Rossini v. Ogilvy & Mather, Inc.

615 F. Supp. 1520, 42 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1595, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16466
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedAugust 27, 1985
Docket78 Civ. 1713
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 615 F. Supp. 1520 (Rossini v. Ogilvy & Mather, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rossini v. Ogilvy & Mather, Inc., 615 F. Supp. 1520, 42 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1595, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16466 (S.D.N.Y. 1985).

Opinion

OPINION

GAGLIARDI, Senior District Judge.

Plaintiffs commenced this action against Ogilvy & Mather, Inc. (“0 & M”), an advertising agency, alleging employment discrimination based on sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (“Title VII”). The case was tried without a jury from October 3,1983, through November 15, 1983. In its opinion, Rossini v. Ogilvy & Mather, Inc., 597 F.Supp. 1120 (S.D.N.Y.1984), the court discussed but did not rule on the claim of salary discrimination. This decision constitutes the court’s findings of fact and conelusions of law, pursuant to Rule 52(a), Fed.R.Civ.P., on the salary discrimination claim.

Background

The court reserved decision on the claim of salary discrimination to allow revision of the relevant trial exhibits to incorporate previously omitted data on 0 & M “officers.” Such revisions became necessary when the court found erroneous a prior ruling that precluded plaintiffs’ discovery of the personnel files of 0 & M’s officers. 1 The court directed that the additional evidence would be received only to permit modification of existing exhibits to reflect the addition of officer data.

In order that neither side can take advantage of the initial erroneous discovery ruling, the court directs that, to the extent possible, the regression studies including officers replicate those based solely upon non-officers. In particular, neither side is to use this reopening of the evidence as an opportunity to add or delete contested independent variables or to alter questioned data used for non-officers.

Rossini v. Ogilvy & Mather, Inc., supra, 597 F.Supp. at 1167.

Despite this clear instruction, both sides have chosen to act as if the court were continuing trial of the salary discrimination claim. Both have unnecessarily submitted exhibits which do not comply with the court’s order. The defendant has introduced studies which add variables to previous tables. Plaintiffs have submitted tables which incorporate data specifically excluded at trial. The studies that do not conform to the court’s order accordingly are excluded from consideration. 2

The evidence introduced at trial on the issue of salary discrimination is summa *1522 rized in the November 1984 opinion, and will not be repeated here. In addition, the court now has before it plaintiffs’ direct report (ex. P-l-A) (“plaintiffs’ 1985 report”), plaintiffs’ reply report (ex. P-l-B) (“plaintiffs’ 1985 reply”), defendant’s direct report (ex. D-703) (“defendant’s 1985 report), and defendant’s reply report (ex. D-704) (“defendant’s 1985 reply”), all of which incorporate the officer data. The parties have also submitted briefs addressing the results of the 1985 reports and a stipulation filed June 24, 1985, “in lieu of further expert testimony.” 3

Discussion

I. 0 & M’s Objections to Plaintiffs' Studies

A. Relevance of the Statute of Limitations

0 & M argues that little weight should be given to the salary studies that include employees hired prior to the limitations date of May 30, 1975. It is true that primary consideration should be given to studies that reflect only 0 & M’s employment decisions after that date, i.e., regression analyses of salaries of employees hired on or after May 30, 1975, or of salary increases for all O & M employees after that date. See Sobel v. Yeshiva University, 566 F.Supp. 1166 (S.D.N.Y.1983); Melani v. Board of Higher Education of the City of New York, 561 F.Supp. 769 (S.D.N. Y.1983) (hereinafter Melani v. Board). Some consideration must be given, however, to studies of salaries of all O & M employees, even though inclusion of those hired before May 30, 1975, means that the data necessarily reflect employment decisions both preceding and following the limitations date.

Such studies may provide background evidence relevant to the claim of actionable salary discrimination within the limitations period. See United Airlines v. Evans, 431 U.S. 553, 97 S.Ct. 1885, 52 L.Ed.2d 571 (1977). Moreover, where, as here, a pattern and practice of discrimination is alleged, pre-limitations date employment decisions may be actionable as part of a continuing violation of Title VII which continued into the limitations period. See Melani v. Board, supra, 561 F.Supp. at 780-81.

O & M asserts that pre-limitations date salary decisions should serve neither as background evidence nor as proof of a pattern and practice of salary discrimination, since in 1976 O & M changed its procedures for setting salaries. The memoranda prepared and testimony given by Frances Devereux, who became director of personnel at that time, indicate that the female presence among the salary decision-makers was increased, but do not necessarily establish that the procedures followed after 1976 altered prior practice in other ways. Before 1976, salary decisions were made by the executive committee of the board of directors, an almost exclusively male group of ten people. By 1976, salary decisions were being made by a smaller salary committee composed of Devereux; Bill Phillips, a top O & M official; and either Jules Fine, for review of media department salaries, or Reva Korda, for review of creative department salaries. 4

Statistical evidence, however, supports O & M’s position that salary practices differed for the pre- and post-May 30, 1975, periods. Plaintiffs prepared a Chow test to assess whether there are statistically significant differences between the regression models arrived at for salaries of pre-limitations date hires and those calculated for post-limitations date hires. Plaintiffs’ amended Chow test (incorporating officer data) indicates statistically significant differences between regressions for personnel *1523 hired before and after the limitations date. 5 Thus, the pre-May 30, 1975, salary decisions provide relatively little useful background evidence and little indication of a continuing employment practice.

This does not mean that the court should disregard entirely salary studies which cover all 0 & M employees, however. Plaintiffs have argued that all post-limitations date salaries are relevant to the issue of whether actionable salary discrimination exists, even when they reflect pre-limitations date employment decisions. As the District of Columbia Court of Appeals stated in Valentino v. United States Postal Service, 674 F.2d 56

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615 F. Supp. 1520, 42 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1595, 1985 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16466, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rossini-v-ogilvy-mather-inc-nysd-1985.