Miles v. E. I. Dupont De Nemours & Co.

354 F. Supp. 650, 5 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 982, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14695, 6 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 8788
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Texas
DecidedMarch 2, 1973
DocketCiv. A. No. 7398
StatusPublished

This text of 354 F. Supp. 650 (Miles v. E. I. Dupont De Nemours & Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miles v. E. I. Dupont De Nemours & Co., 354 F. Supp. 650, 5 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 982, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14695, 6 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 8788 (E.D. Tex. 1973).

Opinion

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

STEGER, District Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Plaintiff brings this suit as a class action pursuant to Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Plaintiff alleges that he and members of the class he represents were discriminated against by terms, conditions and customs in employment. Plaintiff further alleges that he was discriminatorily discharged from employment of Defendant and that discriminatory employment practices by Defendant occur in its employment practices. Plaintiff’s complaint alleges that this suit is instituted pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C.A., Section 2000e et seq. The jurisdiction of this Court is invoked to secure protection or to redress deprivation of rights covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and also, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, a statutory derivative of the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Plaintiff contends that he was illegally discharged on or about July 6, 1970, because of his race or color without reason in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Plaintiff alleges that this is a proceeding for a declaratory judgment as to the rights of the Plaintiff and the class he represents and for an injunction restraining Defendant from maintaining a policy, practice, custom or usage of discriminating against Plaintiff and the class he represents with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, and privileges of' employment which deprives Plaintiff and the class he represents of equal employment opportunities. Plaintiff contends that the class he represents is composed of all Negroes employed by the Defendant prior to July 2, 1965, and those employed by the Defendant from that date to the time of trial.

Defendant denies each and every allegation contained in the Plaintiff’s complaint, except paragraphs V and VI. Defendant further contends that the Plaintiff’s complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted in that such complaint reflects on its face that it was not filed within the period of limitations provided in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which created the right of action upon which such complaint is purportedly based. Defendant further contends, in the alternative, that the Plaintiff Allen Miles, Jr., was discharged for just cause and was not discharged because of racial discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Further in the alternative, Defendant contends that the Plaintiff, Allen Miles, Jr. is not a proper representative of the class he purports to represent, and that there has been no racial discrimination by the Defendant against any class of employees.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Plaintiff, Allen Miles, Jr., is a black male citizen of the United States and a resident of the State of Texas.

2. The Defendant, E. I. duPont de Nemours & Company, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as Dupont), is incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware and maintains a plant in Beaumont, Texas, and is an employer within the meaning of that term as defined in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

3. Allen Miles, Jr. was first employed by the Defendant, duPont, at Beaumont, Texas, on or about September 16, 1965. On his written application for employment at duPont, Miles expressed no job preference but in his oral interview Miles indicated that he wanted a [652]*652job in the clerical field and since duPont was interested in placing blacks in all lines of employment, Miles was assigned as a clerk in the mail room.

4. duPont was not guilty of racial discrimination in assigning Allen Miles, Jr. to the mail room initially instead of placing him in the Production Department as an operator helper.

5. On or about April 21, 1966, Allen Miles, Jr. was promoted and transferred into the Production Department as an operator’s helper, by bid and plant seniority. Prior to such time Miles was not eligible for transfer to another department because the quality of his work was unsatisfactory and the company policy regarding transfers between departments, which was applicable to all employees, reflected that an employee could not bid for a job in another department until he had accumulated six months’ time in the department from which he was bidding.

6. duPont was not guilty of racial discrimination by refusing to permit the Plaintiff, Miles, to transfer into another department during the first few months of his employment at duPont.

7. On or about April 28, 1969, Allen Miles, Jr. was promoted to the job of operator, by bid and plant seniority, and continued in this job until his termination on July 6,1970.

8. In June 1968 an opening developed as a mechanic in the Maintenance Department at duPont. Before Allen Miles was permitted to bid for the job, he was required by duPont to take a written Mechanic Reasoning Ability Test. Miles failed to pass the test. The Mechanical Reasoning Ability Test was subsequently validated in May 1969 by duPont by a study made within the guidelines established by the EEOC. Even if Miles had passed the MRA Test, he would not have obtained the job of mechanic because Miles had less plant seniority than the successful bidder for the job opening.

9. Allen Miles, Jr. was not denied the opportunity of working as a mechanic in the Maintenance Department by duPont because of racial discrimination.

10. On or about January 7, 1970 Allen Miles, Jr. slipped and fell while at work at duPont and saw the company doctor, Dr. Herbert Hennington. Shortly thereafter Allen Miles, Jr. went on vacation for three (3) weeks and then reported back to work at duPont at the end of his vacation period on or about February 3, 1970. After working one week, he reported ill on February 10, 1970, claiming severe back pains and did not report back to work until February 19, 1970.

11. Allen Miles, Jr. applied for disability wages for the time that he was off work from February 10, 1970 to February 18, 1970, but his application for disability wages was turned down by duPont because (1) the supervisors at duPont were not satisfied, after conferring with various doctors, that his absence from work during this period was due to his being disabled, and (2) disability wages were not payable under the company disability plan for disability due to an occupational injury or illness.

12. Allen Miles, Jr.’s application for disability wages for the time that he was off work from February 10, 1970, to February 18, 1970, was not rejected or disallowed by duPont because of racial discrimination.

13. On or about February 26, 1970, Allen Miles, Jr. was placed on disciplinary probation for a period of one (1) year by duPont because of excessive absenteeism in the preceding year (e. g., missing 39 working days in a seven-month period and being late on numerous other occasions, in addition to the last incident). Miles was also warned that any more absences of one or more days from work that were unexcused or for reasons that were not acceptable to management would be grounds for termination of his employment.

14. Allen Miles, Jr. was placed on disciplinary probation by duPont on or [653]*653about February 26, 1970 because of poor attendance in the preceding year and not because of racial discrimination.

15.

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354 F. Supp. 650, 5 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 982, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14695, 6 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 8788, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miles-v-e-i-dupont-de-nemours-co-txed-1973.