Equal Emp. Op. Com'n v. EI DuPONT de NEMOURS AND CO., ETC.

• Decision Date: 29 March 1974
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 4515.
• Citation: 373 F. Supp. 1321
• Parties: EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff, v. E. I. DuPONT de NEMOURS AND CO., CHESTNUT RUN AND AFFILIATED FACILITIES, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Delaware

373 F. Supp. 1321

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff, v. E. I. DuPONT de NEMOURS AND CO., CHESTNUT RUN AND AFFILIATED FACILITIES, Defendant.

Civ. A. No. 4515.

United States District Court, D. Delaware.

March 29, 1974.

Laurence D. Beck, William A. Carey, Phillip B. Sklover, and Vincent A. Fuller, Jr., of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Washington, D. C., for plaintiff.

James M. Tunnell, Jr., David A. Drexler, Thomas Reed Hunt, Jr., and A. Gilchrist Sparks, III, of Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell, Wilmington, Del., John F. Lawless, Legal Department, E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, Del., for defendant.

OPINION

STAPLETON, District Judge:

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") brought this suit against E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Company ("DuPont"), pursuant to Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, to secure relief against allegedly discriminatory employment practices occurring at DuPont's Chestnut Run site and affiliated facilities. DuPont has moved for summary judgment on two grounds. First, it contends that this action is barred because it was filed later than the deadline for Commission suit purportedly established by Title VII as amended in 1972. Alternatively, it asserts that the allegations in the Commission's complaint have not undergone the administrative processing necessary before they can become the basis for a Commission lawsuit.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND.

A. The Parker Charge.

On December 18, 1969, William Parker, a black man who was then unemployed and who possesses a "general" high school education, lodged a charge of discrimination with the EEOC. This charge — dubbed the "Parker charge" by the parties — named as respondent DuPont's Christina Laboratory facility in Wilmington. The charge made these averments:

I went to the above named Company on 11-17-69 seeking employment. I was interviewed by a lady sitting at the front of the personnel office. The interview lasted only a few seconds and I was denied a job. I believe that the reason I was turned away was because of my race (Negro). I believe that this plant is attempting to limit the number of Negro employees.

The EEOC forwarded the Parker charge to the Delaware Department of Labor, Division Against Discrimination. This agency rendered the following findings of fact on January 22, 1970:

On January 20, 1970, I met with Mr. Richard Sterling of the DuPont Company. I showed him the complaint of Mr. Parker. Mr. Sterling had never heard of Mr. Parker. The reasons being his office does not interview or accept applications. All applicants are referred to the Chestnut Run Plant.

SUMMARY: Inasmuch as the facts shown do not substantiate Mr. Parker's complaint, I find no discrimination. . . .

The Commission's records reveal that it regained jurisdiction over the Parker charge on March 29, 1970. It is unclear when the Commission commenced its investigation. However, consultation between the Commission and DuPont initially began on August 20, 1970 when a Commission employee met with various DuPont employees at DuPont's Chestnut Run facility in suburban Wilmington. On January 14, 1971, DuPont's Employee Relations Department received a letter from the Commission's staff indicating that the Parker charge raised two issues: the failure to hire Mr. Parker individually and limitation of the number of Negro employees generally. To resolve the second issue, the letter requested that DuPont furnish data about employee characteristics and hiring policies at the Christina Laboratory. On June 4, 1971, the Area Director of the EEOC issued a set of findings concerning both Mr. Parker's personal experience and overall employment conditions at the Christina Laboratory. The Area Director's findings noted DuPont's contention that all hiring for the Christina Laboratory was conducted at DuPont's Chestnut Run site. Among the findings were the following:

The Respondent employs 1,381 persons at its Chestnut Run location and 225 at its Christina Avenue location and is engaged in interstate commerce. Negro employees comprise approximately 10% of the total work force at each of these locations.

* * * * * *

Site inspection, — Respondent records and statements of Respondent officials interviewed indicated that no hiring is performed at the Christina Laboratory and that the normal channels for employment would be referral of Charging Party to the main employment office at the Chestnut Run site.

Of the 225 employees at the Christina Avenue Laboratories, 23 are Negro, including 22 technicians and 1 supervisor.

