EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY v. BAY SHIPBUILDING, Civ. A. No. 79-C-870.
Citation | 480 F. Supp. 925 |
Decision Date | 19 December 1979 |
Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 79-C-870. |
Parties | EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff, v. BAY SHIPBUILDING CORPORATION, a Subsidiary of the Manitowoc Company, Inc., Defendant. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Wisconsin |
Nelson G. Alston, Supervisory Trial Atty., Barry L. Chaet, Senior Trial Atty., Isaia S. Ortiz, Trial Atty., Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Milwaukee, Wis., for plaintiff.
Sara Joan Bales, Legal Services of Northeastern Wisconsin, Inc., Green Bay, Wis., for charging party Ann Marie Keller.
Clifford B. Buelow, Milwaukee, Wis., for defendant.
This is an action for injunctive relief brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the "Commission") against the Bay Shipbuilding Corporation ("Bay"). The Commission seeks an order compelling Bay to reinstate Ann Marie Keller to her former position with the company. The Commission bases its request on the allegation that Ms. Keller was discharged because she opposed Bay's discriminatory employment practices. Currently before the court is the Commission's motion for a preliminary injunction.
The parties have submitted a set of stipulated facts, and further testimony was presented at a hearing held on November 30, 1979. The pertinent facts can be summarized as follows. Ms. Keller was hired by Bay as a security guard in November 1977. Soon after she was hired, she applied for admission to an electrician's training program operated by Bay. She was denied admission on the ground that she did not have a high school diploma. On July 26, 1978, she filed a charge of sex discrimination with the Commission. The same charge was filed with the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division on July 31, 1978. On July 11, 1979, Ms. Keller amended her charge with the Commission to allege classwide discrimination.
Ms. Keller continued to seek admission to the training program, and, in furtherance of this goal, she made a number of telephone calls to top company officials including the president of Bay and the president of Bay's parent, the Manitowoc Company. These calls were made on September 5 and 6, 1979. On September 10, 1979, Ms. Keller was discharged for "disruptive behavior."
The Commission's authority to seek preliminary injunctive relief on behalf of a charging party, such as Ms. Keller, is contained in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(2) which provides:
* * *"
The parties are not in agreement as to the standards governing motions for preliminary relief brought pursuant to this statute. More specifically, the question is whether the Commission must make a special showing of irreparable injury in order to prevail on its motion.
There are some indications that actions brought by the Commission pursuant to § 2000e-5(f)(2) are not governed by the same standards that govern traditional requests for preliminary relief. In Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Pacific Press Publishing Association, 535 F.2d 1182, 1187 (9th Cir. 1976), the Ninth Circuit made the following observations:
At least one district court has held that in § 2000e-5(f)(2) actions, the traditional equitable standards do not apply. In Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Union Bank of Arizona, 12 F.E.P. 527 (D.Ariz.1976), the Court stated:
Some district courts, however, have applied the traditional standards in §...
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