Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Huttig Sash & Door Co.
| Decision Date | 10 April 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 74--1493,74--1493 |
| Parties | 10 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 529, 9 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 10,065 EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. HUTTIG SASH & DOOR COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
William A. Carey, Gen. Counsel, William L. Robinson, Associate Gen. Counsel, James P. Scanlan, Joseph T. Eddins, EEOC, Washington, D.C., Roger J. Martinson, Acting Reg. Atty., Alfonso McGhee, Associate Reg. Atty., Ellis L Bert, Asst. Reg. Atty., Lawrence J. Kamenetzky, Atty., EEOC, Atlanta Regional Litigation Center, Atlanta, Ga., Beatrice Rosenberg, Charles L. Reischel, Attys., EEOC, Washington, D.C., for plaintiff-appellant.
Stova F. McFadden, Mobile, Ala., Asa Ambrister, Washington, D.C., for defendant-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.
Before GODBOLD and MORGAN, Circuit Judges, and BOOTLE, District Judge.
Clavin Rencher filed a charge with the EEOC on January 14, 1969, alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act in that the company had refused to hire him because of his race and that the company maintained job classifications and facilities segregated by race. On February 3, 1972, the EEOC issued a decision finding that there was no reasonable cause to believe that the employer had violated Title VII by refusing to hire Rencher or by maintaining facilities segregated by race but that there was reasonable cause to believe that the company was violating Title VII by maintaining job classifications segregated by race and sex and by placing advertisements for jobs indicating a preference as to sex.
On March 26, 1973, the EEOC notified Rencher that conciliations efforts had failed and issued the statutory right-to-sue notice to him. On May 9, 1973, Rencher presented his right-to-sue notice and his notice of failure of conciliation to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, which simply assigned a docket number to these papers. On June 1, 1973, the court appointed counsel for Rencher. On October 1, 1973, Rencher's counsel moved for leave to dismiss the action; and on October 3, an order was entered dismissing the action with prejudice. On November 1, 1973, the EEOC initiated this action, alleging racial discrimination. The company's motion to dismiss was granted on the ground that because of the dismissal of the private suit, there was no longer an outstanding charge on which the complaint could be predicated.
The sole issue which we must decide is whether after the termination of a charging party's private suit the EEOC can bring suit predicated on, but not limited to, the same charge. We have concluded that it can, and we reverse.
In resolving the issue before us, we are unable to gain much assistance from the legislative history of Title VII and the particular sections involved here. Courts have tended to rely upon policy arguments in deciding the various questions which have arisen under Title VII. However, we are here confronted with two opposing policy considerations, each of which has some attraction. The EEOC points to the remedial nature of the statute and argues that it should not be hampered in fighting employment discrimination. The company points to the judicial policy against duplication of proceedings and argues that duplicative suits should not be permitted.
To support its position, Huttig Sash & Door relies heavily upon EEOC v. Missouri Pacific R.R., 493 F.2d 71 (8th Cir. 1974). The Eighth Circuit held that once a charging party has filed suit pursuant to a right-to-sue notice, the EEOC is relegated to its right of permissive intervention under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e--6. The court in that case was not concerned that its ruling might prevent litigation of the discrimination issues raised by the EEOC, for the court was 'fully confident' that the district judge would permit intervention by the EEOC. The narrow holding of Missouri Pacific is that while a private suit is pending, the EEOC cannot institute another suit but must seek to intervene. The court in Missouri Pacific did not have before it the question of what rights the EEOC has after the private party terminates his suit.
The rationale of Missouri Pacific offers little help in deciding the issue now before us. If the Eighth Circuit had ruled that the EEOC could bring an independent action at the same time that the private suit was being litigated, there would be two lawsuits proceeding through the courts simultaneously and dealing with identical or certainly similar issues. However, if the private suit has already been terminated (as is our situation), there would not be duplicative suits before the courts. Thus we are not faced with the same considerations that confronted the Eighth Circuit.
We are convinced that Congress meant to avoid duplicative proceedings by limiting the EEOC to permissive intervention when the EEOC raises no...
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