Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, NC

• Decision Date: 16 February 1983
• Docket Number: No. C-C-81-204-M.,C-C-81-204-M.
• Citation: 557 F. Supp. 412
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of North Carolina
• Parties: Phyllis A. ANDERSON, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF BESSEMER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA, Defendant.

557 F. Supp. 412

Phyllis A. ANDERSON, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF BESSEMER CITY, NORTH CAROLINA, Defendant.

No. C-C-81-204-M.

United States District Court, W.D. North Carolina, Charlotte Division.

February 16, 1983.

Jonathan Wallas and Ronald L. Gibson, Chambers, Ferguson, Watt, Wallas, Adkins & Fuller, P.A., Charlotte, N.C., for plaintiff.

Philip M. Van Hoy, Siegel, O'Conner & Kainen, P.C., Charlotte, N.C., Henry Whitesides and Arthur C. Blue, III, Whitesides, Robinson & Blue, P.A., Gastonia, N.C., for defendant.

FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

McMILLAN, District Judge.

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

This case was tried without a jury on September 13 and 14, 1982. On September 16, 1982, this court filed a memorandum of decision finding that "plaintiff was denied equal opportunity to compete for the job of Recreation Director for the defendant municipal corporation, and was denied the job because of her sex." The court supported this finding with a review of the key evidence and a resolution of the central issues of credibility, and requested that plaintiff's counsel draft "an enlarged version of this memorandum in the form of proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law, and an appropriate judgment."

On November 15, 1982, the court received plaintiff's proposed findings and conclusions. On November 18, 1982, the court invited defendant to respond by pointing to the portions of the proposed findings not supported by the record, by providing references to the transcript and exhibits which support the defendant's position, and by suggesting language which should be substituted for that used by the plaintiff. On December 10, 1982, defendant filed a 15-page response to the proposed findings, including helpful references to the transcript.

Having reviewed the trial transcript and exhibits and having considered all of the evidence, and the proposals and arguments of counsel for both parties, the court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law:

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. On May 18, 1981, plaintiff Phyllis A. Anderson filed this suit against defendant, Bessemer City, alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. for discrimination on the basis of sex.

2. Plaintiff is a female citizen and resident of Bessemer City, North Carolina. The defendant, City of Bessemer City, is a North Carolina municipal corporation.

3. During February or early March, 1975, the position of Recreation Director for Bessemer City became vacant. Defendant advertised the position through the local newspaper, the Gastonia Gazette, and by word of mouth.

4. The Mayor of Bessemer City appointed a committee to select a new Recreation Director. The committee consisted of Auddie Boone, Josiah Butler, William McClellan, Frank Nichols, and Timothy Helms. Ms. Boone, the only woman on the committee, was chairperson.

5. Eight persons applied for the position; plaintiff Anderson was the only woman applicant. She submitted a letter of application and a resume to the City Manager, William Metcalf, on March 16, 1975.

6. Some time before applying for the job, plaintiff talked to Neil Barnes, who was then the Superintendent of Water Works for the city, who told her that the position was "wrapped up" by another candidate. In response to that conversation, plaintiff included the following paragraph in her application letter:

I realize you will probably be giving stronger consideration for a male to fill this position. In this light, I would request you review all qualifications equally, realizing women are assuming positions of leadership and responsibility in industry and government equal to those held by men.

Before submitting her application, Anderson also talked to Boone who told her that anyone could apply for the job (TT 5).

7. Of the remaining seven applicants, one man, Bert Broadway, was asked by Butler to apply. Another applicant, Donald Kincaid, was notified by Butler that the position was vacant (TT 82). Butler asked two other males, who he believed were qualified, to apply, but they declined (TT 106). Butler did not contact either of two women whom he believed to be qualified to ask them to apply (TT 106).

8. The committee interviewed all eight applicants on March 25, 1975. Each member of the committee had access to the application of each candidate. The committee received no written guidelines from the defendant for selecting the Recreation Director. No description of job duties was provided either the committee or the candidates. The committee never formulated its own selection criteria except to agree informally that the person selected must live within the city or be willing to relocate there. Each committee member had one vote.

