Gutierrez v. Municipal Court of Southeast Judicial Dist., Los Angeles County
| Citation | 838 F.2d 1031 |
| Decision Date | 22 April 1988 |
| Docket Number | 85-6532 and 86-5888,Nos. 85-5931,s. 85-5931 |
| Parties | 51 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 435, 90 A.L.R.Fed. 763, 45 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 37,726, 56 USLW 2440 Alva GUTIERREZ, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. MUNICIPAL COURT OF the SOUTHEAST JUDICIAL DISTRICT, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, incorrectly sued as "County of Los Angeles, a public entity; Porter de Dubovay; John W. Bunnett; and Russell F. Schooling, in their capacity as officials having authority to issue personnel rules for employees of the County of Los Angeles at the Municipal Court of the Southeast Judicial District," Defendants-Appellants. Alva GUTIERREZ, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Porter DE DUBOVAY; John W. Bunnett; and Russell F. Schooling, Defendants- Appellants. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) |
Larry J. Roberts, Petersen & Ferguson, Santa Ana, Cal., for defendants-appellants.
Gerald Sato, Allred, Maroko, Goldberg & Ribakoff, Los Angeles, Cal., for plaintiff-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
Before BROWNING, TANG and REINHARDT, Circuit Judges.
Alva Gutierrez, a Hispanic-American, brought an action challenging an English-only rule enacted by the Southeast Judicial District of the Los Angeles Municipal Court. The district court granted Gutierrez's motion for a preliminary injunction enjoining enforcement of the rule. Appellants challenge the issuance of the injunction and also appeal the district court's denial of their motion for summary judgment on Gutierrez's section 1981, 1983, and 1985(3) claims. Their motion was based on the defenses of absolute and qualified immunity.
Because Gutierrez established both a likelihood of success on the merits and the possibility of irreparable injury, we hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in entering the preliminary injunction. Further, we hold that appellants are not entitled to absolute legislative immunity. Finally, because the district court did not have the opportunity to consider whether Gutierrez's complaint satisfied the pleading requirements that apply when a qualified immunity defense is implicated, we remand for further proceedings.
The Southeast Judicial District of the Los Angeles Municipal Court employs Alva Gutierrez and a number of other bilingual Hispanic-Americans as deputy court clerks. Gutierrez has held her position since 1978. Bilingual clerks, in addition to their other duties, translate for the non-English speaking public. In March, 1984, the Municipal Court promulgated a new personnel rule which forbade employees to speak any language other than English, except when acting as translators. In December, 1984, the rule was amended to exclude conversations during breaks or lunchtime. However, all other conversations conducted at work remained subject to the rule. The court's actions greatly disturbed Gutierrez and other Hispanic-American employees.
Gutierrez filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in December, 1984. Subsequently, in March 1985, she filed this action against Municipal Judges Porter de Dubovay, Russell F. Schooling, and John W. Bunnett, and the Southeast Judicial District of the Los Angeles Municipal Court, seeking monetary damages, injunctive relief, and attorneys fees. 1 In her district court complaint, Gutierrez contends that the municipal court rule constitutes racial and national origin discrimination with respect to a term or condition of employment in violation of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e-2(a), and that such discrimination denies her the right to make contracts equally with white persons in violation of 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981. She further asserts that the rule denies her equal protection of the laws and infringes upon her right to free speech in violation of the first and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution, and seeks damages for interference with her constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. Secs. 1983 and 1985(3) 2. The district judge, finding a likelihood that the rule violated Title VII, granted Gutierrez's request for a preliminary injunction and enjoined appellants from enforcing the rule. 3
Later, Gutierrez sought to depose the three judges, but they refused to answer questions relating to their reasons for adopting the rule and moved for summary judgment. The judges asserted the defenses of absolute legislative immunity and qualified immunity to Gutierrez's non-Title VII claims--i.e., those brought under 42 U.S.C. Secs. 1981, 1983, and 1985(3). The district court denied the motion for summary judgment, ruling first--as to absolute immunity--that the judges did not act as legislators in promulgating a personnel rule for the clerk's office, and second, and without further explanation, that the judges were not entitled to qualified immunity. The district judge then certified the immunity issues to this court. Prior to these rulings, a magistrate had entered an order compelling the Municipal Court judges to answer the questions relating to their motives. The district judge stayed that order pending our further action. We subsequently agreed to decide the immunity issues along with the appeal from the preliminary injunction. 4
1. Whether the district court erred in issuing the preliminary injunction restricting enforcement of the English-only rule.
