Home/E.D. Michigan/Schaefer v. Tannian

Schaefer v. Tannian

902 F. Supp. 746, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19700, 1995 WL 590090
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Schaefer v. Tannian. Read the opinion of the Court — 164 F.R.D. 630 →
District Court, E.D. Michigan·Decided September 26, 1995·No. No. 73-39943·Published

Opinion

CONSENT JUDGMENT

GADOLA, District Judge.

This matter having come before the Court upon the stipulation of the parties to the entry of a Consent Judgment finally and fully resolving all of the remaining claims in this action; and

It appearing to the Court that this action, initially commenced some twenty-two years ago, involves claims of discrimination based upon gender in hiring, compensation and promotion within the Detroit Police Department; and

The Court having previously determined by Order dated May 29,1974, that this action could proceed upon behalf of a plaintiff class composed of all women who since April 10, 1970 had applied for employment or who had been employed by the Detroit Police Department; and

The Court having further determined that the Detroit Police Department’s discriminatory practices having ended by June 30,1978 and that only those class members employed prior to June 30, 1978 were entitled to individual retroactive relief; and

The Court having previously found that the hiring, compensation and promotion practices challenged by the plaintiffs violated Title VII of the CM Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq., as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and having previously granted both class-wide [748]*748and individual injunctive relief, including preliminary injunctions ordering certain members of the plaintiff class hired and others promoted; awarding seniority for purposes of layoff, recall and all other purposes for which seniority is a factor in the Detroit Police Department retroactive to the date each officer would have been hired in the absence of discrimination; and pension adjustments reflecting the additional seniority awarded each officer; and

The parties to this action being desirous of avoiding further litigation and delay and having reached a settlement of all remaining claims and issues in this action, after protracted arms-length negotiations; and

It appearing to the Court that notice of the terms of the proposed settlement has previously been provided by publication and first class mail to the last known address of each member of the certified subclasses of plaintiffs; and

It further appearing that a hearing required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(e) was held by United States Magistrate Judge Virginia Morgan on February 21, 1995, at which members of the plaintiff class were afforded an opportunity to state inter alia their objections to the terms of the proposed Consent Judgment; and that following the hearing on April 17,1995, the Magistrate Judge issued a report and recommended order that the settlement negotiated by the parties be approved; and

This Court having entered an order dated August 7, 1995 accepting and adopting Magistrate Judge Morgan’s April 17,1995 Report and Recommendation; now therefore

IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that a Consent Judgment be, and the same hereby is, entered in this action, resolving all of the remaining claims of the plaintiff class, including each of the subclasses, as follows:

I.HIRING SUBCLASS

1. The City of Detroit agrees to pay to the hiring subclass damages in the amount of Five Million Eight Hundred Thousand and no/100 ($5,800,000.00) Dollars, inclusive of any and all costs and interest.

2. Each eligible member of the hiring subclass will be paid damages for lost earnings (back pay), less interim earnings as reported by the Social Security Administration, for the period she was unlawfully denied hire, according to the formula developed in consultation with the City, which reflects not only the base wage rate, but contractual and COLA adjustments, shift premium, holiday premium and average overtime (subject to applicable withholding).

3. In addition, each eligible member of the hiring subclass will be paid an additional twenty-five (25%) percent of the back pay referred to in paragraph 1-3 above representing interest on the back pay.

4. The total amount of economic damages representing back pay and interest due to each eligible member of the hiring subclass is subject to applicable withholding for federal, state and local income taxes but not social security (FICA) taxes and is set forth in Exhibit A hereto.

5. Each eligible member of the hiring subclass will be paid tort-like non-eeonomic damages for personal injuries resulting from the constitutional violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, including impairment of reputation, personal humiliation and indignity, embarrassment, anxiety, anguish, emotional distress and mental suffering, in the amount of One Thousand, Eight Hundred and Ninety Dollars and Five Cents ($1,890.05).

6. The City of Detroit agrees to prepare individual checks representing the economic damages to each member of the hiring subclass in the amounts set forth in Exhibit A, attached. The City of Detroit also agrees to prepare one check in the amount of $1,290,-907.15, representing the non-economic damages for the entire sub-class.

9. Any portion of the amounts payable under this provision which, following good faith efforts by plaintiffs’ counsel to distribute the funds, cannot be distributed within one (1) year following the exchange of the checks between the City of Detroit and plaintiffs’ counsel, shall instead be distributed as follows: (1) Fifty percent shall be distributed [749]*749to the estate of deceased class member Carolyn Green (386-50-0829); and (2) Fifty percent shall be distributed to MY SISTER’S PLACE, a program of the Women’s Justice Center, 23 E. Adams, Detroit, Michigan, 48226.

II. PROMOTION AND COMPENSATION SUBCLASS

1. The City of Detroit agrees to pay to the promotion and compensation subclass damages in the amount of Five Million and no/100 ($5,000,000.00) Dollars, inclusive of any and all costs and interest.

2. Each eligible member of the promotion and compensation subclass will be paid damages for lost earnings (back pay), in the amount of the difference between her actual earnings and the pay rate for Detective from July 2,1965 (the effective date of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) until December 24, 1970; and the difference between her actual earnings and payrate for Sergeant from that date until June 30, 1975, the date she was promoted to Sergeant or left the Detroit Police Department, whichever occurred first.

3. In addition, those subclass members who had attained the rank of Sergeant prior to or at any time between April 10, 1970 and August, 1973, will be paid damages for lost earnings (back pay) in the amount of the difference between her actual earnings and the pay rate for Lieutenant from the date of her promotion to Sergeant until June 30, 1976, the date she was promoted to Lieutenant or left the Detroit Police Department, whichever occurred first.

4. In addition, each eligible member of the hiring subclass will be paid an additional one hundred (100%) percent of the back pay referred to in paragraphs II-2 and II—3 above representing interest on the back pay.

5.

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Schaefer v. Tannian, 902 F. Supp. 746, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19700, 1995 WL 590090 (E.D. Mich. 1995).

902 F. Supp. 746 (Schaefer v. Tannian) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Civil action for deprivation of rights
42 U.S.C. § 1983
Definitions
42 U.S.C. § 2000e