Briggs v. City of Madison

536 F. Supp. 435
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Wisconsin
DecidedMay 7, 1982
Docket78-C-394
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 536 F. Supp. 435 (Briggs v. City of Madison) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Wisconsin primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Briggs v. City of Madison, 536 F. Supp. 435 (W.D. Wis. 1982).

Opinion

CRABB, Chief Judge.

This is a civil action for declaratory, injunctive and monetary relief, brought against defendant City of Madison pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., as amended; the Civil Rights Act of 1871, 42 U.S.C. § 1983; and the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. 1 Plaintiffs are women employed as public health nurses by the City of Madison Department of Public Health. They allege that defendant discriminates against them on the basis of sex with respect to job compensation, job classification, and the terms, conditions and privileges of their employment by employing them as public health nurses at a lower paying classification than that of male public health sanitarians who perform jobs requiring the same or a lesser degree of qualifications, skill, effort, and responsibility under similar working conditions.

Plaintiffs are attacking what they perceive to be a history of discriminatory treatment of an entire category of female employees of the City of Madison. The discrimination is alleged to lie not in the denial of access to jobs or to promotional opportunities, and not in the denial of equal pay for equal work, but in the undervaluation of plaintiffs’ work solely because of the sex of the persons performing it. Plaintiffs contend that much of the significant pay disparity that exists between males and females in the work force and, in this case, the specific pay disparity existing between sanitarians and public health nurses, can be traced to a traditional and long-accepted devaluation of the worth of jobs done primarily by women.

Plaintiffs’ claims were litigated in a five-day court trial. At the close of plaintiffs’ case, defendant moved to dismiss each of plaintiffs’ claims, subject to the subsequent testimony of plaintiffs’ expert witness. The motion was taken under advisement, and was fully briefed by the parties after the trial. The motion to dismiss, and plaintiffs’ requests for relief, are now before the court.

From the evidence adduced at trial, I make the following findings of fact.

FACTS

Plaintiffs, Marsha Briggs and seventeen other individuals, are women employed by the City of Madison Department of Public Health as public health nurses. In order to *438 qualify for employment as a City of Madison public health nurse, an individual must be a registered nurse, must be certified or eligible for certification as a public health nurse as a consequence of complying with certain educational qualifications, and must be one of the following: a graduate of an accredited college or university with a bachelor of science degree program in general nursing that prepares students for beginning positions in public health nursing; or a graduate of an accredited college or university with a bachelor of science degree in public health nursing; or a graduate of a basic degree program in nursing that prepares students for a beginning position in public health nursing. Additionally, an individual must have a valid Wisconsin drivers license and a good driving record.

City of Madison public health nurses have a variety of duties and responsibilities. Public health nurses provide nursing services in public schools, private homes, satellite offices, and in emergency health situations; operate health clinics, including special immunization clinics; disseminate health education information and conduct health education programs; serve on various public health department and community health program committees; draft public health department policies and procedures; and enforce various city and state health rules. On occasion, public health nurses refer health questions or problems to sanitarians.

From 1958 to 1978, the time of the filing of this action, all the City of Madison public health nurses have been women, with the exception of one male public health nurse in the early 1970’s.

In addition to public health nurses, and other classifications of workers, the City of Madison Department of Public Health employs a classification of workers called sanitarians. In order to qualify for employment at a City of Madison sanitarian, at the Level II position, an individual must be a graduate of an accredited college or university with a bachelor of science degree in environmental health, environmental science, public health, sanitary science, bacteriology, dairy industry or sanitary engineering. Additionally, an individual must have a valid Wisconsin drivers license. A sanitarian is not required to be state registered or eligible for state registration.

City of Madison sanitarians have a variety of duties and responsibilities. Sanitarians inspect eating and drinking establishments, retail food stores, hotels and motels, and pools and beaches for compliance with applicable health rules and regulations; inspect schools for compliance with applicable safety rules and regulations; review plans for private sewage systems, and respond to complaints concerning sewage systems; assist in utility shutoff procedures; investí-' gate reports of food-borne illness and environmental complaints; coordinate the disposal of hazardous waste; provide services at health clinics, including special immunization clinics, and in emergency health situations; conduct health education programs; draft public health department and city policies and procedures; and enforce various city and state health rules. On occasion, sanitarians refer health questions or problems to public health nurses.

From 1958 to 1978, the time of the filing of this action, all the City of Madison sanitarians have been men.

From 1958 to present, the City of Madison has paid sanitarians a higher salary than the salary paid to public health nurses. The salaries were paid, and are paid, pursuant to salary schedules periodically promulgated by the City as ordinances. See Table A, incorporated herein by reference, setting forth some of these salary schedules.

Between 1958 and 1970, upward changes in the classification of sanitarians were made in 1961,1964', 1965, and 1966; upward changes in the classification of nurses were made only twice, in 1964 and 1968.

In 1961, the reclassification of sanitarians came at the request of the Public Health Department director, Charles Kincaid. Kincaid noted in his written request that a sanitarian vacancy had existed for eight months, that several people had applied, but only one had been able to pass the examination administered by the city’s Personnel *439 Division, and that the one applicant had been hired as a replacement for another sanitarian who had resigned.

The 1964 classification changes for sanitarians and public health nurses reflect recommendations made following a 1963 job classification survey conducted by the firm of Griffenhagen-Kroeger. Griffenhagen-Kroeger recommended that the two levels of public health nurses be merged into one level and placed at pay range 17. Additionally, the firm recommended that the two levels of sanitarian be maintained and placed at pay ranges of 16 and 19.

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Bluebook (online)
536 F. Supp. 435, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/briggs-v-city-of-madison-wiwd-1982.