AFSCME v. County of Nassau, CV-84-1730.

• Citation: 799 F. Supp. 1370
• Decision Date: 24 August 1992
• Docket Number: No. CV-84-1730.,CV-84-1730.
• Parties: AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO, (AFSCME); the Civil Service Employees Association, Inc., Region I/Local 1000, (CSEA); Rita Wallace, Rachel Braver, Dorothy Garage, Linda Kelly, and Lois Whitely on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. COUNTY OF NASSAU; its County Executive; the Comptroller; the Members of the County Board of Supervisors; and the Members of the Civil Service Commission, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

799 F. Supp. 1370

AMERICAN FEDERATION OF STATE, COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES, AFL-CIO, (AFSCME); the Civil Service Employees Association, Inc., Region I/Local 1000, (CSEA); Rita Wallace, Rachel Braver, Dorothy Garage, Linda Kelly, and Lois Whitely on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. COUNTY OF NASSAU; its County Executive; the Comptroller; the Members of the County Board of Supervisors; and the Members of the Civil Service Commission, Defendants.

No. CV-84-1730.

United States District Court, E.D. New York.

August 24, 1992.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Paul Smith and Joel I. Klein, Onek, Klein & Farr, Washington, D.C., for plaintiffs.

William H. Pauley, III, Snitow & Pauley, New York City, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

GLASSER, District Judge:

This class action was brought pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and to the Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d). This court has jurisdiction pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(3), 29 U.S.C. § 216(b), and 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1343(3), (4). The named plaintiffs are: the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO, (AFSCME), an international labor union; the Civil Service Employees Association Inc., Region I/Local 1000, (CSEA), a regional affiliate of AFSCME which represents approximately 13,800 employees of the County of Nassau; and several female employees of the County of Nassau. These plaintiffs represent a class comprised of all women employed at any time since July 28, 1982 in a Nassau County civil service job title with respect to which at least 70% of the incumbents have been female. The defendants are the New York State County of Nassau, the Nassau County Executive, the Nassau County Comptroller, the members of the Nassau County Board of Supervisors, and the members of the Nassau County Civil Service Commission.

As filed, the first amended complaint alleged violations of Title VII and of the Equal Pay Act by the County as to its compensation system; more specifically, the unions and the individual plaintiffs alleged that the County "discriminates in compensation on the basis of sex by paying historically female job classifications less than historically male classifications which require an equivalent or lesser composite of skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions." Amended Complaint ¶ 3(D). These allegations were advanced on behalf of a class "of all employees, male and female, employed within the applicable limitations period by the County of Nassau in historically female sex-segregated job classifications in the classified service." Id. ¶ 3(B). The complaint defined "historically female sex-segregated job classifications" as those "classifications in an occupational group or job family for which the entry level classification is or ever has been 70% or more female." Id. Further, the individual plaintiffs alleged specific violations of Title VII and of the Equal Pay Act. Id. ¶¶ 10-19. The amended complaint sought injunctive relief, back pay, liquidated damages, costs, and attorney's fees. Id. ¶ 24.

On motion of the defendants, this court on May 17, 1985 dismissed the Equal Pay Act claims of former plaintiffs Stephen Goldberg and Fred Jordan as well as the Equal Pay Act claim of plaintiff Lois Whitely; the court also dismissed the Title VII claims of all plaintiffs insofar as they sought relief under a disparate impact theory. AFSCME v. County of Nassau, 609 F.Supp. 695 (E.D.N.Y.1985). On July 13, 1987, this court dismissed the Title VII claims of all the male plaintiffs. The court also certified at that time a class comprised of all female employees of the County of Nassau who, since July 28, 1982, have worked in Nassau County civil service jobs that have ever had at least 70% female employees. The court designated the named individual plaintiffs and the two union plaintiffs to represent the class. The certification did not apply to the Equal Pay Act claims. AFSCME v. County of Nassau, 664 F.Supp. 64 (E.D.N.Y.1987). Subsequently, named plaintiff Odessa Colvin dismissed her Title VII claims with prejudice, and named plaintiffs Laurie Gillibertie and Erna Fluhr were removed by stipulation.

