EEOC v. Reichhold Chemicals, Inc., PCA No. 87-30483-RV.

• Court: United States District Courts. 11th Circuit. United States District Courts. 11th Circuit. Northern District of Florida
• Citation: 700 F. Supp. 524
• Docket Number: PCA No. 87-30483-RV.
• Parties: EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff, v. REICHHOLD CHEMICALS, INC., Defendant.
• Decision Date: 19 May 1988

700 F. Supp. 524

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff,
v.
REICHHOLD CHEMICALS, INC., Defendant.

PCA No. 87-30483-RV.

United States District Court, N.D. Florida, Pensacola Division.

May 19, 1988.

700 F. Supp. 525

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

700 F. Supp. 526

Arlene T. Shadoan, EEOC, Miami Dist. Office, Miami, Fla., for plaintiff

Pamela McOwen, Pensacola, Fla., William A. Clineburg, Jr., King & Spalding, Atlanta, Ga., for defendant.

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO AMEND

VINSON, District Judge.

This action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC" or "Commission") on behalf of Carolyn J. Smith to correct alleged unlawful employment practices and to make Smith whole. The plaintiff has moved to amend its complaint. (Doc. 13) Specifically, the plaintiff seeks to add allegations that the defendant retaliated against Smith for exercising her federally protected rights in violation of Section 704(a) of Title VII and Section 15(a)(3) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The defendant opposes the motion on the ground that the plaintiff's failure to inform the defendant, before issuing an administrative determination, that it was investigating the defendant's possible unlawful retaliation bars the plaintiff from now asserting a retaliation claim.

A. Background

The original complaint alleges that the defendant discriminated against Smith on the basis of her sex. Particularly, the plaintiff alleges that the defendant paid Smith a salary lower than was designated for her job and level of performance by the defendant's classification and pay system, while white males received salaries within their designated grade and according to their job performance. The proposed amended complaint alleges, in addition, that the defendant retaliated against Smith for the exercise of her rights under Title VII and the Equal Pay Act by, inter alia, not giving Smith an annual raise, "reducing" her performance evaluation, and not considering her for promotion to positions for which she was qualified.

This lawsuit stems from a charge Smith filed with the EEOC on June 26, 1984. She claimed that, because of her sex, the defendant was paying her less money for more responsibility than other managers in the defendant's accounting department. On July 15, 1986, after investigating the charge, the EEOC found that there was probable cause to believe that the charge was true. As required by law, it began conciliation efforts, which proved to be unsuccessful.

During a subsequent investigation leading up to the filing of this action, the EEOC learned of facts which it maintains gave it reasonable cause to believe that the defendant had retaliated against Smith for filing her sex discrimination charge. The Commission notified the defendant of that finding and of its factual basis on November 30, 1987. It also attempted to conciliate the finding of retaliation, but was unsuccessful.

B. Law and Discussion

The permissible scope of a complaint filed under Title VII is not defined by the scope of the charge filed with the EEOC, but by the scope of the EEOC investigation, as long as that investigation reasonably grew out of the discrimination charge. See Sanchez v. Standard Brands, Inc., 431 F.2d 455, 466 (5th Cir.1970); see also Evans v. U.S. Pipe & Foundry Co., 696 F.2d 925, 929 (11th Cir.1983). This rule is designed to avoid additional procedural technicalities to the extent compatible with the EEOC's functions of investigating...