Oubichon v. North American Rockwell Corp.

325 F. Supp. 1033, 3 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 12, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9041, 3 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 8071
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedDecember 23, 1970
DocketCiv. No. 68-90
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 325 F. Supp. 1033 (Oubichon v. North American Rockwell Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Oubichon v. North American Rockwell Corp., 325 F. Supp. 1033, 3 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 12, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9041, 3 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 8071 (C.D. Cal. 1970).

Opinion

HAUK, District Judge.

Introduction

The plaintiff, a Negro, invokes the jurisdiction of this court under the Civil Rights Act of 19641 alleging that his employer, the defendant, has discriminated against him because of his race. The complaint alleges four separate acts of discrimination. They are as follows:

I. The plaintiff participated in a demonstration against the defendant on September 13, 1966. As a consequence, the defendant, allegedly motivated by considerations of race, disciplined the plaintiff by docking him five days’ pay and placing a warning notice in the plaintiff’s personnel file. The complaint alleged that this discipline was imposed on January 12, 1967. In fact the discipline was imposed earlier and January 12th was merely the date on which there was a denial of his grievance at the second step of the grievance procedure.
II. On March 27, 1967, the plaintiff was allegedly denied an opportunity to participate in an on-the-job training program for which he was qualified.
III. On May 3, 1967, plaintiff was allegedly subjected to harassment and disciplinary action while attempting to donate blood at the defendant’s plant. The discipline consisted of a warning notice.
IV. On June 13, 1967, plaintiff was transferred from one department to another. This transfer was without the plaintiff’s consent and allegedly disadvantageous to him. It was not specified how the transfer was disadvantageous.

On April 3, 1967, plaintiff filed a charge with the Los Angeles field office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). (The charge was actually signed on March 11th) The sole subject matter of that charge was the disciplinary action taken by the defendant because of the plaintiff’s participation in a demonstration against the defendant. (Paragraph I above) The EEOC referred this charge to the California Pair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC) pursuant to Section 706(b) of the Civil Rights Act of 19642. The plaintiff’s complaint was rejected by the FEPC by letter on May 2, 1967. The acts of discrimination described in paragraphs II, III and IV above were the subject of a charge filed with the EEOC on June 20, 1967. The complaint indicates that these allegations were not referred to the FEPC. This suit was commenced some seven months later on January 19, 1968.

Two of the four acts of discrimination alleged were processed through a grievance procedure established under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement between the defendant and the union, the UAW. On September 30, 1966, the plaintiff filed a grievance complaining of the acts described in paragraph I. On July 21, 1967, this grievance was re[1036]*1036solved in favor of the plaintiff. The plaintiff was reimbursed for lost pay and the warning notice was removed from his personnel file.

On May 22, 1967, the plaintiff filed three grievances in connection with the acts described in paragraph III. These grievances were resolved on May 31, 1967 by the removal from the plaintiff’s personnel file of a warning notice.

Pursuant to Rule 12(b) (1), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the defendant has moved to dismiss portions of the complaint on the grounds that the court lacks jurisdiction over the subject matter. The defendant has also moved for summary judgment on the remainder of the complaint pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

After reviewing the complaint, the defendant’s motions, exhibits and affidavits, the plaintiff’s memorandum of points and authorities and after hearing oral argument, this court is fully advised in the premises and for the reasons set out hereafter grants the defendant’s motions.

A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

Section 706(e) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides that the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts to hear a civil action arising under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is expressly dependent upon a proper exercise of jurisdiction by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.3 Section 706(b) of that same Act states that the EEOC may not assert its jurisdiction when there is a state or local authority authorized to grant relief to the person allegedly victimized by a discriminatory practice.4

California has adopted a Fair Employment Practices Act that prohibits racial discrimination5 and the EEOC has recognized the California Fair Employment Practices Act as a state law that requires deferral under Section 706(b).6 Thus, an essential prerequisite to the maintenance of the claims of this suit was the filing of a charge by the plaintiff on such claims with the FEPC. It is apparent from the complaint that the acts of discrimination described in paragraphs II, III and IV have not been the subject of a complaint to the FEPC. The defendant, therefore, contends that inasmuch as resort to available state remedies is an indispensible prerequisite to the proper exercise of subject matter jurisdiction by this court, the plaintiff’s failure to invoke the machinery of the FEPC on particular claims precludes this court from hearing such claims.

The courts that have considered the problem have made it quite clear that where, as here, substantial relief is available under state law, a person who [1037]*1037contends that he has been victimized by a discriminatory practice must first pursue his state remedies before the EEOC may validly exercise its jurisdiction. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Union Bank, 408 F.2d 867 (9th Cir. 1968); Stebbins v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, 382 F.2d 267 (4th Cir. 1967) cert. den. 390 U.S. 910, 88 S.Ct. 836, 19 L.Ed.2d 880 (1968); Edwards v. North American Rockwell Corporation, 291 F.Supp. 199 (C.D.Cal.1968); Ethridge v. Rhodes, 268 F.Supp. 83, 89 (S.D.Ohio 1967).

The plaintiff seeks to avoid the operation of this rule by invoking those cases that have held that a complaint in a civil action may contain in some circumstances allegations which are broader than those that were alleged in the charge before the EEOC. See e.g., Sciaraffa v. Oxford Paper Company, 310 F.Supp. 891 (D.Maine 1970).

Cases such as Sciaraffa are not really apposite to the facts of this case. Sciaraffa involved a charge before the EEOC alleging discriminatory discharges because of sex. The complaint then elaborated on the details of the discriminatory seniority, promotion and job classification systems which led to the discharges. The court quite rightly held that these broader allegations were sufficiently related to the unfair thing alleged in the EEOC charge to permit the action to proceed. Here, however, the plaintiff in his EEOC charge referred to the FEPC alleged one precise and detailed act of discrimination.

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Bluebook (online)
325 F. Supp. 1033, 3 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 12, 1970 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9041, 3 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 8071, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oubichon-v-north-american-rockwell-corp-cacd-1970.