Calcote v. Texas Educational Foundation, Inc.

• Decision Date: 22 June 1976
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. SA 75 CA 38.
• Citation: Calcote v. Texas Educational Foundation, Inc., 458 F.Supp. 231 (W.D. Tex. 1976)
• Parties: Herman E. CALCOTE v. TEXAS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION, INC., d/b/a Gary Job Corps Center.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Texas

458 F. Supp. 231

Herman E. CALCOTE v.TEXAS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION, INC., d/b/a Gary Job Corps Center.

Civ. A. No. SA 75 CA 38.

United States District Court, W. D. Texas, San Antonio Division.

June 22, 1976.

Luis M. Segura, San Antonio, Tex., for plaintiff.

Ivan D. Hafley, Austin, Tex., for defendant.

CLARY, District Judge.

OPINION

FINDINGS OF FACT

1.Plaintiff, Herman E. Calcote, is a Caucasian male and was employed by the defendant, Texas Educational Foundation, Inc., at its Gary Job Corps Center at San Marcos, Texas.

2.Defendant is a non-profit corporation with headquarters and principal place of business in San Marcos, Texas and, at all times relevant to this law suit, was an employer engaged in an industry affecting commerce employing more than twenty-five persons.Defendant operates the Gary Job Corps Center to provide academic and vocational training for under-privileged youths.

3.Plaintiff was hired by the defendant on September 7, 1971, as a residential counselor for the Gary Job Corps Center.When he was interviewed for the job by Michael Flores, Assistant Personnel Director, Calcote was told that the salary would be $950 per month, but at the time he reported for work and filled out papers for the personnel office, he learned that his monthly salary would be $900.Flores was unable to explain this change, but Calcote accepted the lower pay and went to work.

4.Calcote's job responsibility as a residential counselor was to work in the evenings usually 1-10:00 P. M. assisting corpsmen with their studies, resolving personal and behavioral problems, and maintaining discipline.A residential counselor's work began outside the classroom after the corpsmen had completed their vocational and academic training, and residential counselors were involved with the corpsmen in their dormitory or residential areas.

5.Vocational counselors worked primarily at training corpsmen for vocations or by assisting corpsmen with academic pursuits.Vocational counselors also functioned like public school guidance counselors and engaged in placement, job interviewing, and testing of corpsmen.The hours of work for vocational counselors were 8:00 A. M. to 4:00 P. M.

6.David Glover, an Assistant Area Manager who supervised a residential area and worked with and supervised Calcote at the Gary Job Corps Center, testified that Calcote had the responsibility of taking care of any problems that arose among counselors and corpsmen, for example, making corpsmen understand why a supervisor was punishing them, dealing with any infractions, breaking up fights, or disposing of drug problems.Wilton E. Lomax, who worked both as a vocational and residential counselor, stated that a residential counselor was like a truant officer or a cop.The opinion of both Glover and Lomax was that vocational counseling was an easier job than residential counseling, because 1) the former was a day time, desk job while the latter was a night time job with many more problems of supervision and 2) the residential counselors might be called after hours.

7.Ben Wilson, Jr., a Director of Residential Living and for a time plaintiff's supervisor, testified that more training was required for a vocational counselor's job than for a residential counselor's job.Neither job, however, required a Master's Degree.

8.Pursuant to defendant's "Salary Administration Policy & Guides," vocational counselors were paid under a Progression Schedule which took into account academic degrees and years of experience, including either teaching experience or working in a vocation.Under the same salary policy, residential counselors were paid according to a Classified Merit Positions schedule and were placed in a salary group identified as E-5 with a monthly salary range of $725 to $1,040.According to the Salary Policy, each employee within a Classified Merit Position group was to receive a salary within the range "in proportion to both internal and external job value for assigned duties and responsibilities."The procedure under the salary guides also was that "new employments should normally be paid at the minimum salary of the appropriate schedule or salary range applicable for the initial job assignments."

9.At the time he was hired, plaintiff, Herman E. Calcote, had a Bachelor of Arts degree, a Master of Education degree, a Teaching Certificate for a counselor, and 13 years teaching and counseling experience.Calcote was hired as a residential counselor under the E-5 grouping of the Classified Merit Positions with beginning salary of $900 per month.

10.At the time he was hired on August 16, 1971, Archie David, a black male, had a Bachelor of Science degree, a Master of Education degree, a Teaching Certificate for a counselor and 10 years teaching experience.Archie David was hired as a vocational counselor under the Progression Schedule and group I-10 and was paid a beginning monthly salary of $950.

