secretary position and her position of employment, which at the 10 time was as a Strategic Programs Manager at the Washington State Building and Construction 11 Trades Council. Dkt. 10. Ms. Long served the U.S. Attorney’s Office in September of 2023 12 and, on October 6, 2023, mailed a copy of the Summons and Complaint to the Attorney General 13 for the United States and OLMS. Accordingly, service was perfected or about October 9, 2023. 14 In accordance with a memoranda of understanding between the Secretary of Labor and 15 the Attorney General, the Department of Labor is responsible for conducting the investigation 16 concerning the appropriateness of granting a motion to reduce the length of employment 17 disability or a petition for exemption from disqualification under 29 U.S.C. § 504 . See 18 Department of Justice Manual 9-138.130 (“[O]rdinarily it will be necessary to seek a 19 continuance of the proceeding in order to . . . provide sufficient time for any necessary 20 investigation by the Office of Labor-Management Standards . . . of the Department of Labor.”). 21 After the investigation is complete, OLMS files a brief setting forth its position to the Court. 22 The brief also serves as the Answer of OLMS, and the Court then holds a hearing on whether to 23 grant the requested exemption. [24] 1 In this case, OLMS started an investigation into Ms. Long’s request after receiving her 2 Complaint. OLMS investigators recently completed the investigation, and the relevant decision 3 makers at OLMS are now reviewing the information gathered by investigators and formulating a 4 position on whether to oppose Ms. Long’s request. After coming to a final decision, DOL 5 attorneys will draft a brief explaining OLMS’ position to the Court and work with the U.S. 6 Attorney’s Office to prepare for a hearing. This process will likely take until approximately the 7 middle of January of 2024. 8 On October 16, 2023, the Court issued an Order Regarding Initial Disclosures, Joint 9 Status Report, Discovery, Depositions and Early Settlement (Dkt. 8) setting forth the following 10 deadlines: [11] Event Deadline [12] FRCP 26(f) Conference January 2, 2024 [13] 14 Initial Disclosures January 8, 2024 [15] Joint Status Report January 16, 2024 [16] Scheduling Conference Scheduled for January 26, 2024, at 9:00 AM on Zoom [17] 18 The parties have already consulted by telephone and email and conducted a FRCP 26(f) 19 conference. The parties believe that due to the unique nature of this case, it would make sense to 20 modify the current deadlines to accommodate time for OLMS to make its decision and for 21 counsel to draft a brief and prepare for a hearing. The parties are filing this stipulation both to 22 update the Court on the status of the case and to request modifications to the case scheduling 23 order. The parties hereby STIPULATE, AGREE and JOINTLY REQUEST the Court to impose 24 the following deadlines in lieu of the deadlines set forth in its Order of October 16, 2023: [1] Event Deadline [2] The parties file joint status report requesting a hearing January 16, 2024 date [3] Defendant files brief with supporting exhibits in response 4 to Plaintiff’s request for exemptions, which also serves as January 22, 2024 Defendant’s Answer 5 Plaintiff has opportunity to file additional materials in January 31, 2024 support of her request for exemptions, if she so chooses [6] 7 The parties anticipate that after the parties request a date, the Court will schedule a 8 hearing at which it will consider Plaintiff’s request for exemptions, including her Complaint and 9 related documents, Defendant’s brief and supporting exhibits, and any additional documents 10 provided by Plaintiff. The parties anticipate that the Court will then render its own decision on 11 Plaintiff’s request. 12 // 13 // 14 // 15 // 16 // 17 // 18 // 19 // 20 // 21 // 22 // 23 // 24 // 1 For the reasons set forth above, the parties believe that there is good cause for the Court 2 to order the schedule set forth above. 3 SO STIPULATED. 4 DATED this 8th day of December, 2023. 5 TESSA M. GORMAN Acting United States Attorney [6] s/ Rebecca S. Cohen s/ Minna R. Long 7 REBECCA S. COHEN, WSBA #31767 MINNA R. LONG Assistant United States Attorney 10717 NE 30th Avenue 8 United States Attorney’s Office Vancouver, WA 98686 700 Stewart Street, Suite 5220 Phone: 360-591-3166 9 Seattle, Washington 98101-1271 Email: minnarlong@gmail.com Phone: 206-553-7970 10 Fax: 206-553-4073 Pro Se Plaintiff Email: rebecca.cohen@usdoj.gov [11] Attorneys for Defendant [12] I certify that this memorandum contains 13 852 words, in compliance with the Local Civil Rules. [24] 1 ORDER 2 It is hereby ORDERED that the parties’ stipulated motion is GRANTED. The deadlines 3 set forth in the Court’s Order of October 16, 2023, and the scheduling conference previously 4 scheduled for January 26, 2024, are hereby stricken. The following deadlines are imposed: [5] Deadlines [6] Deadline for the parties to file joint status report January 16, 2024 requesting a hearing date [7] Deadline for Defendant to file a brief with supporting 8 exhibits in response to Plaintiff’s request for January 22, 2024 exemptions, which will also serve as Defendant’s 9 Answer Deadline for Plaintiff to file additional materials in 10 support of her request for exemptions, if she so January 31, 2024 chooses [11] 12 DATED this 4th day of January, 2023. [13] A [14] David G. Estudillo 15 United States District Judge