Cummins v. Parker Seal Co.
| Decision Date | 23 May 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 74-1607,74-1607 |
| Citation | 516 F.2d 544 |
| Parties | 10 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 974, 9 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 10,171 Paul CUMMINS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. PARKER SEAL COMPANY, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
Thomas L. Hogan, James C. Hickey, Ewen, MacKenzie & Peden, Louisville, Ky., for plaintiff-appellant.
Bennett Clark, Stoll, Keenon & Park, Lexington, Ky., for defendant-appellee.
Before PHILLIPS, Chief Judge, and CELEBREZZE and McCREE, Circuit Judges.
Appellant Paul Cummins brought this action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., alleging that he had been illegally discharged on the basis of his religion. In essence the complaint charged that Appellant's employer, Parker Seal Company, did not perform its duty under the Act to accommodate Appellant's religious practices and observances. The District Court entered judgment in favor of the Company, and this appeal followed. For the reasons stated below, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.
On December 9, 1958, Appellant was hired as a production scheduler in the Banbury Department of Appellee's Berea, Kentucky plant. In May 1965, Appellant was made supervisor of the first (7:00 a. m. to 3:00 p. m.) Banbury shift. As a supervisor, he was salaried and was obligated to work whatever hours were scheduled, including Saturdays.
In July 1970, Appellant joined the World Wide Church of God, which forbids work on the Sabbath (Friday sundown to Saturday sundown) and on certain holy days. From that time Appellant refused to work on Saturdays. After complaints arose from fellow supervisors who were forced to substitute for him on Saturdays, Appellant was discharged.
Appellant filed a charge of religious discrimination against Appellee with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and a similar complaint with the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights (KCHR). On April 12, 1972 after a hearing, the KCHR dismissed the charge. 1 On September 5, 1972, the EEOC issued a right to sue letter, and Appellant filed this action on September 26, 1972.
The parties stipulated that the transcript of the KCHR hearing should serve as the complete factual record in the District Court. On the basis of that transcript the District Court found as follows:
The plaintiff failed to appeal the order of dismissal of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, and that order became a final order on May 12, 1972. On September 26, 1972, the plaintiff filed the present action which is identical in all respects parties, facts, law sought to be applied and remedy sought with the case previously tried before the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights.
It appears that the plaintiff was afforded a full and fair hearing before the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights and that Commission properly found that the defendant's attempts to accommodate itself to the plaintiff's religious needs was causing the defendant undue hardship.
This Court finds from the entire record herein that the defendant made a reasonable accommodation to the plaintiff's religious needs and that no further accommodation could be made at the time of the defendant's dismissal from employment without creating an undue hardship on the employer's business.
The defendant was therefore justified in discharging the plaintiff and a Judgment will therefore this date be entered for the defendant and dismissing the complaint herein. 2
On appeal, Appellant argues that the District Court's findings are erroneous and that his employer's conduct did amount to religious discrimination under Title VII. Appellee asserts three alternative bases for affirmance: (1) that the KCHR order has res judicata effect; (2) that the District Court correctly concluded that Appellee reasonably accommodated Appellant's religious practices as fully as Title VII requires; and (3) that the rule requiring employers to accommodate their employees' religious practices violates the establishment clause of the first amendment. We discuss each of these issues in turn.
Appellee asserted in its brief that Appellant's complaint should have been dismissed because the KCHR's order against Appellant has res judicata effect, barring relitigation of the same claim rejected by the state tribunal. It cited Batiste v. Furnco Construction Corp., 350 F.Supp. 10 (N.D.Ill. 1972), in support of this contention.
At oral argument Appellee abandoned this defense in view of Batiste's reversal by the Seventh Circuit, Batiste v. Furnco Construction Corp., 503 F.2d 447 (7th Cir. 1974).
