Trujillo v. Santa Clara County

• Decision Date: 05 November 1985
• Docket Number: No. 84-2281,84-2281
• Parties: 44 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 954, 39 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 35,871 Eduardo P. TRUJILLO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 1359

775 F.2d 1359

44 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 954,

39 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 35,871

Eduardo P. TRUJILLO, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 84-2281.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted March 14, 1985.

Decided Nov. 5, 1985.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

John D. Fouts, True, Wetzel, Colton, Fouts & Ogulink, San Francisco, Cal., for plaintiff-appellant.

Steven Woodside, San Jose, Cal., for defendant-appellee.

Before WALLACE and POOLE, Circuit Judges, and STEPHENS, ^* District Judge.

WALLACE, Circuit Judge:

Trujillo appeals from the district court's dismissal of his employment discrimination claims on the ground that they are precluded by Trujillo's previous actions initiated under California's administrative procedures. The district court had jurisdiction under 42 U.S.C. Secs. 1981, 1983, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), 42 U.S.C. Secs. 2000e to 2000e-17, and pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Secs. 1331, 1343. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291. We affirm, in part on other grounds.

I

In August 1974, the County of Santa Clara Sheriff's Department (the County) hired Trujillo to work on a federally-funded project (the project) to study the control, custody and care of jail inmates. The County hired Trujillo for the position of Administrative Analyst II on a six-month provisional basis.

In order to advance to the status of permanent employee, Trujillo was required to pass a civil service examination. He failed the examination and, as a result, the County terminated his employment in February 1975. Had Trujillo passed this examination and a further oral examination, he would have continued in his position until the project's termination in August 1977. After a successful probationary period, Trujillo would then have been eligible to transfer to another county position.

The examination in question was subsequently submitted for review to the Technical Advisory Committee (the Advisory Committee) of the California Fair Employment and Housing Commission (the Commission). The Advisory Committee found that the test violated its testing guidelines because it had an adverse impact on persons of Mexican origin and was not shown to be job-related.

On August 22, 1975, Trujillo filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging discrimination on the basis of race and national origin in violation of Title VII. As required by section 706(c) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e-5(c), Trujillo also filed a state complaint with the Fair Employment Practice Commission, the Commission's predecessor, ¹ alleging violations of section 1420 of the California Fair Employment Practices Act, Cal.Lab.Code Secs. 1410-1433 (West 1971), which was superseded in 1980 by the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Cal.Gov't Code Secs. 12900-12996 (West 1980 & Supp.1985). ²

Under the FEHA, an individual has a right to employment opportunities free from discrimination on numerous grounds, including race, Cal.Gov't Code Sec. 12921 (West 1980) (former section 1412), and such discrimination is against public policy, id. Sec. 12920 (West 1980) (former section 1411), and unlawful. Id. Sec. 12940(a) (West Supp.1985) (former section 1420). An individual claiming discrimination in employment must file a complaint with the Commission, id. Sec. 12960 (West Supp.1985) (former section 1422), the function of which is to investigate, conciliate and seek redress for aggrieved individuals. See id. Sec. 12930 (West Supp.1985) (former section 1419). After a complaint is filed, the Commission must investigate, id. Sec. 12963 (West 1980) (former section 1421), and if it finds the claim to be valid it must seek conciliation. Id. Sec. 12963.7 (West 1980) (former section 1421). If conciliation fails, it must issue an accusation to be heard by the Commission at an administrative hearing. Id. Sec. 12965(a) (West Supp.1985) (former section 1423). If an accusation is not issued within 150 days after the filing of a complaint, or if the case is otherwise closed by the Commission, the Commission must issue a right-to-sue letter to the complainant. Id. Sec. 12965(b) (West Supp.1985) (former section 1422.2(b) ). ³ Only upon receipt of a right-to-sue letter may an individual then file a civil action in a California Superior Court. Id. The EEOC deferred to the state agency according to Title VII's scheme. See 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e-5(c).

The Commission decided to proceed to accusation against the County in June 1979. An Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) held a hearing, with counsel for the Commission presenting the case for Trujillo, as directed by the statute, see Cal.Gov't Code Sec. 12969 (West 1980) (former section 1425). Prior to the hearing, Trujillo had consulted an attorney to discuss the procedures for pursuing his claims. At the hearing itself, however, he appeared without counsel. Nevertheless, he was permitted to make a statement to the ALJ and to file two lengthy briefs by stipulation of the Commission and the County.

