EEOC v. University of Detroit

• Citation: 701 F. Supp. 1326
• Decision Date: 13 December 1988
• Docket Number: No. 86-CV-71389-DT.,86-CV-71389-DT.
• Parties: EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff, and Robert Patrick Roesser, Intervenor, v. UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT and University of Detroit Professors' Union, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan

701 F. Supp. 1326

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff, and Robert Patrick Roesser, Intervenor, v. UNIVERSITY OF DETROIT and University of Detroit Professors' Union, Defendants.

No. 86-CV-71389-DT.

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

December 13, 1988.

Stanley H. Pitts, Mimi M. Gendreau, Detroit, Mich., for E.E.O.C.

Bruce N. Cameron, Springfield, Va., David E. Kempner, Detroit, Mich., for Roesser.

Eli Grier, Southfield, Mich., Glen M. Bis, Lansing, Mich., for University of Detroit Professor's Union.

David P. Smith, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., for University of Detroit.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JULIAN ABELE COOK, Jr., District Judge.

This is a civil action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. The Plaintiffs, United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Robert Patrick Roesser, claim that Roesser suffered employment discrimination because of his religious beliefs under sections 701(j) and 703(c) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e(j), 2000e-2(c), when he was discharged from the faculty of the University of Detroit for failure to pay agency fees to the University of Detroit Professors' Union (UDPU) as required by the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the UDPU and the University.

Roesser argues that his religious beliefs forbid him to contribute to the UDPU, or at least to the state and national labor organizations with which it is affiliated,¹ because they espouse a pro-choice position in the abortion debate and support that position with union funds.²

The instant case is apparently one of first impression as to whether Title VII requires a private sector union shop to allow an employee to satisfy (a) his union contribution requirement and (b) his religious objections to a particular union activity beyond collective bargaining by substituting charitable contributions for union fees in a proportion greater than that which the union undisputedly expends in furtherance of the activity.

I.

Robert Patrick Roesser was appointed associate professor of electrical engineering at the University beginning in the 1979-80 academic year. He never joined the UDPU, but paid its required agency fee³ until April 21, 1982.

On or about that date, Roesser advised the UDPU of his religious objections to the position of the MEA and NEA on abortion,⁴ and indicated that because of his religious belief that abortion was wrong, he could no longer pay any fees to support the MEA or NEA. Thereafter, Roesser proposed that he (1) pay an amount equal to his entire agency fee to charity, or (2) remit that portion of his fee which was customarily allocated to the local union, and pay the balance to charity.⁵ The UDPU and the University rejected both of these suggestions.

On November 3, 1983, the UDPU formally requested the University to discharge Roesser on May 15, 1984 unless his agency fees were paid on or before that date. On April 9, 1984, the University indicated by letter that it would not consider the UDPU's request unless the union first offered Roesser a rebate in accordance with the procedures in Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, 431 U.S. 209, 97 S.Ct. 1782, 52 L.Ed.2d 261 (1977).

On April 17, 1984, the UDPU sent a written offer of accommodation to Roesser. In its letter, the UDPU proposed to rebate a portion of Roesser's service fee which corresponded to the proportion of the union's budget that was "even remotely connected with the alleged support of issues to which you take exception."⁶

Roesser refused the UDPU offer in an April 23, 1984 letter, in which he stated:

First, regardless of the amount of the fee that I might pay, a percentage as estimated will be used to support issues to which I object. The choice I must make is either to pay nothing, in which case no support goes to objectionable issues, or to pay a reduced amount, in which case a percentage goes to the support of objectionable issues. Since I believe that abortion is absolutely wrong I must choose the course that minimizes the support of it. The gravity of this issue is so great that I must consider my job expendable.

The second reason I cannot accept the offer of rebate is that the support of objectionable issues is so intertwined throughout MEA/NEA that it cannot be reasonably separated.... The objectionable issues are supported not only by the budgeted amounts but also by the entire weight and influence of the entire MEA and NEA. There is just no dealing with something that is inherently wrong.⁷

On May 15, 1984, Roesser was discharged by the University for his failure to pay the agency fees which were required by the CBA. He filed an administrative complaint with the EEOC against (a) the University on July 3, 1984, and (b) the UDPU on September 14, 1984. The EEOC issued a "reasonable cause" determination against the UDPU and the University on June 11, 1985. The Complaint in this action was filed on April 4, 1986.

