Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Local 638

81 F.3d 1162
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedApril 10, 1996
DocketNos. 401, 402, 718, Dockets 95-6047, 95-6049, 95-6135
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 81 F.3d 1162 (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Local 638) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Local 638, 81 F.3d 1162 (2d Cir. 1996).

Opinion

WALKER, Circuit Judge:

As this case approaches its twenty-fifth birthday, it is before us for a fourth time. In July 1993, Plaintiff-appellee City of New York (the “City”) moved for contempt or a modification of the district court’s prior orders. In an Amended and Corrected Opinion, dated March 6, 1995, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Robert L. Carter, District Judge) found that Defendant-appellant Local 28 of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association (“Local 28” or “the Union”) had violated the district court’s previous orders. As a result of Local 28’s contempt, the district court ordered a court-appointed Administrator to award back pay to certain nonwhite members of the Union; awarded to the plaintiffs their attorneys’ fees and costs; increased Local 28’s contribution to the Employment, Training, Education and Recruitment Fund (the “ETER fund”); altered Local 28’s reinitiation policy; required the parties to recalculate the preexisting membership goal; imposed a hiring hall and a job rotation system (described infra, pp. 1179-80) both on Local 28 and on the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ Association of New York City, Inc. and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association of Long Island, Inc. (together the “Contractors”); and ordered the Administrator to appoint a person to the newly-created position of Field Monitor. See EEOC v. Local 638, 889 F.Supp. 642 (S.D.N.Y.1995) (“EEOC VI” or the “Contempt Order”).

Pursuant to the district court’s order, the Administrator appointed a Field Monitor, outlined his duties, directed Local 28 and the Contractors to cooperate with him, and enjoined the parties from interfering with him (the “Administrator’s order”). The district court denied the Contractors’ motion to vacate the Administrator’s order in an opinion, dated June 6, 1995 (the “June 6 Order”). See EEOC v. Local 638, No. 71 Civ. 2877(RLC), 1995 WL 334688 (S.D.N.Y. June 6,1995).

Local 28 appeals from the finding of contempt and the remedies imposed upon it by the Contempt Order. The Contractors appeal from the imposition of the hiring hall and job rotation system and from the denial of the motion to vacate.

BACKGROUND

Because an understanding of the long history of this litigation illuminates the present dispute, we summarize the previous proceedings before turning to the issues now before us.

A Prior Proceedings.

The United States1 commenced this case against Local 28 in 1971, alleging that Local 28 had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq. After a bench trial, the district court held that Local 28 and its Joint Apprenticeship Committee and Trust (“the JAC”) had discriminated both in admission to the apprenticeship program and in direct admission to Local 28. See EEOC v. Local 638, 401 F.Supp. 467, 487 (S.D.N.Y.1975) (“EEOC I”). The district court therefore imposed a remedial racial goal of 29% nonwhite membership on Local 28 and ordered that Local 28 achieve that goal by July 1, 1981. The district court also ordered the parties to agree upon a procedure for reaching the 29% goal under the supervision of a court-appointed Administra[1169]*1169tor, although the court did impose some specific provisions, including a requirement that Local 28 and the JAC maintain lists of whites and nonwhites who sought membership into Local 28. Finally the court ordered the award of back pay to those nonwhites who had applied for membership, had their applications denied, and could show monetary damages therefrom. Id. at 488-91.

Soon thereafter, the district court entered an Order and Judgment (“0 & J”), dated August 28, 1975. In the 0 & J, the district court permanently enjoined Local 28, as well as its

officers, agents, employees and successors and all persons in active concert or participation with them in the administration of the affairs of Local 28 ... from engaging in any act or practice which has the purpose or the effect of discriminating in recruitment, selection, training, admission to membership in Local 28, admission to membership in the Local 28 Apprentice Program ... indenturing apprentices, referral, advancement, compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment against any individual or class of individuals on the basis of race, color or national origin. Local 28 shall not exclude or expel any individual from membership in Local 28 or the Apprentice Program ... or fail or refuse to refer any individual for employment with sheet metal contractors, their agents, subsidiaries or successors ... on the basis of race, color or national origin, nor shall they take any other action which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities with Local 28 contractors ... because of such individual’s race, color or national origin. They shall ... administer all of the affairs ... so as to ensure that no individual is excluded from equal work opportunities, including but not limited to overtime and advancement, on the basis of race, color or national origin. ■

The district court also appointed David Raff to be the Administrator and ordered Raff and the parties to agree on an affirmative action program.

In response to the 0 & J, the Administrator proposed an Affirmative Action Program and Order (“AAPO”), which was submitted to the district court. After considering the parties’ objections, the district court modified the AAPO and adopted it in a Memorandum and Order. See EEOC v. Local 638, 421 F.Supp. 603, 617-20 (S.D.N.Y.1975) (“EEOC II ”). The AAPO, as adopted by the district court, established interim nonwhite membership goals for Local 28 to meet; set nondiscriminatory criteria for membership in Local 28’s apprenticeship program and for admission to journeyman status; and created very specific recordkeeping requirements for Local 28 and the JAC. Id. at 606-17.

Local 28 and the JAC appealed from both the findings of discrimination and the remedies imposed by the district court. This court affirmed the district court’s determination of the liability issues. We also affirmed the appointment of the Administrator, the permanent injunction against Local 28, the overall membership goal for Local 28, and the apprenticeship program. We disapproved, though, of the requirement that one of the JAC’s trustees be replaced with a nonwhite trustee, and we modified the district court’s order to eliminate a required ratio of white to nonwhite acceptances into the apprenticeship program, on the ground that admission to the apprenticeship program should be “based on test results alone.” We also modified the back pay remedy to allow the use of both testimonial and documentary evidence of an application for and a rejection of membership. See EEOC v. Local 638, 532 F.2d 821, 827, 829-33 (2d Cir.1976) (“EEOC III”). On remand, the district court adopted the modifications in a Revised Affirmative Action Plan and Order (“RAAPO”). Over a dissent, we affirmed. See EEOC v. Local 638, 565 F.2d 31, 36 (2d Cir.1977) (“EEOC IV”).

In 1982 and 1983, the City twice moved for an order holding Local 28, the JAC, and the Contractors in contempt.

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Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Local 638
81 F.3d 1162 (Second Circuit, 1996)

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81 F.3d 1162, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/equal-employment-opportunity-commission-v-local-638-ca2-1996.