Donnell v. General Motors Corp.

Decision Date24 May 1978
Docket NumberNo. 77-1443,77-1443
Citation576 F.2d 1292
Parties17 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 712, 16 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 8315, 3 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 118 Joseph DONNELL, for himself and for all other persons similarly situated, Appellant, v. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, a corporation, Chevrolet Motors Division, GeneralMotors Assembly Division, United Automobile, Aerospace & Agricultural ImplementWorkers of America, Local # 25, and International Union, United Automobile,Aerospace& Agricultural Implement Workers of America, Appellees.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

James E. McDaniel, St. Louis, Mo., argued, Doris J. Banta, Otis M. Smith and J. R. Wheatley, Detroit, Mich., on brief, for General Motors Corp.

Ralph O. Jones, Intern. Union, UAW, Detroit, Mich., argued, John A. Fillion, Jordan Rossen, M. Jay Whitman and Edwin G. Fabre, Detroit, Mich., on brief, for Intern. Union, UAW and Local No. 25.

Before HEANEY and HENLEY, Circuit Judges, and HANSON, Senior District Judge. *

HEANEY, Circuit Judge.

This appeal arises out of an employment discrimination action brought pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and 42 U.S.C. § 1981, against General Motors Corporation (GMC), the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW), and Local No. 25. Joseph Donnell, 1 a black, alleged that the defendants discriminated against him with respect to entry into two skilled trades' training programs established by GMC and the UAW. He sought back pay and attorney's fees. After a trial on the merits, the District Court entered judgment for the defendants.

On appeal, Donnell contends that the District Court erred in failing to hold that he established a prima facie case of discrimination with respect to entry into the apprenticeship program and in excusing the defendant unions from liability. We agree and reverse and remand to the District Court for further proceedings.

I.

Donnell was first employed by GMC at the Chevrolet Division shell plant on Goodfellow Street in St. Louis, Missouri. He was employed at the shell plant until it closed in late 1969. During the last two and one-half years of his employment at the shell plant, he participated in the Employees-In-Training (E.I.T.) program a skilled trades' training program. He was first classified as a cutter-grinder E.I.T. and next as a machinist-tool room E.I.T.

In May of 1970, Donnell was again employed by GMC, this time at its assembly plant on Union Boulevard in St. Louis. There was no transfer of seniority or job classification from the shell plant to the assembly plant. There were no cutter-grinder or machinist-tool room jobs available at the assembly plant. 2

During June and July of 1970, Donnell made three applications for entry into the E.I.T. program. There were no formal educational requirements for entry into that program. Entry was determined on the basis of seniority and qualifications, with seniority prevailing absent special qualifications. The District Court found that Donnell was denied entry into the program on the basis of seniority. He does not challenge this finding on appeal.

During July of 1970, Donnell also filed an application for entry into the apprenticeship program established under the national agreement between GMC and the UAW. An applicant must initially satisfy each of the following requirements:

(1) A new employee applicant must be between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six. A seniority employee applicant must be under forty-five.

(2) He must have no disqualifying physical limitations.

(3) He must be a high school graduate with at least a "C" final grade average or at least one year of algebra or geometry with a "C" final grade average. He may also qualify if he has an equivalent education demonstrated by passing the General Educational Development (GED) test. 3 If an applicant meets each of the above requirements, he is granted a personal interview and given an opportunity to take a series of aptitude tests. He is then evaluated and ranked in accord with the point rating system set forth as part of GMC-UAW Standard Apprentice Plan. The collective bargaining agreement provides that not more than one non-employee shall be selected for every two employees selected for the program.

Donnell was rejected for failure to satisfy the educational requirements. While Donnell had stated on his written application that he satisfied the educational requirements, he admitted at the preliminary interview, in July of 1970, that he had not, in fact, done so. In March of 1971, Donnell submitted his high school transcript which revealed he had only attended high school for one semester and did not satisfy the educational requirements. He was advised to take the GED test. He did obtain his GED in November of 1971. 4

II.

