Walter WHITE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, Defendants-Appellees

This appeal raises two primary issues: (1) whether reference of this Title VII case to a magistrate, and the local rule authorizing that reference, violated 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(5); and (2) whether Title VII is the sole judicial remedy available to a federal employee who alleges racial discrimination and seeks recovery not only from the federal government but from individual defendants. A third, subsidiary issue is whether a Title VII action against the government is the exclusive judicial remedy for retaliation against an employee for filing a charge of discrimination. We conclude that the reference and the local rule did not violate the statute. We also conclude that a Title VII action against the federal government is the exclusive judicial remedy for federal employment discrimination and for retaliation for filing a charge of discrimination. The judgment of the district court is affirmed.

I.

White was an employee of the General Services Administration (GSA) at a warehouse in Auburn, Washington. He was demoted during a reduction in force in 1972 and sought administrative relief on the ground that his demotion was the result of discrimination based upon his race. The Civil…