Whittaker v. Department of Human Resources

86 F.R.D. 689, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11565, 31 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 893
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedMay 15, 1980
DocketCiv. A. No. C79-2311A
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 86 F.R.D. 689 (Whittaker v. Department of Human Resources) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Whittaker v. Department of Human Resources, 86 F.R.D. 689, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11565, 31 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 893 (N.D. Ga. 1980).

Opinion

ORDER

ROBERT H. HALL, District Judge.

The plaintiff Bettye Ann Whittaker is a black woman who was a probationary employee with the Department of Human Resources of the State of Georgia until she was discharged. The plaintiff seeks to maintain this suit as a class action, brought for herself and on behalf of all others similarly situated, against the Department of Human Resources for violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended. 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e, et seq. Now pending before the court are four motions: Defendant’s Motion for Partial Dismissal of Class Allegations; Defendant’s Motion for Partial Summary Judgment; Defendant’s Motion for a Protective Order; and Plaintiff’s Motion for Certification of the Class.

PARTIAL SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Defendant moves for partial summary judgment on plaintiff’s charges of sex discrimination arguing that the plaintiff presented no claim of sex discrimination to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) during its administrative investigation. The filing of a charge of discrimination with the EEOC is a condition precedent to the bringing of a civil action [691]*691under Title VII.1 The scope of the judicial complaint is governed by the scope of the EEOC investigation which can reasonably be expected to grow out of the charge of discrimination. Sanchez v. Standard Brands, Inc., 431 F.2d 455, 466 (5th Cir. 1970). The Fifth Circuit has quoted with approval the test stated in King v. Georgia Power Co., 295 F.Supp. 943, 947 (N.D.Ga. 1968): The judicial complaint “ ‘may encompass any kind of discrimination like or related to allegations contained in the charge and growing out of such allegation during the pendency of the case before the Commission.’ ” Id.

To its motion for partial summary judgment the defendant attached a copy of the EEOC charge which the plaintiff filed with the agency. Plaintiff stated on the charge form, “I feel that I have been discriminated against because of my race (Black) by being discharged from my job unfairly in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.’’ On the EEOC form in the space labelled “Cause of Discrimination,” plaintiff marked the box “race or color.” Plaintiff did not mark the box la-belled “sex.”

The defendant also attached to its motion for partial summary judgment a copy of the EEOC’s determination. In its determination, the EEOC summarized Whittaker’s charge: “Charging Party alleges that the Respondent engages in unlawful employment practices ... by unfairly discharging her from her job because of her race (Negro).” The EEOC’s finding showed that “two Caucasian employees on working test accumulated a greater number of absences than did Charging Party, but were neither reprimanded nor terminated. Evidence shows Charging Party was replaced by a Caucasian male.” The EEOC went on to say, “It is also undisputed that the number of Negroes on the staff during the year studied is disproportionately low; while at the same time, the discharges for Negroes is disproportionately high. Absent evidence to the contrary, we must conclude that race was at least a factor in Charging Party’s discharge. . . . ”

In her response filed on January 22,1980, plaintiff argues that the court should hold in abeyance defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment on the allegations of sex discrimination until this court considers and rules upon plaintiff’s motion for certification of this case as a class action. Plaintiff states that because discovery is incomplete, ruling on defendant’s motion is inappropriate.

The plaintiff has failed to demonstrate under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(f) how a delay for more discovery would help her to oppose defendant’s partial summary judgment motion. Rule 56(f) permits a party opposing a summary judgment motion to file affidavits stating why he is unable to present by affidavit facts justifying his opposition; Rule 56(e) prescribes the form of affidavits. When the requirements of Rule 56(f) are met, the court may deny the summary judgment motion, permit a continuance, order more discovery or make any order which is fair.

In this case, plaintiff has not filed any affidavit showing why a delay or more discovery would be helpful, as required by Rule 56(f). But the court does not rest its decision to reach the merits of defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment on the technical ground of plaintiff’s non-compliance with Rule 56(e) and (f). Instead, the court finds that more discovery would not aid the plaintiff in presenting evidence on the scope of plaintiff’s charge filed with the EEOC and the scope of the EEOC investigation. The plaintiff has attached to her motion for class certification her own [692]*692affidavit, her correspondence with the Department of Human Resources and other state officials, a copy of the charge filed with the EEOC, the EEOC’s determination, an EEOC letter notifying plaintiff that her case was being sent to the Justice Department, the right-to-sue letter from the Justice Department and a letter from the plaintiff to the EEOC. The right-to-sue letter from the Justice Department notified the plaintiff of her right to inspect the EEOC investigative file, invited her or her attorney to contact Ms. Betty A. Adams of the EEOC with questions and gave Ms. Adams’ address. The court finds that the plaintiff has had ample opportunity to develop facts justifying her opposition to defendant’s motion for partial summary judgment, see H. Kessler & Co. v. EEOC, 472 F.2d 1147 (5th Cir. 1973), and the court will decide the issue on the basis of the information now before it, including the documents the plaintiff filed in support of her motion for class determination.

The court finds that the plaintiff’s charge filed with the EEOC and the investigation of the EEOC were limited to allegations of racial discrimination. The plaintiff in her charge stated, “I feel that I have been discriminated against because of my race (Black) . . .’’In its determination, the EEOC summarized the charge as one of “unlawful employment practices . by unfairly discharging her from the job because of her race (Negro).” The EEOC’s findings of fact were that two whites had poorer work records than the plaintiff but were neither reprimanded nor discharged and that the plaintiff was replaced by a white male. The EEOC’s determination reveals that the agency examined statistical evidence for employment of Negroes. The EEOC concluded that “race was at least a factor in Charging Party’s discharge.”

The only evidence suggesting that discrimination on the basis of sex was also investigated is the EEOC’s finding that the plaintiff was replaced by a white male and plaintiff’s letter to the EEOC of February 17, 1977. In her letter, the plaintiff stated that her original charge was “correct but too general to facilitate proper investigation procedures. To be more specific, I contend that my employment was terminated without cause solely for the purpose of creating a vacancy which would enable David Cauthern, a temporary employee to remain employed within the department." Evidently David Cauthern is the white male mentioned in the EEOC report who replaced the plaintiff when she was discharged.

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Bluebook (online)
86 F.R.D. 689, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11565, 31 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 893, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whittaker-v-department-of-human-resources-gand-1980.