2. Whether the district court erred in determining that the municipal court judges were not entitled to absolute immunity.
3. Whether the district court erred in determining that the municipal court judges were not entitled to qualified immunity.
4. Whether the district court erred in asserting jurisdiction over Gutierrez's Title VII claim.
Appellants contend that the district court erred in issuing a preliminary injunction enjoining the enforcement of a personnel rule that provides:
The English language shall be spoken by all court employees during regular working hours while attending to assigned work duties, unless an employee is translating for the non-English-speaking public. This rule does not apply to employees while on their lunch hour or work breaks.
Gutierrez challenges the English-only rule under Title VII using adverse impact and disparate treatment theories. 5 She asserts that a regulation mandating the speaking of English-only by its terms has a disproportionate adverse impact on Hispanics. She contends that the rule, although allegedly facially neutral, unfairly disadvantages Hispanics because their ethnic identity is linked to use of the Spanish language. She also notes that Hispanics constitute the vast majority of bilingual persons in the Southeast Judicial District. Gutierrez then separately avers that the rule was intentionally adopted for the purpose of discriminating against Hispanics, that any neutral appearance is pretextual, and, thus, that the rule violates Title VII's proscription against disparate treatment.
If Gutierrez is likely to succeed on the merits of her Title VII claim, under either a disparate impact or a disparate treatment theory, and she established the possibility of irreparable injury, or, if she raised serious questions for litigation regarding her Title VII claim and showed that the balance of hardships tipped sharply in her favor, she is entitled to a preliminary injunction. See Dollar Rent A Car, Inc. v. Travelers Indemnity Co., 774 F.2d 1371, 1374 (9th Cir.1985); Benda v. Grand Lodge of the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, 584 F.2d 308, 314-15 (9th Cir.1978), cert. dismissed, 441 U.S. 937, 99 S.Ct. 2065, 60 L.Ed.2d 667 (1979). In issuing its injunction, the district court determined that Gutierrez had shown a likelihood of success on the merits, and apparently ruled that irreparable injury could be presumed pursuant to Berg v. Richmond Unified School District, 528 F.2d 1208, 1212 n. 6 (9th Cir.1975), vacated on other grounds, 434 U.S. 158, 98 S.Ct. 623, 54 L.Ed.2d 375 (1977). Because Berg has been vacated it lacks precedential value. See County of Los Angeles v. Davis, 440 U.S. 625, 634 n. 6, 99 S.Ct. 1379, 1384 n. 6, 59 L.Ed.2d 642 (1979). Nevertheless, we will affirm the district court's order if Gutierrez met the criteria for the issuance of a preliminary injunction. See Bruce v. United States, 759 F.2d 755, 758 (9th Cir.1985).
Title VII prohibits discrimination in employment based on race, color, sex, religion, and national origin, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e-2, and was intended to assure equality of employment opportunities, eradicate discrimination in employment, and make the victims of employment discrimination whole. See generally International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324, 348, 97 S.Ct. 1843, 1861, 52 L.Ed.2d 396 (1977). Employment discrimination is not limited to discrimination in hiring, firing, or the payment of wages, but includes discriminatory terms and conditions of employment. 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e-2(a). Title VII forbids not only intentional discrimination with respect to conditions of employment, but also facially neutral rules which have a disparate impact on protected groups of workers, see Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424, 91 S.Ct. 849, 28 L.Ed.2d 158 (1971). A facially neutral rule which falls more harshly on a protected group--such as Hispanics--violates Title VII unless it is justified by business necessity, see Pullman-Standard v. Swint, 456 U.S. 273, 276, 102 S.Ct. 1781, 1783, 72 L.Ed.2d 66 (1982); Atonio v. Wards Cove Packing Co., 810 F.2d 1477 (9th Cir.1987) (en banc) [hereinafter cited as Atonio I ], while a rule or practice that is adopted for the purpose of discriminating against a protected group violates the statute unless it meets the stricter bona fide...
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