Howard v. Summit County Welfare Department

525 F. Supp. 1084, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15646, 27 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1099
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Ohio
DecidedNovember 4, 1981
DocketCiv. A. C81-288A
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 525 F. Supp. 1084 (Howard v. Summit County Welfare Department) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Howard v. Summit County Welfare Department, 525 F. Supp. 1084, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15646, 27 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1099 (N.D. Ohio 1981).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

CONTIE, District Judge.

This action was instituted by plaintiff, Wilbur D. Howard, pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983 and the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution. The plaintiff alleges that the Summit County Welfare Department unlawfully and intentionally discriminated against him on the basis that he is a member of the black race.

The plaintiff alleges that he is a black citizen of the United States presently employed by the defendant Summit County Welfare Department (SCWD). The plaintiff further alleges that he applied for and was denied a transfer-promotion to the professional position of Affirmative Action Planner at the SCWD. The plaintiff finally alleges that he was denied the position of Affirmative Action Planner (AAP) on the basis of his race and that this constituted discriminatory disparate and unequal treatment.

This Court possesses jurisdiction over this matter under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343, 2201 and 2202. And, having received testimony and documentary evidence, the following shall constitute this Court’s findings of facts and conclusions of law as required by Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, rule 52(a). 1

A. Findings of Facts

In May of 1978, the Summit County Welfare Department sent a notice to the Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) that it was adding the position of Affirmative Action Planner to its table of organization. The notice was sent for the purpose of having such position classified by the Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS) into a particular pay range.

*1087 County welfare departments are required by the Department of Administrative Services to submit tables of organization charts. The charts are then used by the Department of Administrative Services for the purpose of effectively evaluating the responsibility of each position so that the new position can be correctly classified. All civil service positions, under Ohio law, must be classified by the Department of Administrative Services. Once classified, the county welfare departments are able to assess the economic feasibility of the new position in light of its classified pay range.

The DAS, however, is in no way responsible for the filling of vacant positions. The complete authority and responsibility for the filling or deletion of positions remains at all times within the authority of the county welfare departments. The fact that a position appears vacant on the table of organization has no relationship to the issue of whether or not the position is being offered to qualified applicants. Further, it is within the authority of the welfare departments to delete the vacant positions at any time from the table of organization although any such deletion must be communicated to the DAS.

The Department of Administrative Services classified the Affirmative Action Planner position as a professional position within pay range 28 with a starting pay of $5.44 per hour. And, with anniversary pay raises the position would pay $5.76 per hour in the second year, $5.99 per hour in the third year, and $6.30 per hour in the fourth year.

The uncontroverted testimony at trial established that the position of Affirmative Action Planner remained vacant until it was deleted from the SCWD table of organization in July of 1979. 2 Additionally, the testimony established that before a vacancy is filled it must be posted for at least five work days and prior to making a selection, all candidates must be interviewed. The position of Affirmative Action Planner was never posted, never offered, and never filled by any person. Finally, the evidence established that the DAS, as a matter of policy beginning March 5, 1979, would automatically delete from the table of organization all positions vacant for six months or longer in December of each year. Consequently, had the SCWD not deleted the position of Affirmative Action Planner in July of 1979, the position would have been removed from the Table of Organization automatically by the DAS. 3

During the period that the position of Affirmative Action Planner was vacant and unposted the plaintiff approached the director of the SCWD seeking appointment to the vacant position. In June of 1979 Mr. Howard submitted an affirmative action plan to the director and orally applied for the position. The plaintiff testified that except for that one oral request to the SCWD director he did not further pursue the matter until after its deletion from the table of organization. 4

The plaintiff, Mr. Howard, testified that he was qualified for the position based on three factors. First, the plaintiff received a correspondence degree in 1975, a bachelor of science degree in social welfare, from the University of OTAY-MESA in San Diego, California. Second, the plaintiff asserted the quality of his affirmative action plan which was a compilation of plans from various federal sources. And, third, the plaintiff presented a recommendation at trial by *1088 the Equal Employment Officer of the University of Akron.

Finally, the testimony at trial established that at the time that Mr. Howard applied for the position Affirmative Action Planner he was employed in the professional position of Management Analyst II with a pay scale range of 30. The first year salary in this position was $6.61 per hour with an increase in the second year to $7.14 per hour and to $7.49 per hour in the third year and $7.86 per hour in the fourth year. Despite the plaintiff’s insistence that he would have been entitled to an increase in pay, the evidence established that the plaintiff would have realized a decrease in his hourly and annual salary had he received the position Affirmative Action Planner. The position that Mr. Howard is presently employed has a pay range higher than that to which position Affirmative Action Planner was classified so that Mr. Howard could not even have made a lateral move in order to receive the pay that he is presently receiving.

The plaintiff herein contends that the position of Affirmative Action Planner was deleted from the table of organization after the plaintiff applied for the position on the basis of his race. The plaintiff further alleges that the SCWD was under an obligation to hire an Affirmative Action Planner pursuant to state regulations promulgated by the Department of Administrative Services.

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Bluebook (online)
525 F. Supp. 1084, 1981 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15646, 27 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1099, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/howard-v-summit-county-welfare-department-ohnd-1981.