9. During plaintiff's interview with the committee, she was asked about the program she would implement as Recreation Director. She was also asked (a) if she realized there would be night work involved; (b) if she realized there could be travel throughout the county and meetings with other directors; and (c) how her husband felt about her applying for the job (TT 8). No other candidate was seriously asked a similar question (TT 48, 65). After becoming annoyed from hearing these questions asked only of Anderson, Boone facetiously remarked to Kincaid "and your new bride won't mind?" (TT 66).

The court has carefully considered the conflicting testimony of Nichols that all candidates were asked about night work (TT 119). Kincaid could not remember being asked a question about night work, although he remembered commenting on the subject (TT 77); Butler remembered the question being asked of Anderson and of Kincaid "in a way" (TT 101). After hearing live testimony and considering the credibility of the different witnesses, this court concludes as a fact that no serious question about night work or reaction of spouses was asked of any candidate besides the plaintiff.

Further, the plaintiff did not begin the interview by stating that the committee would not select her because she is a woman. No committee member besides Helms remembered such a statement and plaintiff explicitly denied making the statement (TT 28).

10. After reviewing the applications and completing the interviews, the committee generally considered Bert Broadway to be the most qualified applicant. Broadway was a Recreation Director in Cramerton and had taken five electives in physical education during college (TT 93, exhibit 19). However, Broadway was eliminated from consideration during the interview because he said that he would not relocate to Bessemer City (TT 94).

11. After Broadway was eliminated, the only two candidates considered by the committee to be qualified were Anderson and Kincaid (TT 100, 120, 131, 61). The remaining candidates were men who lived in the community, but had only participated in athletics — they had no educational training or experience to prepare them for the position (TT 100, 131). The vote was 4-1 for Kincaid; the four male members of the committee voted for Kincaid; Ms. Boone voted for the plaintiff. Kincaid was offered and accepted the job.

12. Shortly after Kincaid's selection, Boone told the plaintiff that she thought plaintiff was the best qualified candidate and that the committee members had chosen Kincaid because he was male. Plaintiff then filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on March 31, 1975. A notice of right-to-sue was issued February 19, 1981, and plaintiff initiated this proceeding within ninety days of her receipt of that notice.

13. At trial, the male committee members said that they chose Kincaid over Anderson because he was more qualified because of his educational background. This court finds as a fact that plaintiff was more qualified for the job of Recreation Director based on the totality of her educational, employment, and recreation experience.

(a) While no job requirements were provided to the committee for making their selection of Recreation Director, this court finds from the testimony of the committee members at trial that the job of Recreation Director was to create and implement a well-rounded recreation program for all citizens in the community. This job included a wide range of duties such as organizing and directing programs in athletics, art, music, dance, drama, and crafts; teaching and communicating with persons of all ages, backgrounds, and interests; managing community facilities; recruiting and selecting personnel; developing budgets and handling funds; and planning and implementing future programs (TT 49, 79; exhibit 8). There was no educational requirement for the job; rather, the committee was searching for the person with the best background to perform the varied duties of the position (TT 53, 115).

(b) In March, 1975, when the selection was made, plaintiff was a 39-year-old woman, in good health, with a 1973 B.A. degree from Sacred Heart College in elementary education, and nearly twenty years of experience in various jobs, civic activities and recreation. In 1973-74, plaintiff was a third grade teacher in the Carr School in Dallas; she also had ten years of experience in substitute teaching in all grades in the Gaston County public schools. As part of her duties as a teacher she taught her own physical education classes, planned activities and trips, collected and budgeted money, and communicated with students, parents, and other teachers (TT 18-20).

Plaintiff was an experienced public speaker through her activities in PTA and as President of the Exchangette Club, an organization which raises money to help crippled children (TT 17, 41). She frequently planned and organized activities, recruited people to carry out projects, and handled and budgeted money through her involvement in the Exchangettes, the Jaycette Club, and the Order of the Eastern Star (TT 18, 42).

Besides her experience teaching, plaintiff had direct experience in recreation as a

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