Lanegan-Grimm v. Library Ass'n of Portland

560 F. Supp. 486, 31 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 865, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18348, 31 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 33,512
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedMarch 23, 1983
DocketCiv. 81-933-PA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 560 F. Supp. 486 (Lanegan-Grimm v. Library Ass'n of Portland) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lanegan-Grimm v. Library Ass'n of Portland, 560 F. Supp. 486, 31 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 865, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18348, 31 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 33,512 (D. Or. 1983).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

PANNER, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Sheri Lanegan-Grimm (“Grimm”), is a former female employee of defendant, Library Association of Portland (“Library”). Defendant is a private, nonprofit organization which contracts with Multnomah County, Oregon to operate the County’s library system. Plaintiff alleges defendant discriminated on the basis of sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq., by compensating her at a lesser rate than it did a similarly situated male employee. I find for the plaintiff.

BACKGROUND

Grimm began work for the Library in January, 1972, on a part-time, “on call” basis. She became a full-time employee on August 7,1979. Due to budget cuts following the defeat of a ballot measure, Grimm was laid off full-time employment on June 30, 1981. She remained “on call” until she left the Library’s employment on October 10, 1981.

At all relevant times, plaintiff held the position of “bookmobile driver/clerk” assigned to the Library’s Extension Services office. Defendant operates one Central office, fourteen Branch offices, and the Extension Services office. There are four “bookmobile driver/clerk” positions. Grimm’s primary duty was to drive a bookmobile on various “runs” throughout Multnomah County. In addition, she loaded and unloaded books and other library materials on and off the bookmobile. The purpose of the bookmobile service is to extend library resources to those members of the public who have difficulty in coming to the Central or Branch offices.

On July 23, 1981, plaintiff filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) and the Civil Rights Division of the Oregon Bureau of Labor. She alleged she was paid less for her work than was Ben Wiens (“Wiens”), the Library’s male “delivery truck driver.” She complained that the two jobs were substantially equivalent and that the only reason she was paid less was because of her sex. Plaintiff received a “right to sue” letter from the EEOC in September, 1981. She filed suit in this court the following month, requesting back pay and attorney’s fees.

Defendant answered that the bookmobile driver and delivery truck driver positions are significantly different in that the former involves primarily clerical work while the latter entails primarily physical labor. In addition, defendant denied intentionally discriminating against plaintiff.

The matter was tried to the court on February 2, 1983.

LEGAL STANDARDS

Plaintiff alleges two grounds for her claim: first, that defendant paid her at a lesser rate than a male employee engaged in substantially similar work, and second, that defendant intentionally discriminated against her because of her sex.

Title VII prohibits sex discrimination in employment. The Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C. § 206, requires equal pay for equal work. The standards and burdens of proof developed under the Equal Pay Act apply to Title VII actions such as this one which allege disparity in compensation between sexes for jobs involving equal work. County of Washington v. Gunther, 452 U.S. 161, 101 S.Ct. 2242, 68 L.Ed.2d 751 (1981); Piva v. Xerox Corp., 654 F.2d 591, 598 n. 5 (9th Cir.1981); Laffey v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., 567 F.2d 429, 446 (D.C.Cir.1976), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1086, 98 S.Ct. 1281, 55 L.Ed.2d 792 (1977). However, Title VII is a more broadly remedial statute than is the Equal Pay Act. Laffey, 567 F.2d at 445-46. Title VII will reach disparities in compensa *489 tion where the jobs do not involve equal work but where the disparities can be traced to intentional discrimination, see, e.g., Bartelt v. Berlitz School of Languages, 698 F.2d 1003, 1006 (9th Cir.1983) (Fletcher, J.); Briggs v. City of Madison, 536 F.Supp. 435, 443 (W.D.Wisc.1982), although discriminatory intent is not a prerequisite to the success of all Title VII suits. Peters v. Lieuallen, 693 F.2d 966, 968 (9th Cir.1982). See Wang v. Hoffman, 694 F.2d 1146, 1148 (9th Cir.1982).

I. Equal Pay For Equal Work Claim.

The Equal Pay Act provides that:

No employer ... shall discriminate ... on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex in such establishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions ....

29 U.S.C. § 206(d)(1).

The initial burden of proof is on the plaintiff to show that the employer has paid different wages to employees of either sex for equal work. Corning Glass Works v. Brennan, 417 U.S. 188, 195, 94 S.Ct. 2223, 2228, 41 L.Ed.2d 1 (1974); Piva, 654 F.2d at 598. This burden entails showing by a preponderance of the evidence that the compared jobs meet all four requirements of equal skill, equal effort, and equal responsibility, and performance under similar working conditions. See 29 U.S.C. § 206(d)(1). However, it is sufficient that the jobs require substantially equal work since identical jobs are rare. Corning Glass Works, 417 U.S. at 203 n. 24, 94 S.Ct. at 2232; Schultz v. Wheaton Glass Co., 421 F.2d 259, 265 (3rd Cir.), cert. denied, 398 U.S. 905, 90 S.Ct. 1696, 26 L.Ed.2d 64 (1970) (“Congress in prescribing ‘equal’ work did not require that the jobs be identical, but only that they must be substantially equal. Any other interpretation would destroy the remedial purposes of the Act.”) (footnote omitted); Thompson v. Sawyer, 678 F.2d 257, 272 (D.C.Cir.1982); Odomes v. Nucare, 653 F.2d 246, 250 (6th Cir.1981); Laffey, 567 F.2d at 449.

Department of Labor regulations guide application of the Equal Pay Act standards to particular situations. The regulations provide that “[ijnsubstantial or minor differences in the degree or amount of skill, or effort, or responsibility required for the performance of jobs will not render the equal pay standard inapplicable.” 29 C.F.R. § 800.122.

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560 F. Supp. 486, 31 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 865, 1983 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18348, 31 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 33,512, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lanegan-grimm-v-library-assn-of-portland-ord-1983.