The parties stipulated to bifurcate the trial for this action; the liability segment began on November 27, 1989 and concluded with final arguments on May 11, 1990. For the reasons indicated below in the findings of fact and conclusions of law made pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52(a), this court holds that the plaintiffs have failed to prove violations of Title VII or of the Equal Pay Act by a preponderance of the evidence as to all claims except the Title VII claims of the class members employed as police detention aides. Accordingly, judgment shall be entered for the defendants on all other claims.

FINDINGS OF FACT

I. The Nassau County Compensation System

In order to consider the plaintiffs' claims of sex discrimination by the County of Nassau, it is necessary first to provide a coherent view of the system under which Nassau County classifies jobs, determines salaries, and incorporates changes into its compensation system. Accordingly, these findings of fact must begin with an overview of the present structure of the Nassau County compensation system; further, it is necessary to review the process by which the present system was created as well as the manner in which it has been modified since its inception.

One significant terminological observation must be made at the outset: The parties and the witnesses at trial employed the terms "female-dominated" to refer to job titles for which 70% or more of the incumbents are women, "male-dominated" to refer to job titles for which 70% or more of the incumbents are men, and "mixed" to refer to job titles that are neither female-dominated nor male-dominated. Although counsel at times introduced confusion as to whether or not they were observing rigorous distinctions in their phraseology (see, e.g., Plaintiffs' Post-Trial Brief at 1: counsel appear to equate the term "female-dominated" with "predominantly female") the court will, for the sake of clarity, use the terms "female-dominated", "male-dominated", and "mixed" only as defined above. As used by the court, the terms "female-dominated" and "predominantly female" are not equated; as used by counsel, the possibility of equivalence between such phrases as "predominantly female" and "female-dominated" must be discerned from context.

A. Overview: The Present Structure

Nassau County, New York, employs over 19,000 people in approximately 1,500 job titles. As with all local governments in the State of New York, employment by the County is regulated through the New York State Civil Service Law. The Civil Service System — administered by the Nassau County Civil Service Commission — divides county employees into "classified" and "unclassified" service. Tr. 1231. "Unclassified" positions are those of elected officials, department heads, and board members. "Classified" positions — the vast majority of County jobs — are subdivided into an "exempt" class, a "competitive" class, a "non-competitive" class, and a "labor" class. Tr. 1231. The "exempt" class is generally comprised of deputy commissioners and of certain professionals. The "labor" class is that for which no training or experience requirements are established. The "non-competitive" class is that for which training and experience requirements are established but for which examinations are impracticable. Tr. 1231-32. Positions in non-competitive jobs are filled by discretionary hiring at individual County departments — subject to confirmation by the Civil Service Commission that the hired applicant satisfies the training and experience requirements for the particular position. Tr. 1257-58. Finally, the "competitive" class (in which the greatest number of Nassau County jobs are found) is that for which competitive examinations are required by the New York State Civil Service Law. Tr. 1230-33. The Civil Service Commission posts and distributes notices of forthcoming examinations. Tr. 1254; see, e.g., DX UUU-4. Pursuant to state law, open positions in a competitive job must be filled from an "eligibility list" of applicants compiled and ranked on the basis of examination results. Tr. 1233. Candidates on the list must be selected in a modified rank order; that is, any open position must be offered to one of the top three eligible applicants. Tr. 1249. This is known commonly as the "one-in-three" rule. Tr. 1249.

The salaries of Nassau County employees are determined by job titles and by seniority. All job titles other than those of police personnel and of college faculties — and other than those which are either unclassified or exempt — are assigned to one of 27 salary "grades." PX 672. The minimum and maximum salaries for a particular grade are identical for all job titles at that grade. Further, an employee within a job title progresses through regular salary "steps" in a given grade; progression from one step to another is grounded on seniority. Tr. 1311-12. However, the number of steps through which a particular employee moves in the grade for her job title is not the same for all employees; rather, it is dependent on the first date of the employee's tenure with the County. Employees who were hired on or before June 30, 1967 move through seven steps for their grades ("Plan A"); employees who were hired after June 30, 1967 but on or before December 31, 1976 also move through seven steps for their grades ("Plan B"); and employees who were hired on or after January 1, 1977 have 15 steps for their grades ("Plan C"). DX ZZZ-2; Tr. 1311-12.

Compensation at each grade and step has increased through the years pursuant to "across-the-board" pay increases negotiated in collective bargaining agreements between the County and the plaintiff CSEA (which represents most of the employees...