At trial, Donnell sought to establish that the requirement of a high school education, or its equivalent, for acceptance into the apprenticeship program violated Title VII and § 1981 because it operated to disqualify more blacks than whites and was not justified as a business necessity. The District Court stated that:

The Court is presented herein with the unusual circumstance that plaintiff would establish a prima facie case if (the) test were the impact of the requirement upon blacks in general and would not establish a prima facie case if the test were the impact of the requirement upon black applicants. The Court is compelled to conclude that plaintiff has not established a prima facie case.

We are convinced that the District Court erred in interpreting applicant data and that Donnell did establish a prima facie case of discrimination with respect to entry into the apprenticeship program through evidence of the disproportionate impact of the educational requirements upon blacks and evidence of the significant underrepresentation of blacks in the skilled trades and skilled trades' training programs at the GMC assembly plant in St. Louis.

In order to establish a prima facie case of discrimination under Title VII in a case alleging disparate impact, the plaintiff must show only that the facially neutral standard in question selects applicants in a significantly discriminatory pattern. Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 95 S.Ct. 2362, 45 L.Ed.2d 280 (1975); Griggs v. Duke Power Co.,401 U.S. 424, 91 S.Ct. 849, 28 L.Ed.2d 158 (1971); Firefighters Institute, Etc. v. City of St. Louis, 549 F.2d 506 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 819, 98 S.Ct. 60, 54 L.Ed.2d 76 (1977). Proof of discriminatory motive or discriminatory intent is not required. International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324, 335 n.15, 97 S.Ct. 1843, 52 L.Ed.2d 396 (1977); Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, supra 422 U.S. at 422, 95 S.Ct. 2362; Griggs v. Duke Power Co., supra 401 U.S. at 430-432, 91 S.Ct. 849; Firefighters Institute, Etc. v. City of St. Louis, supra at 510. See generally Schlei & Grossman, Employment Discrimination Law 1-12 (1976). There is no "inflexible formulation" of what constitutes a prima facie case; it varies with respect to differing factual situations. International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States, supra 431 U.S. at 358, 97 S.Ct. 1843; McDonnell Douglas v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802 n.13, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973); Williams v. Anderson, 562 F.2d 1081, 1088 (8th Cir. 1977).

In this case, the statistical evidence clearly established that the requirement of a high school education, or its equivalent, had a disparate impact upon blacks in the relevant geographical area. 5 See Green v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Company, 523 F.2d 1290, 1293 (8th Cir. 1975). Only 27.9% of black males over fourteen in the St. Louis, Missouri-Illinois, Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) had completed four years of high school in the 1970 census, while 49.1% of white males over fourteen had done so. 6 The median school years completed for black males twenty-five years and older in the St. Louis SMSA is 9.6 years, while the median school years completed for all males in the area is 11.8 years. 7 These statistics can be considered in demonstrating the existence of the disparate impact of the requirement of a high school diploma, or its equivalent, upon blacks. See, e. g., Griggs v. Duke Power Co., supra 401 U.S. at 430 n.6, 91 S.Ct. 849; Johnson v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Synthetic Rub. Pl., 491 F.2d 1364, 1371 n.10 (5th Cir. 1974); United States v. Georgia Power Company, 474 F.2d 906, 918 (5th Cir. 1973); United States v. Ironworkers, Local 10, 6 FEP Cases 59, 62 (W.D.Mo.1973).

The defendants object to reliance upon general population statistics from the St. Louis SMSA because two employees must be admitted into the apprenticeship program for every new hire admitted. 8 They contend that the plaintiff should have also introduced evidence of the educational background of plant employees. While evidence as to the educational background of employees would have been desirable, and perhaps more probative, we cannot say that the plaintiff was required to introduce such evidence under the circumstances of this case. The plaintiff did submit interrogatories requesting information as to the educational background of GMC employees. However, GMC refused to answer them on the grounds that it would have had to examine each employees' personnel file to obtain the date. Since information as to the employees' educational background was in the exclusive control of GMC, the plaintiff could not obtain the information without GMC's cooperation. 9 Absent such cooperation, the plaintiff is entitled to the inference that the educational patterns of the St. Louis SMSA were the same as the educational patterns of the assembly plant employees. Moreover, GMC, as the sole possessor of information as to employees' educational backgrounds, had ample opportunity at trial to rebut the inference of a...

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