Insofar as the District Court's decision may rest on the doctrine of res judicata, it cannot stand. A party is not foreclosed from pursuing his federal remedy under Title VII because he has first been a party to a state proceeding. Cooper v. Philip Morris, Inc., 464 F.2d 9 (6th Cir. 1972).
The basis of Appellant's complaint was 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, as it existed before its 1972 amendment. Section 2000e-2, which has not itself been amended, states in relevant part,
(a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer
(1) . . . to discharge any individual . . . because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin . . ..
An EEOC Regulation, 29 C.F.R. § 1605.1 (1974), which was in force at the time of Appellant's discharge, provides as follows:
§ 1605.1 Observation of the Sabbath and other religious holidays.
(a) Several complaints filed with the Commission have raised the question whether it is discrimination on account of religion to discharge or refuse to hire employees who regularly observe Friday evening and Saturday, or some other day of the week, as the Sabbath or who observe certain special religious holidays during the year, and as a consequence, do not work on such days.
(b) The Commission believes that the duty not to discriminate on religious grounds, required by section 703(a)(1) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, includes an obligation on the part of the employer to make reasonable accommodations to the religious needs of employees and prospective employees where such accommodations can be made without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business. Such undue hardship, for example, may exist where the employee's needed work cannot be performed by another employee of substantially similar qualifications during the period of absence of the Sabbath observer.
(c) Because of the particularly sensitive nature of discharging or refusing to hire an employee or applicant on account of his religious beliefs, the employer has the burden of proving that an undue hardship renders the required accommodations to the religious needs of the employee unreasonable.
(d) The Commission will review each case on an individual basis in an effort to seek an equitable application of these guidelines to the variety of situations which arise due to the varied religious practices of the American people.
The consistency of this Regulation with pre-1972 Title VII was upheld in Reid v. Memphis Publishing Co., 468 F.2d 346 (6th Cir. 1972). As we noted there, a 1972 amendment to Title VII, which incorporates the substance of this Regulation, shows that the Regulation "did express the prior intention of Congress. 3 468 F.2d at 351. Because Appellant's discharge occurred before the enactment of the 1972 amendment, his claim is governed by Regulation 1605. However, for purposes of this case there is no difference between the Regulation and the amendment. The question under either provision is whether Appellee met its burden of proving that no reasonable accommodation to Appellant's Sabbath observance was possible without imposing an undue hardship on the conduct of Appellee's business.
The District Court found that Appellee "made a reasonable accommodation to (Appellant's) religious needs and that no further accommodation could be made at the time of (Appellant's) dismissal from employment without creating an undue hardship on the employer's business." The court did not specify what "undue hardship" would have resulted and did not explain why an accommodation that was reasonable for over a year (from July 1970, when Appellant joined the World Wide Church of God, until his discharge) suddenly became unreasonable in September 1971.
Our standard of review is limited when reviewing factual findings, Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a), but is unlimited when determining whether the District Court committed errors of law. Because the District Court worded its findings in conclusory fashion, it is necessary to review the evidence presented to the KCHR, which constitutes the record in this case.
The first witness to testify before the KCHR was Rev. Kelly H. Barfield of the World Wide Church of God. His testimony was that as a member of his congregation Appellant was not permitted to work from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset and on seven holy days corresponding to Jewish observances.
Appellant was the second witness. He testified that the Berea plant's operations consisted of a Stock Preparation Department and the Banbury Department. To go from one to the other required passing through a sliding door that separated the Departments. When both Departments were working at capacity, each normally had one supervisor. When necessary, a single supervisor could handle both Departments and this was common practice when shifts were operating at less than full capacity. While Appellant was the only supervisor specifically assigned to the Banbury Department, normally he worked only during the first shift (from 7:00 a. m. to 3:00 p. m., Monday through Friday), and no supervisor was assigned to the lighter second and third shifts. A supervisor from the Stock Preparation Department covered these shifts. This was feasible because the supervisor's major responsibility was to schedule production after securing orders from clients. Appellant testified that he thus spent ...
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