The ALJ subsequently found that the County had discriminated against Trujillo by terminating his employment on the basis of the examination. In his proposed decision, the ALJ awarded Trujillo back pay from the date of his discharge (February 1975) through the date of the project's termination (August 1977). In August 1980, the Commission adopted the ALJ's proposed order but extended the period of back pay up to the time of its decision, reasoning that but for the examination, the County would have hired Trujillo as a permanent employee. The Commission, however, refused to order reinstatement. Both parties then petitioned the Commission for reconsideration of its order, which was denied.

In January 1981, the County filed a petition for a writ of mandate under Cal.Civ.Proc.Code Sec. 1094.5 (West Supp.1985) in the Superior Court of Santa Clara County to set aside the Commission's decision. The Commission's attorney and Trujillo's independent counsel opposed the County's petition. Trujillo's attorney filed a memorandum in opposition both to the County's petition and to portions of the Commission's decision which failed to award Trujillo reinstatement. He also requested attorneys' fees.

The trial court overturned the Commission's decision on the ground that there was no evidence of discrimination surrounding Trujillo's termination. Trujillo did not appeal the trial court's adverse determination. The Commission, however, appealed to the California Court of Appeal. That court reversed the trial court, but modified the Commission's decision essentially to reinstate the ALJ's award to terminate the County's back pay liability as of the date of the project's completion. The appellate court held that the assumption that Trujillo would continue to be employed by the County after the project had terminated was too speculative to support liability for further back pay or to require reinstatement.

In August 1982, before the conclusion of the state proceedings, Trujillo filed this action seeking reinstatement, full back pay and attorneys' fees. His complaint alleges violations of both Title VII and 42 U.S.C. Secs. 1981, 1983. The district court held that his claims were precluded. We review the district court's dismissal on summary judgment de novo. Lojek v. Thomas, 716 F.2d 675, 677 (9th Cir.1983).

II

Section 1738 provides that the "judicial proceedings of any court of any ... State ... shall have the same full faith and credit in every court within the United States ... as they have by law or usage in the courts of such State ... from which they are taken." 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1738. Trujillo concedes that section 1738 applies to his claims under the civil rights statutes. We agree. See Migra v. Warren City School District Board of Education, 465 U.S. 75, 104 S.Ct. 892, 898, 79 L.Ed.2d 56 (1984). Trujillo argues, however, that because Title VII requires a plaintiff to bring a claim to the attention of a state agency before suing in federal court, see 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e-5(c), Congress did not intend section 1738 to apply to Title VII claims, at least not in the circumstances of this case.

The district court held that section 1738 applies to Trujillo's Title VII claim in light of Kremer v. Chemical Construction Corp., 456 U.S. 461, 102 S.Ct. 1883, 72 L.Ed.2d 262 (1982) (Kremer). In Kremer, the Court held that section 1738 applies to a Title VII action after an employee appeals a state agency's decision regarding his employment discrimination claim to the state courts. See id. at 473-78, 102 S.Ct. at 1893-95. Although Trujillo concedes that Kremer 's language is broad enough to control this case, he argues that we should not apply Kremer because it was the County rather than the employee who initiated the state court proceedings. He contends that to preclude a Title VII claim in a situation in which an employee was in state court only because he was forced to defend a state administrative decision "would have dire consequences for Title VII's scheme of deferral of employment discrimination claims to state agencies."

We must decide, therefore, whether Kremer applies when it is the employer rather than the employee who seeks judicial review of an adverse state administrative decision in the state courts. In Kremer, the employee filed a complaint with the EEOC, which referred the complaint to the New York Division of Human Rights. 456 U.S. at 463-64, 102 S.Ct. at 1887-88. That agency concluded that there was no probable cause to believe that the employer engaged in the alleged discriminatory practices. Id. at 464, 102 S.Ct. at 1888. The employee then unsuccessfully appealed the case in the Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court. Id. The EEOC subsequently issued the employee a right-to-sue letter after ruling that reasonable cause did not exist to believe the...