EEOC v. Tree of Life Christian Schools, C-2-85-1771.

• Decision Date: 22 October 1990
• Docket Number: No. C-2-85-1771.,C-2-85-1771.
• Citation: 751 F. Supp. 700
• Parties: EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff, v. TREE OF LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio

751 F. Supp. 700

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff, v. TREE OF LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS, Defendant.

No. C-2-85-1771.

United States District Court, S.D. Ohio, E.D.

October 22, 1990.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Charles E. Guerrier, E.E.O.C., Dist. Office, Cleveland, Ohio, for plaintiff.

Jack Rolland Alton, Lane, Alton & Horst, Columbus, Ohio, for defendant.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

HOLSCHUH, Chief Judge.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (hereinafter "EEOC") filed this action against the Tree of Life Christian Schools (hereinafter "Tree of Life") on November 1, 1985, seeking to enforce the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 ("FLSA"), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201 et seq., specifically the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (the "Act"). The EEOC alleges that Tree of Life's practice of paying a family allowance to certain of its employees is based on sex and is therefore violative of that Act. In its answer Tree of Life denies violating the Equal Pay Act and raises affirmative defenses under the Religion Clauses of the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. This matter is presently before the Court on motion of plaintiff for summary judgment.

I. STATEMENT OF FACTS

Defendant Tree of Life is a private educational institution, sponsored by four separate Church of Christ congregations, providing instruction on preschool, elementary, secondary levels. Tree of Life began operation in the 1978-79 school year, and is organized as an Ohio not-for-profit corporation exempt from taxation under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. According to defendant, the four Church of Christ congregations which sponsor Tree of Life Christian Schools are part of a faith tradition known as the American Restoration Movement the principal teaching of which is that the New Testament represents the valid existing contract between God and his people today. The key teaching of the Restoration tradition churches is that the Christian believer is not fully discharging his scriptural obligation, or meeting his primary religious imperative, unless he is giving witness to his beliefs through his life choices and actions. Particularly relevant for purposes of this case, Tree of Life and its sponsoring churches adhere to the conviction that the Scriptures place the responsibility of the head of a family on the husband when he is physically able to accept that role.

During its second year of operation Tree of Life adopted a policy of paying to those members of its professional staff who qualified as "heads of households" an additional monetary allowance, originally $1000 and subsequently increased to $1500. "Head of household" is defined by the school to mean those persons who are married and have dependent children. In accordance with the Schools' beliefs, a female may only qualify for the head of household allowance if her husband is either absent or unable to work. If the husband is able to work but chooses not to (for example, to pursue an education), the female would not qualify for the "head of household" allowance. Since the institution of the family allowance program, only two female faculty members have received the allowance. One of these is a widow who has been paid the allowance since 1980, and the other is a divorcee with dependent children.

Tree of Life maintains that when it instituted its family allowance policy it was advised by Mr. Dan Monley of the EEOC that the payment was not unlawful. Nonetheless, in the summer of 1985 the EEOC initiated an investigation into Tree of Life's policy. This investigation culminated in the issuance of a Letter of Violation to Tree of Life, dated July 26, 1985, charging it with violating the Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d). The EEOC demanded that all employees be paid the supplemental allowance, and sought back pay in the total amount of $131,700 for the school years 1982-83, 1983-84, and 1984-85.

After the parties' efforts to settle the matter failed, the EEOC instituted this litigation. In this action the EEOC asks for a permanent injunction enjoining defendant from discriminating in its pay practices on the basis of sex, and for back wages on behalf of several individuals. Specifically, according to its reply memorandum, the EEOC seeks damages only for two years and only on behalf of those individuals who, had they been male, would have received the head of household allowance, i.e., married female employees with dependent children. In its answer, Tree of Life denies being in violation of the Equal Pay Act, arguing that its allowance policy is based on a "factor other than sex," an affirmative defense under 29 U.S.C. § 206(d)(1). Assuming that it is found to be in violation of the Act, Tree of Life argues that as a pervasively religious ministry, application of the Act to Tree of Life's pay policies would be an unconstitutional encroachment on its rights under the Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses of the First Amendment.

II. STANDARD FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c) provides:

Summary judgment ... shall be rendered forthwith if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

"This standard provides that the mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 247-48, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986) (emphasis in original); Kendall v. Hoover Co., 751 F.2d 171, 174 (6th Cir.1984).

Summary judgment will not lie if the dispute about a material fact is genuine; "that is, if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. The purpose of the procedure is not to resolve factual issues, but to determine if there are genuine issues of fact to be tried. Lashlee v. Sumner, 570 F.2d 107, 111 (6th Cir.1978). Therefore, summary judgment will be granted "only where the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, where it is quite clear what the truth is, ... and where no genuine issue remains for trial, ... for the purpose of the rule is not to cut litigants off from their right of trial by jury if they really have issues to try." Poller v. Columbia Broadcasting Sys., 368 U.S. 464, 467, 82 S.Ct. 486, 488, 7 L.Ed.2d 458 (1962) (quoting Sartor v. Arkansas Natural Gas Corp., 321 U.S. 620, 627, 64 S.Ct. 724, 728-29, 88 L.Ed. 967 (1944)); accord County of Oakland v. City of Berkley, 742 F.2d 289, 297 (6th Cir.1984).

In making this inquiry, the standard to be applied by the Court mirrors the standard for a directed verdict. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552-53, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Anderson, 477 U.S. at 250, 106 S.Ct. at 2511.

"The primary difference between the two motions is procedural; summary judgment motions are usually made before trial and decided on documentary evidence, while directed verdict motions are made at trial and decided on the evidence that has been admitted." Bill Johnson's Restaurants, Inc. v. NLRB, 461 U.S. 731, 745, n. 11 103 S.Ct. 2161, 2171, n. 11, 76 L.Ed.2d 277 (1983). In essence, though, the inquiry under each is the same: whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or whether it is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.

Anderson, 477 U.S. at 251-52, 106 S.Ct. at 2512. Accordingly, although summary judgment should be cautiously invoked, it is an integral part of the Federal Rules, which are designed "to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 327, 106 S.Ct. at 2555 (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 1).

In a motion for summary judgment the moving party bears the "burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue as to any material fact, and for these purposes, the evidence submitted must be viewed in the light most favorable to the opposing party." Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1608, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970) (footnote omitted); accord Adams v. Union Carbide Corp., 737 F.2d 1453, 1455-56 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1062, 105 S.Ct. 545, 83 L.Ed.2d 432 (1984). Inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts contained in such materials must also be considered in the light most favorable to the party opposing the motion. United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 655, 82 S.Ct. 993, 994, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962); Watkins v. Northwestern Ohio Tractor Pullers Ass'n, 630 F.2d 1155, 1158 (6th Cir.1980). Additionally, "unexplained gaps" in materials submitted by the moving party, if pertinent to material issues of fact, justify denial of a motion for summary judgment. Adickes, 398 U.S. at 157-60, 90 S.Ct. at 1608-10.

If the moving party meets its burden and adequate time for discovery has been provided, summary judgment is appropriate if the opposing party fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322, 106 S.Ct. at 2552. The existence of a mere scintilla of evidence in support of the opposing party's position is insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the opposing party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 252, 106 S.Ct. at 2512.

When a motion for summary judgment is made and supported as provided in this rule, an adverse party may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of the adverse party's pleading, but the adverse party's response, by affidavits or as otherwise provided in this rule, must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine

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