On January 16, 1987, the UDPU moved for summary judgment. On the same date, Roesser moved for partial summary judgment on the issue of liability. On May 29, 1987, this Court denied the UDPU's motion for summary judgment and Roesser's motion for partial summary judgment. The Court concluded that questions of a material fact remained as to (a) the nature and sincerity of Roesser's religious objections to any association with the UDPU and/or its state and national affiliates, and (b) whether, and to what extent, Roesser's failure to pay agency fees imposed an "undue hardship" upon the UDPU or the University within the meaning of Title VII.

Thereafter, the UDPU requested reconsideration of the May 29th decision, on the ground that this Court had failed to address, inter alia, the questions of reasonable accommodation and undue hardship which had been presented.

This Court has carefully reviewed the record on reconsideration,⁸ and determines for the reasons, which have been set forth below, that a summary judgment must be granted in favor of the Defendants.

II.

A.

At the outset, the Court will briefly revisit a lingering dispute between the parties concerning the timeliness of Roesser's EEOC claims. It is uncontroverted that the University sent a letter to Roesser in November 1983 which warned him that he would be discharged in May 1984 unless his agency fees were paid. It is further uncontested that the University informed Roesser in an April 1984 letter that he would be discharged on May 15, 1984 because of his failure to pay the required agency fees.⁹ Roesser's employment was undisputedly terminated on May 15, 1984, and the record reflects that he filed his EEOC claims against the University and the UDPU on July 3, 1984, and September 14, 1984, respectively.

Upon reflection, this Court determines that the "discriminatory act," which gave rise to Roesser's Title VII rights, Delaware State College v. Ricks, 449 U.S. 250, 258, 101 S.Ct. 498, 504, 66 L.Ed.2d 431 (1980), was his actual discharge from employment. At no time prior to May 15, 1984 was it suggested to Roesser that his termination was final or irrevocable. See Abramson v. University of Hawaii, 594 F.2d 202, 208-09 (9th Cir.1979). Moreover, the record clearly shows that negotiations were undertaken during the time between the University's initial notice of termination and Roesser's actual last day of work. For those negotiations to have had any meaning, Roesser's discharge could not have been a foregone conclusion at any time until it actually took place.

The Court believes that the interval between notice and actual termination was of mutual benefit to the parties. Thus, the conclusion is inescapable that Roesser's EEOC rights did not accrue until May 15, 1984, and his complaints to the EEOC against the UDPU and the University were timely under the accrual provision of section 706(e) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e).

B.

Although the parties have moved for a summary judgment, each side asserts the existence of disputed fact issues in an attempt to avoid summary judgment for its opponent. In particular, the parties contest (1) the existence of undue hardship, and (2) the sincerity of Roesser's religious beliefs.

Roesser's religious sincerity is averred in (1) a multi-page affidavit which is attached to his motion for summary judgment,¹⁰ and (2) a notarized amendment, dated September 14, 1984, to his formal EEOC charge against the UDPU and the University.¹¹ In the latter document, Roesser set forth his religious beliefs:

I am a member in good standing of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church teaches that procuring an abortion is a sin. My understanding of the teachings of the Church, and my personal belief, is that a member of the Church should not campaign in favor of abortion laws, vote for them or collaborate in their application. A member who procures an abortion is at once excommunicated from the Church.

Because of my sincerely held religious beliefs, I may not pay money to the union to support these pro-abortion activities nor may I associate with the union because of these activities.

To contest Roesser's sincerity, the Defendants refer to alleged "inconsistencies" in his behavior. As an example, they cite evidence that he did not limit his search for teaching jobs to those states which prohibited the use of public funds to subsidize abortions. See International Society for Krishna Consciousness v. Barber, 650 F.2d 430, 441 (2d Cir.1981) ("an adherent's belief would not be sincere if he acts in a manner inconsistent with that belief").

Such allegations, even if true, do not compel a conclusion that Roesser's religious beliefs were insincere as a matter of law. Indeed, if the question of Roesser's sincerity had been squarely presented, this Court would have declined to hold him to a standard of conduct which would have discounted his beliefs based on the slightest perceived flaw in the consistency of his religious practice. See Thomas v. Review...