Opinion
Civil Action No. 02-1869 (JR).
May 9, 2003
MEMORANDUM ORDER
The defendant's motion to transfer this case to the Middle District of Georgia is granted. The Title VII venue statute, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(3) provides that a Title VII action may be laid (1) where the unlawful employment practice is alleged to have been committed (in this case, Georgia), (2) in the judicial district in which the employment records relevant to such practice are maintained and administered (in this case, Georgia), or (3) in the judicial district in which the aggrieved person would have worked but for the alleged unlawful employment practice (not applicable). There is a fourth alternative, and plaintiff relies on it, but her reliance is misplaced. Venue for a Title VII action may be laid within the judicial district in which the defendant has his principal office only "if the respondent is not found" where the unlawful employment practice is alleged to have been committed or where the employment records are maintained and administered. In this instance, in any event, the respondent Secretary of the Army maintains his principal office, not in the District of Columbia, but in Virginia.
Transfer of venue, rather than dismissal, is being ordered in the interest of justice.