Bryant v. International Schools Services, Inc.

502 F. Supp. 472, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15946, 24 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 31,440, 24 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 747
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedDecember 4, 1980
DocketCiv. A. 78-2517, 78-2563
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 502 F. Supp. 472 (Bryant v. International Schools Services, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bryant v. International Schools Services, Inc., 502 F. Supp. 472, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15946, 24 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 31,440, 24 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 747 (D.N.J. 1980).

Opinion

OPINION

DEBEVOISE, District Judge.

I. Parties and Proceedings

Plaintiffs in these consolidated actions, Theresa O. Lillibridge and Dotti D. Jernigan Bryant, instituted suit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. (“Title VII”). Plaintiffs charge that the practice of defendant, International Schools Services, Inc. (“ISS”), of awarding to its overseas teachers two kinds of employment contracts having substantially different compensation and benefit provisions constituted unlawful discrimination against plaintiffs on the basis of sex.

Lillibridge and Bryant were teachers employed by ISS at the American School in Isfahan, Iran. Each was hired in Iran at a time when she was married to a person employed in that country either by Bell Helicopter International, Inc. or Grumman Aerospace Corporation, each of which provided goods and services to the Iranian government. Both Lillibridge and Bryant were hired pursuant to what has been called, in this case, a “local-hire” contract, one of the two kinds of contracts which ISS entered into with teaching personnel at the American School. The other kind of contract has been referred to in this case as the “ISS-sponsored” contract, under which an employee received benefits substantially greater than those received under the local-hire contract.

ISS is a private, non-profit corporation organized under the laws of the District of Columbia, with its headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey. ISS works by contract with overseas governments or corporations to operate schools for children of American employees overseas. The services it provides are educational consulting, school operation, education staffing, purchasing, procurement and financial management.

The case was tried without a jury, and decision was reserved. This opinion constitutes this Court’s findings of fact and conclusions of law.

II. Findings of Fact

A. The ISS Contracts

The American School in Isfahan, one of the schools ISS operated, was established in 1973, pursuant to a contract between ISS and Bell Helicopter. The contracts which Bell Helicopter and other companies performed for the Iranian government required the presence of the companies’ employees overseas in Iran. These employees *475 brought their families. It was ISS’s responsibility, under its contract, to establish a school and employ and supervise the staff of the school where the children of these employees would be educated. ISS initially contracted with Bell Helicopter to operate the American School; for 1976 and thereafter, ISS contracted directly with the Iranian government to operate the school.

The school term for the American School ran from September of one year through June of the next year, and the staff went on annual leave for the summer months. The American School operated until January 6,1979, when it was permanently closed due to the revolution in Iran which began in late 1978.

All of the staff at the American School were compensated according to the same base salary scale, which varied depending upon (1) teaching experience and (2) educational achievement. The base salary scale is not an issue in this case.

In addition to base salary, all staff were offered certain other benefits. These benefits were:

1. A continuity incentive equal to 15% of base salary after three years of service and for each subsequent year thereafter;
2. ISS-paid major medical insurance, life insurance and long-term disability insurance;
3. Voluntary participation in a retirement plan. This was a TIAA/CREF plan. The staff member contributed a minimum of 5% of base salary to this retirement plan; if the staff member did this, ISS would contribute 10% of base salary;
4. Voluntary participation in Blue Cross/Blue Shield. ISS would pay 50% of the premium and the staff member would pay the other 50% of the premium.

Teachers at the American School taught under two kinds of contracts — local-hire contracts and ISS-sponsored contracts. 1 Regardless of the kind of contract, the duties of the teachers did not differ. Persons who had ISS-sponsored contracts received additional allowances. These additional allowances were as follows:

1. An overseas allowance paid monthly and equal to 25% of base salary. This was for each member of a teaching couple as of the school year commencing September, 1978, and to one member of the teaching couple prior to that date;
2. A transportation allowance of $150 per month to help offset the costs to be incurred because it was prohibitively expensive to ship automobiles to Iran;
3. Reimbursement for costs of transportation and entry into Iran, including passport fees, and medical examinations;
4. A one-time relocation allowance to assist the transition from previous home to new home in Iran;
5. Housing allowance or housing in an American Community near Isfahan (including utilities);
6. Annual round-trip fare to home of record in the United States for staff member and accompanying dependents;
7. Round-trip airfare to and from the United States in case of a death in the family;
8. Shipping allowance based on weight of baggage for staff members and dependents for initial location and a small allotment on an annual basis thereafter;
9. Transition costs (included hotel, motel and per diem allowance for up to three to four days in the United *476 States, and for up to twenty-eight days in Isfahan);
10. Storage of household goods at home of record (up to $500 per year); and
11. Annual round-trip airfare for college age children (up to four round-trips per four-year period).

The extra benefits paid under the ISS-sponsored contracts were comparable to extra benefits which business corporations under contract with the Iranian government paid to United States citizens they recruited to work in Iran. ISS specifically patterned its benefits upon those provided by Bell Helicopter.

Teachers having ISS-sponsored contracts were hired in the United States and in Isfahan; teachers having local-hire contracts were hired only in Isfahan.

B. Bryant’s Employment by ISS

Bryant was married to Marc Jernigan in 1974 and was an elementary school teacher by profession. She expected to accompany her husband to Iran, where he was to be employed by Grumman.

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502 F. Supp. 472, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15946, 24 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 31,440, 24 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 747, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bryant-v-international-schools-services-inc-njd-1980.