11.At the time of his hiring on August 16, 1971, William Krieg, a Caucasian male, had a Bachelor of Arts degree, a Master of Education degree, and six years of previous counseling experience with defendant.Krieg was hired as a vocational counselor in group I-10 of the Progression Schedule and was paid a beginning monthly salary of $950.Krieg became a Master Counselor in 1972.

12.Alan Black, a black male, was hired on September 13, 1971, as a residential counselor in group E-5 under the Classified Merit Positions schedule and started at a monthly salary of $800.Black had a Bachelor's degree and a Master of Education degree, but no professional experience.

13.At the time of plaintiff's hiring, Eldon K. Shipp, a Caucasian male, was employed as a vocational counselor in group I-10 of the Progression Schedule and was earning $950 per month.Shipp had a Bachelor of Science degree, a Master of Education degree, a Texas Counselor's Certificate, over six years counseling experience at the Texas Educational Foundation, and 10 additional years counseling experience.

14.Jesse A. DeShay, a black male, was employed by defendant in 1965, was made a residential counselor in July 1971, and was given at that time a monthly salary of $983 in group E-5 under the Classified Merit Schedule.DeShay had a Bachelor of Arts degree and at least 10 years teaching experience prior to 1965.DeShay received an increase on November 22, 1971, to $1,025 per month.

15.On July 17, 1972, defendant eliminated the different positions of Vocational and Residential Counselor and merged them into one job classification called simply Counselor.The new position was assigned the pay level E-5 of the Classified Merit Schedule, but former Vocational Counselors retained their salaries under the Progression Schedule.

16.After the reclassification, all counselors were eligible under the Classified Merit Schedule for annual merit pay increases that could be as high as 8% of their base salary.The frequency and amount of these merit increases was to depend predominantly upon an employee's annual performance evaluation.

17.The counselors at Gary Job Corps Center received the following numerical evaluations and pay raises:

Name                      National       Appraisal    % Pay Raise
                                          Origin/Race
                Shipp, Eldon K.           Caucasian      4.9          8.0
                McFarling, Daniel         Caucasian      4.8          5.0
                Krieg, William B., Jr.    Caucasian      4.6          8.0
                Nelson, Jerry             Caucasian      4.5          5.0
                Johnson, William R.       Caucasian      4.4          7.1
                Calcote, Herman E.        Caucasian      4.3          5.0
                Crayton, Willie L.        Black          4.3          5.0
                Marshall, Roy             Caucasian      4.1          5.0
                Pollack, Elvin L.         Caucasian      4.0          8.0
                David, Archie C.          Black          4.0          6.0
                Peacock, Robert L.        Caucasian      3.8          5.0
                Byrd, Cleo L.             Black          3.2          5.0
                

18.The average numerical appraisal for all Caucasians was 4.38, and the average for all blacks was 3.83.The average pay increase for Caucasians was 5.9% and for blacks was 5.3%.

19.Plaintiff was given a 5.0% pay increase after having been recommended for a 6.0% increase by his supervisor Ben wilson, Jr.The change of the salary recommendation from 6.0 to 5.0% was initialed by Ed Welke, a Caucasian male and Director of Personnel.While salary recommendations were approved by the Personnel Director, final authority for pay increases was vested in the Center Director, Noble Butler, a black male.

20.Plaintiff learned that a black counselor, Archie David, was being paid a larger salary and had received a greater merit increase than Calcote while being evaluated at a lower level.Calcote complained to Michael Flores, Assistant Personnel Director, and to his supervisor, Ben Wilson, Jr.Neither of these men was able to explain to Calcote the reason for the difference in the merit increases.

21.After plaintiff complained to his supervisor and to the Personnel Director of the higher salary being paid to Archie David, the salary of Archie David was decreased from $1,007 to $957 per month.Plaintiff was receiving $945 per month at the time of this change.

22.Plaintiff testified that he believes Ras Dancy, a black male appointed to replace Ben Wilson, Jr. as Director of Residential Living and supervisor of counselors, probably harassed Calcote in retaliation for the latter's complaints over pay.

23.Calcote testified that at the time Ras Dancy was appointed to replace Ben Wilson, Jr., as Director of Residential Living all of the counselors met to compose a testimonial letter for Wilson to help him get another job.When Dancy appeared at a later meeting of counselors, the new supervisor allegedly ridiculed the counselor's meeting as being an "underground meeting" and asked the counselors if they"wanted to bitch."Calcote testified that he then rose and responded to Dancy saying that...