On February 15, 1972, the Commission rendered its decision of Reasonable Cause on the Parker charge. It exonerated DuPont of discrimination against Mr. Parker on the basis that he had failed to apply to the personnel office at Chestnut Run. However, the Commission also determined that there was reasonable cause to believe that DuPont discriminated against Negroes by maintaining discriminatory hiring practices and segregated departments:

The Findings of Fact, supported by the evidence, further demonstrate that Respondent employs approximately 1,600 employees, only 160 of whom are Negroes. The evidence reveals that only 6% of Respondent's office and clerical workers are Negroes and 3% of Respondent's craftsmen are Negroes. Approximately 95 percent of the Respondent's laborers are Negroes and 84 percent of Respondent's service workers are Negroes.¹

According to the Census Bureau figures, approximately 43.6 percent of Wilmington's population is Negro. Title VII permits the use of statistical evidence to determine the existence of a pattern or practice of discrimination. So far as appears from the record, Respondent hires regularly into the above-mentioned positions and has standard entry-level qualification requirements for those positions. Respondent offers no explanation for the disproportionate number of Negroes employed in the subject positions. Accordingly, it is reasonable to infer from the statistical evidence above that Respondent has maintained and continues to maintain unlawful employment policies and practices by failing to hire Negroes as a class into its office, clerical and craftsmen positions because of their race. It is also reasonable to infer that Respondent maintains segregated departments by classifying a disproportionate number of Negroes into its laborer and service workers' positions.

* * * * * *

There is reasonable cause to believe that Respondent is engaged in an unlawful employment practice in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, by discriminating against Negroes by failing to hire them because of their race and maintaining segregated departments based on race.

Following the Commission's decision, the parties began efforts to reach a conciliation agreement. This endeavor evidently proved fruitless and, by a letter dated August 18, 1972, the Commission informed DuPont that negotiations would be terminated.

B. The Complaint In This Action.

On November 13, 1972, the EEOC filed the complaint in the instant action. Pursuant to a stipulation between the parties, the Commission's complaint has been amended to delete allegations of the original complaint relating to discrimination against women and Spanish surnamed Americans. In its present amended version, that complaint names as the defendant DuPont's "Chestnut Run and affiliated facilities" and then alleges the following forms of racial discrimination:

A. The maintenance of a policy, practice and system of recruitment which operates to exclude blacks from employment or jobs or both.

B. The utilization of pre-employment selection devices and criteria which have the effect of substantially excluding blacks from employment. These devices and criteria include, but are not limited to, the use of various pre-employment tests which have not been validated in accordance with the Commission's Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, 29 C.F.R. § 1607.

C. The utilization of a system, practice, and policy of hiring which limits the employment opportunities of blacks because of their race.

D. The utilization of a system, practice, and policy of training which limits the employment opportunities of blacks because of their race.

E. The assignment of a disproportionately high number of blacks to less desirable, more menial, or lower-paying positions, or a combination thereof, which offer fewer opportunities for advancement than the positions to which other persons are predominately assigned.

F. The utilization of transfer and promotion practices, which include but are not limited to a unit seniority system, which result in a disproportionately high number of blacks being assigned to and retained in positions which are less desirable, more menial, or lower-paying positions, or a combination thereof, which offer fewer opportunities for advancement than positions in and to which other persons are assigned and retained.

G. The maintenance and utilization of a seniority system or systems which tend to adversely affect the job security, promotional opportunities, transfer opportunities, and other terms and conditions of employment of black employees.

C. The DuPont Organization.

DuPont is a large chemical company with facilities and personnel located throughout the United States and in many other parts of the world. DuPont employees generally are classified by it for internal personnel purposes as either "exempt" or "non-exempt". This classification is derived from the Fair Labor Standards Act which, in pertinent part, defines an exempt employee as one "in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity." 29 U.S.C. § 213(a) (1970). Non-exempt employees include clerks, secretaries, nurses, equipment operators, maintenance technicians, laboratory technicians, vehicle drivers and miscellaneous services operators.

DuPont's Chestnut Run facility is composed of eight separate laboratories engaged in chemical research, each of which is...