Leach v. Standard Register Co.

94 F.R.D. 621, 34 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1777, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17691
District Court, W.D. Arkansas·Decided June 1, 1982·No. Civ. No. 81-5068·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

H. FRANKLIN WATERS, Chief Judge.

I. Introduction

Plaintiff, Ruby Leach, instituted this action on June 15, 1981, by way of “Class Action Complaint” on behalf of all present and past employees of Standard Register of Fayetteville, Arkansas, as well as on behalf of all past and present applicants for employment at Standard Register of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Jurisdiction is invoked pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(b), 28 U.S.C. § 1343(4) and 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202.

Since that time, three volumes of pleadings, motions, briefs, exhibits and correspondence have been submitted to the Court. The Court has issued several rulings in an attempt to define the issues and allow the timely disposition of this cause.

Nine months of discovery and preparation were allotted to plaintiff to address and define the class certification issue. On March 23, 1982, a hearing was held on the certification issue and the matter was taken under advisement by the Court pending the submission of briefs by the respective parties. On April 21, 1982, Denise Parson sought leave to intervene, both individually and as a class representative, in this matter. For various reasons, intervention was denied. From the motion of Denise Parson, it appeared that plaintiff Leach had attempted to redefine the class for the fourth or fifth time. The classes remain somewhat vague and ambiguous.

Briefs have been submitted on behalf of both sides. From the voluminous materials submitted, the following facts appear:

The Standard Register Company opened its Fayetteville, Arkansas, plant in 1958. The plant is composed of an office division and a plant division. Plant operations are exclusively involved with the printing and production of business forms.

The Printing Specialities’ and Paper Products’ Union No. 673 represents bargaining unit employees within the plant division. The office workers are not unionized. Under the current and previous collective bargaining agreements, the plant is divided into ten departments; and these departments now encompass a total of 44 classifications.

Under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, promotional opportunities are provided within a department as follows: As an opening occurs within a line of progression, it is offered to lower levels of employees. Within the Collating Department, if there is a job opening in Group I, Roll Collator “C”, for example, the most senior employee in Group II and Group III would have the opportunity for promotion. Group II and Group III are considered as one for purposes of advancement opportunity.

The collective bargaining agreement also provides that an employee shall have the right at all times to improve his status or job classification by indicating a preference for a transfer from a lower-rated classification to a higher-rated classification. This is done by a transfer card. These transfer requests are maintained in the personnel office and expire one year from the date filed.

Plaintiff Leach, upon first applying for employment with defendant company on March 13, 1978, completed an application form on which she indicated that she was interested in a position either in packing or as quality control inspector. Plaintiff understood, however, that she was applying for any available position, whether permanent or temporary.

[624]*624On January 12, 1979, plaintiff was hired as a temporary employee and worked as such until she was hired as a permanent employee on June 16,1980. As a temporary employee, plaintiff either replaced absent or vacationing permanent employees in miscellaneous bindery or performed “rework.”

Plaintiff’s last period of temporary employment began on June 9, 1980, when she worked in miscellaneous bindery. This work ended on June 15, 1980, the same day that her supervisor, Jack Clark, asked plaintiff if she would like a full-time regular position in the bindery department. Plaintiff accepted the position and, the following day, began the 90-day probationary period.

Mr. Sargeant, plaintiff’s supervisor, concluded that plaintiff was an unsatisfactory probationer and decided to terminate her. Mr. Sargeant explained to plaintiff the reasons for her discharge and wrote a memo detailing his “discharge conference” with her the same day.

The day after being discharged, plaintiff wrote to the Chairman of the Board of The Standard Register Company in Dayton, Ohio, complaining of sexual harassment. She accused John Layton, a foreman, and Bob Campbell, her former foreman on second shift, of threatening that she would be fired if she didn’t consent to sexual relations with them. Plaintiff filed a charge of sexual harassment with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on September 22, 1980. In that charge, plaintiff alleged that:

1. I was discharged because I refused to date the foreman. Julie Finch was also discharged for the same reason.

2. There are other women still there who find they have to date the foreman.

Plaintiff later amended that charge to allege “discrimination against women in the area of jobs and promotions” and (1) that although she was hired as a full-time employee in miscellaneous bindery, she had not been considered for a higher-paying position because of her sex; and (2) that she had been refused jobs in other departments because she was told they were for “men only.”

The EEOC held a fact-finding conference in Little Rock on plaintiff’s charges on January 28, 1981. The plaintiff did not attend because she did not feel it was necessary to go to Little Rock and because “it was just too inconvenient.”

It is on the above-noted EEOC charges that this action is based. Plaintiff filed her class action complaint initiating this action on June 15, 1980.

It must now be determined whether this action, presently set for trial on June 28, 1982, is to be allowed to proceed on behalf of Ruby Leach individually or as a class action on behalf of all others “similarly situated.”

Other facts pertinent to the certification issue will be noted where relevant.

II. Class Actions — Generally

Unquestionably, plaintiffs seeking certification of a class have the burden of establishing that class action treatment is appropriate, with regard to the mandatory requirements of Rule 23. Smith v. Merchants & Farmers Bank of West Helena, 574 F.2d 982 (8th Cir. 1978). These requirements are: (1) that the class be so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable; (2) that there are questions of law or fact common to the class; (3) that the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of those of the class; and (4) that the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interest of the class. Rule 23, Fed.R.Civ.P.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Leach v. Standard Register Co., 94 F.R.D. 621, 34 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1777, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17691 (W.D. Ark. 1982).

94 F.R.D. 621 (Leach v. Standard Register Co.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Gentry v. C & D Oil Co.
102 F.R.D. 490 (W.D. Arkansas, 1984)