McClure v. Watson

833 F. Supp. 2d 1083, 2011 WL 2412603, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62942
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Arkansas
DecidedJune 13, 2011
DocketNo. 4:10CV01172 SWW
StatusPublished

This text of 833 F. Supp. 2d 1083 (McClure v. Watson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McClure v. Watson, 833 F. Supp. 2d 1083, 2011 WL 2412603, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62942 (E.D. Ark. 2011).

Opinion

Memorandum Opinion and Order

SUSAN WEBBER WRIGHT, District Judge.

Plaintiffs are nineteen African Americans who work in the Maintenance and Operations Department (“MOD”) of the Little Rock School District (“LRSD”). They claim to have been discriminated against on the basis of race over a long period of time, including within the past four years of the filing of their complaint. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the claims of eighteen of the plaintiffs for failure to state a claim. Defendants move for dismissal of some of the claims of the other plaintiff. For the reasons stated, the Court finds the motion should granted in part and denied in part.

I.

Plaintiffs allege that the LRSD operates the MOD in a racially discriminatory manner, and that members of the LRSD Board of Directors have noted and complained about racial disparities in the department. Plaintiffs allege the MOD facility is divided into three separate sectors: one is for the workers of whom 47 of 50 are white and is located on the facility’s east side; the second sector is for workers of whom 47 of 50 are black and is located on the facility’s west side; and the third sector is in the middle and consists of two parts: (1) the seven-member management office, which is all white, and several other offices which are mixed but house less than six people, and (2) the bookkeeping unit which is mostly black.

Plaintiffs allege the white sector is well-maintained and air-conditioned while the black sector is not. Plaintiffs allege that historically the MOD supervision is racial, with black foremen (2) supervising racially identifiable work crews and the white foremen (8) supervising black and white work crews. Plaintiffs allege generally that white employees receive higher pay, receive benefits denied to black employees, are hired as regular workers as opposed to substitute workers, and have tracks for promotion. Plaintiffs say the white sector workers get the new equipment, including vehicles, while the black sector workers get used equipment; that job qualifications are subjective resulting in white sector employees more often being non-residents [1085]*1085of the LRSD while black workers are residents of the LRSD; and white employees are awarded permanent employment and supplemental pay for travel to and from work. Plaintiffs allege defendant Kevin Yarberry’s employment in 2008 was racially motivated and that while black sector employees generally have greater objective qualifications for the work in MOD, defendants allow on-the-job training for white sector employees so that they can become fully licensed in the trade designations into which they were hired.

With this background of alleged general discriminatory conditions, plaintiffs set forth their individual claims. Jerry McClure filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) in 2009, alleging he was adversely affected by defendants’ discriminatory terms and conditions of employment. He alleges that after he filed the EEOC complaint, he was demoted. McClure asserts he was denied a promotion of supervisor of MOD in favor of defendant Yarberry, a white person, even though he was more qualified than Yarberry and Yarberry was an outside applicant. He claims that soon after Yarberry was hired, McClure’s duties and responsibilities were diminished, his job title changed, and his work station given to a friend of Yarberry, who is white and a new hire. Frederick Williams claims he has worked for LRSD for sixteen years, applied for promotions on numerous occasions, and never was promoted. He claims that within the last two years, he applied for a team leader position, was denied the same, and alleges he has been subjected to continuing discrimination with respect to pay, promotion and terms and conditions of employment. Compl. at ¶ 38. Malachi Harshaw states he was hired by the LRSD in 2000 as a labor driver. He alleges that in the past few years he has sought promotions and commensurate pay and defendants continue to discriminate against him with respect to pay, promotion and terms and conditions of employment. Randy Chatman alleges he has continuously sought promotions and equal pay but has been discriminated against in terms of pay, promotion, and terms and conditions of employment. Roy Daniels makes the same claim as Harshaw and Chatman. Calvin Carter contends that in 2009 he applied for the position of electrical foreman and did not receive an interview. He claims the position was posted again in 2010, that he has been interviewed twice, and the position remains unfilled. Denious Houston claims he was not paid the same as similarly situated white employees for performing the same work. Bernard Roseby complains he was not grandfathered in as a certified electrician in the same manner was white employees. Darrell Davis alleges he has continuously sought promotions and commensurate pay for the work assignments he performed. He claims he applied for the custodian manager position in 2006 but the position was not filled, and when he applied for the grounds crew team leader position in 2007, defendants refused to set a salary commensurate with the job responsibilities. Kem Austin complains of a racially discriminatory work environment, alleging management is disrespectful and mistreats his work crew in comparison to the white work crews, and that “[a]ll other trade specialists have white crews who are better treated with respect to pay, terms and conditions of employment including work assignment than [his] crew.” Compl. at ¶ 25.

Anthony Oates, who worked as a plumber, alleges white employees were not required to go through the same training process and were paid more than he, and that white employees, some of whom he names, were assigned directly into trade [1086]*1086specialist positions. He complains he has continually sought placement as a trade specialist to no avail. Carolyn Craig alleges she applied for the job of warehouse worker but defendants hired a white female instead. She also claims she applied for a custodial supervisor position but was rejected despite being qualified and the position remains unfilled. Demetrius Chism claims he performs the duties of a trade helper but does not have the title and does not receive the pay of a trade helper. He alleges white employees have job titles and pay that reflect the duties they actually perform, and that even though defendant Yarberry is aware of the disparity, he refuses to take any action. Brien Harris claims defendants failed to promote him to the position of foreman in 2009 because of his race. He alleges Yarberry hired a white male from outside the MOD to avoid promoting Harris or another black employee, Bob Milsap. Harris claims defendants added a requirement that the applicant be certified as a mechanic in order to prevent a black person from obtaining the position. Ira Nicholson complains defendants refused to promote him in .2009 even though he was already performing the duties of the position. He claims he has been denied pay commensurate to the work he performs. Bob Milsap complains that when the black foreman of the black mechanic department retired in 2009, he was in line to succeed him. He claims defendants posted the position, interviewed Milsap, and then assigned him to work under Yarberry, leaving the foreman position vacant. Milsap complains defendants denied him an opportunity for a promotion. He claims that when foreman positions in the white departments become vacant, they are routinely filled with other white persons.

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Bluebook (online)
833 F. Supp. 2d 1083, 2011 WL 2412603, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62942, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcclure-v-watson-ared-2011.