Ali v. National Bank of Pakistan

• Decision Date: 21 January 1981
• Docket Number: 79 Civ. 0197 (RWS).
• Citation: 508 F. Supp. 611
• Parties: Muhammad Ashraf ALI, Plaintiff, v. NATIONAL BANK OF PAKISTAN, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

508 F. Supp. 611

Muhammad Ashraf ALI, Plaintiff, v. NATIONAL BANK OF PAKISTAN, Defendant.

79 Civ. 0197 (RWS).

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

January 21, 1981.

Muhammad Ashraf Ali, plaintiff pro se.

Dunn & Zuckerman, P. C., New York City, for defendant; Jeffry L. Feldman, New York City, of counsel.

OPINION

SWEET, District Judge.

In this action the plaintiff Muhammad Ashraf Ali ("Ali") alleged an unlawful employment practice by the defendant, his employer, the National Bank of Pakistan ("the Bank") in violation of Title 42, Section 2000e-2(a)(1). Discrimination is alleged to have occurred with respect to hiring, promotion, reimbursement for expenses, demotion, harassment, discharge and retaliation. The alleged acts of discrimination against Ali are claimed to reflect a policy of discrimination by the Bank against light-skinned Pakistan citizens from the Punjab province in favor of darker-skinned Pakistan citizens from the province of Sind, including preference for the latter in promotion and elevation to supervisory positions.

The action was tried to the court on May 21, 22 and 23, 1980 and at the conclusion of the trial an oral opinion was rendered and a judgment dismissing the action entered. An appeal was taken and on October 7, 1980 an opinion was filed by the Court of Appeals in which the court stated that the oral opinion of May 23, 1980 contained no citation of cases and failed to distinguish between fact and conclusions of law. The court stated its inability to discern whether or not the court below adhered to the principles of McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), and further stated:

We are therefore constrained to remand to the district court for its reconsideration and we reserve judgment on the merits pending the receipt of revised findings and conclusions.

Upon remand, the parties were requested to submit proposed findings and conclusions which were received on November 25, 1980.¹ What follows is the court's revised findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Findings of Fact

Ali is a light-skinned individual whose origins are in the Punjab, one of the four present provinces of Pakistan.² He is a well-qualified, well-educated person holding B.A., M.A. and LL.D. degrees. Ali was employed by the Bank from January 19, 1974 until December 17, 1977 in various capacities. The Bank operates with between 25 and 30 employees in this district.

Certain of the supervisory officers of the Bank who testified at trial were darker than Ali (Messrs. Durvesh and Zahid) and others were substantially the same color as Ali or only marginally darker (Mr. Faroog, and both Messrs. Haider). Zahid was a native of the province of Sind. A number of employees of the Bank in New York were described as light-skinned, and those so described predominated in the less highly paid positions. Ali testified that natives of Punjab are lighter in complexion than those from Sind. No contrary evidence was adduced. No evidence by way of expert testimony or treatise was presented with respect to color differences among the various provinces of Pakistan, or discrimination based on color. Ali is darker in complexion than those commonly termed white in the United States.

Color alone does not suffice to establish the provincial origin of a Pakistan citizen. No statistical evidence was presented with respect to the number and color of the employees of the Bank over any stated period of time. There was no evidence of any bank record which contained any reference to provincial origin or color.

During the period from 1974 to 1977 some seven individuals were hired by the Bank, three of whom were dark-skinned and received payment of $110 weekly starting salary; three of whom were light-skinned and were hired at $100, including Ali who was hired as a mail clerk. Those hired at $110 a week were hired at a significantly later date, at a time when the entrance level salary had risen to that amount. However, one employee—light-skinned—was hired at $100 in 1977. Officers of the Bank denied hiring on the basis of color or provincial origin, and no evidence was adduced to contradict their assertion that hiring was based solely on education, qualification, the Bank's requirements and the result of a personal interview.

No evidence was presented to establish that training programs were limited to those of dark skin.

In the course of his employment by the Bank, Ali was promoted from mail clerk to general duty clerk to document checker, a task which involves reviewing the requirements set forth in letters of credit and determining whether the documentation with respect to those letters will permit the execution of the letter. Further, there has been testimony by a responsible officer of the Bank that no supervisory positions have been accorded to anyone locally in the New York branch; that such supervisory determinations are made in the head office. There is no indication of a dark-skinned employee similarly situated to Ali, having achieved a supervisory position. During his employment Ali sought to be reimbursed for tuition for banking-related courses. A trail of corporate documents established that the institution of reimbursement for such courses was legitimately limited to a class of employees not including Ali.

Ali, after a series of promotions, reached a pay level of $205 per week and was due for an annual increment in July, 1977. Prior to that time he received a demotion which arose out of an incident on May 4, 1977 between him and his supervisor Durvesh, who is of darker skin. There was no statement or record of any indication of any reliance upon color as a motivating factor for the acts which flowed from the episode. Indeed, it is apparent that Ali, a proud and capable man, felt put upon by his supervisor and by the latter's overruling of various positions which Ali had taken with respect to certain documents which he had checked. These were characterized in the testimony as "discrepancies," and the overruling of a discrepancy involves a redetermination as to whether or not a particular letter of credit is to be executed.

These discrepancies, overruled by Ali's supervisor,...