Hoffman v. Outback Steakhouse of Florida, Inc.

251 F.R.D. 603, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45629
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedJune 11, 2008
DocketCivil Action No. 06-cv-01935-EWN-KLM
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 251 F.R.D. 603 (Hoffman v. Outback Steakhouse of Florida, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hoffman v. Outback Steakhouse of Florida, Inc., 251 F.R.D. 603, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45629 (D. Colo. 2008).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND HOLDING IN ABEYANCE IN PART EEOC’S MOTION TO COMPEL DISCOVERY

KRISTEN L. MIX, United States Magistrate Judge.

This matter is before the Court on EEOC’s Motion to Compel Discovery [Docket No. 267; filed March 27, 2008] (“Motion”). Pursuant to Interrogatory Nos. 20 and 21, Plaintiff Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) seeks to compel Defendants to produce supplemental information regarding hourly positions at Outback Steakhouse restaurants in the three-state region of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana. Motion [#267] at 1. Pursuant to Interrogatory No. 3 and Document Request No. 6, EEOC seeks to compel Defendants to produce information regarding employee complaints of gender discrimination and sexual harassment made to Defendants, including the identities of John Doe and Jane Does and information concerning Defendants’ investigation into each complaint. Id.

The Court has reviewed the Motion [#267], Defendants’ Response to EEOC’s Motion to Compel Discovery [Docket No. 272; filed April 21, 2008] (“Response”), EEOC’s Reply in Support of Motion to Compel [Docket No. 277; filed May 6, 2008] (“Reply”), the entire case file, and the applicable case law and is sufficiently advised in the premises. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Motion is GRANTED IN PART and HELD IN ABEYANCE IN PART, for the reasons set forth below.

I. Supplemental Information for Hourly Positions

Interrogatory No. 20 asks that Defendants identify all positions filled by new hire, transfer, or promotion during the relevant time period (January 1, 2002 to March 31, 2007), and for each position filled provide the following information: 1) the name, location, and store number of the restaurant; 2) the date the position became available and date it was filled; 3) the identities of all candidates considered for the position; 4) the name and gender of the individual selected; and 5) the reason why the successful candidate was selected over other candidates. Motion [# 267] at 5. EEOC also requests that Defendants “[p]lease provide this information in electronic database form.” Id. A prior Court Order effectively limited the scope of EEOC’s discovery requests to Outback Steakhouse restaurants in the three-state region of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana (“Region 47”). [Docket No. 205; filed November 2, 2007].

Interrogatory No. 21 asks that Defendants identify by date, job title, and location any position for which each Participant/Claimant was considered for promotion or transfer, and for each position identified, identify other candidates considered for the position, the individuals who made the selection decision, and the class member’s supervisor at the time she was being considered for the position. Motion [# 267] at 7.

Defendants provided an electronic database of employment records, which has been maintained since Defendants transitioned to [607]*607an electronic record-keeping system regarding management positions (mid-2002) and regarding hourly positions (January 2003). Response [# 272] at 5. Although the database contains some of the information requested, EEOC argues that the database does not completely respond to Interrogatory Nos. 20 and 21 for the following three reasons: 1) the database does not encompass the entire time period of the litigation; 2) it does not accurately reflect job titles because many of the hourly positions, such as bartender, headwaiter, key manager, or assistant kitchen manager, appear as “server” or “kitchen worker”; and 3) it contains no information about which employees were considered for each available position. Motion [# 267] at 2-3.

EEOC seeks to compel Defendants to fully respond to Interrogatory Nos. 20 and 21 regarding individuals employed by Defendants from January 1, 2002 through March 31, 2007 in Region 47. Id. at 16-17. Defendants argue that they already adequately responded to these interrogatories by providing EEOC an electronic database of employee information, which included name, gender, and job position for over 7,000 hourly employees. Response [#272] at 5. Moreover, Defendants provided EEOC with the personnel file of every management employee in Region 47 since 2001. Id. Defendants argue that supplemental information regarding hourly positions is irrelevant to EEOC’s case and providing it would impose an undue burden on Defendants. Id. at 2.

A. Relevance

Defendants dispute the relevance to EEOC’s case of supplemental information on hourly positions in Region 47. Id. at 4.' They argue that EEOC has repeatedly attempted to broaden the scope of its claims beyond failure to promote women to management positions. Id. Pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the scope of discovery is broad and it “is not limited to issues raised by the pleadings, for discovery itself is designed to help define and clarify the issues.” Gomez v. Martin Marietta Corp., 50 F.3d 1511, 1519 (10th Cir.1995) (citation omitted). Indeed, “[i]t is plain that the scope of discovery through interrogatories ... is limited only by relevance and burdensomeness, and in an EEOC case the discovery scope is extensive.” Rich v. Martin Marietta Corp., 522 F.2d 333, 343 (10th Cir.1975).

EEOC’s First Amended Complaint alleges that Defendants engaged in a pattern or practice of “discriminating against women in terms and conditions of employment, including without limitation, providing women less favorable job assignments, less training opportunities, and less opportunity for advancement” [Docket No. 25 at 1-2; filed January 30, 2007] (“Complaint”). The Court finds that this language clearly contemplates discrimination by Defendants regarding all employment positions, including hourly positions. As such, each hourly employee’s accurate job title and the identities of candidates for each hourly position in Region 47 from January 1, 2002 through March 31, 2007 are relevant to EEOC’s claim that Defendants discriminated against women in terms and conditions of employment. The various hourly positions identified by Defendants as available at restaurants in Region 47 obviously entail opportunities for increased earnings or advancement. Advancement within hourly positions, such as promotions to bartender or transfers to preferred shifts, may provide employees with opportunities for increased earning capacity. Moreover, promotions to the hourly positions of headwaiter, key manager, or assistant kitchen manager may include additional employment responsibilities or provide leadership opportunities which may qualify employees for advancement to management positions. General job title descriptions, such as “server” or “kitchen worker,” do not fully and accurately describe opportunities for advancement among hourly positions. Accordingly, information responsive to Interrogatory Nos. 20 and 21 regarding hourly positions, including exact job titles for each hourly employee, the identity of candidates for each of these hourly positions, the identities of persons selected for promotions or transfers, and the reasons for selection, is relevant to EEOC’s claim that women were provided less favorable job assignments, fewer training opportunities, and fewer opportunities for advancement.

[608]*608B.

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251 F.R.D. 603, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45629, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hoffman-v-outback-steakhouse-of-florida-inc-cod-2008.