Equal Employment Opportunity Com'n v. K-Mart Corp., Misc. No. 81-346.
| Decision Date | 27 October 1981 |
| Docket Number | Misc. No. 81-346. |
| Citation | 526 F. Supp. 121 |
| Parties | EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff/Applicant, v. K-MART CORPORATION and K-Mart Enterprises, Inc., Defendants/Respondents. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan |
Miguel Ortiz, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Detroit, Mich., for plaintiff/applicant.
Peter J. Palmer, Troy, Mich., Richard T. Sampson, Baltimore, Md., for defendants/respondents.
The plaintiff, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") has moved, pursuant to Rule 7(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, to clarify an order entered by this court on August 27, 1981. In that order this court affirmed the decision of the Honorable Thomas A. Carlson, Magistrate, which denied the plaintiff's request for a protective order to block the defendants, K-Mart Corporation and K-Mart Enterprises, Inc. ("K-Mart") from deposing a former commissioner and designated employees of the EEOC concerning the circumstances surrounding the filing of discrimination charges against K-Mart. The specific relief requested by the plaintiff is that:
This case originally arises on application of the EEOC to enforce an administrative subpoena against K-Mart. In Commissioner Ethel Bent-Walsh v. K-Mart Corporation and K-Mart Enterprises, Inc., Charges # # 054 80 0074 and 0075, the EEOC alleged that K-Mart was guilty of violating sections 703 and 707 of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964, as amended, ("Title VII"), by unlawfully discriminating against blacks because of their race with respect to recruitment, hiring, job classification, job assignment, promotion, job segregation, discharge and other terms of employment. Similar charges were made against the defendants concerning the terms and conditions of employment of Hispanics, in addition to an allegation of sex discrimination against women. The charge included the statement of former commissioner Ethel Bent-Walsh, who noted that she had "cause to believe that the above named defendants have committed the unlawful employment practices set forth in the foregoing charge." The charge did not set forth the date the alleged unlawful employment practices occurred nor did it set forth a reasonable estimate as to when the alleged practices occurred. A date is specifically required by Section 706(b) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(b).
On October 27, 1980, Delores L. Rozzi, Director of the EEOC Detroit District Office, and the person in charge of investigations issued and served upon the defendants an administrative subpoena requesting, inter alia, that the defendants produce all master payroll information and W-2 worksheet information for the years 1977, 1978 and 1979. In addition, the EEOC requested that the defendants make available Robert Burney, a person responsible for maintaining the defendants' employment records, for deposition.
On October 29, 1980, the defendants filed a petition to revoke or modify the EEOC subpoena with the agency, asserting several grounds for such action. Before a decision was rendered on the defendants' petition, the agency amended its original charge against the defendants to include a date on which the alleged violations of the civil rights laws occurred. In her amended charge, Commissioner Walsh incorporated by reference the allegations contained in the original charge, and asserted that violations of the civil rights laws occurred from July 2, 1965 through the present. The amendment was filed December 4, 1980.
On February 27, 1981, the EEOC denied the defendants' request to modify or revoke its administrative subpoena. K-Mart filed a timely notice of appeal with the EEOC Office of the General Counsel. After consideration of the issues raised in the defendants' petition, the General Counsel's Office modified the Agency's subpoena requiring the defendants to furnish only information noted in the subpoena for the years January 1, 1977 through October 10, 1980. Shortly after this decision was rendered defendants informed EEOC by letter dated May 8, 1981, that they would not comply with the administrative subpoena.
On May 11, 1981, the EEOC procured an Order to Show Cause why the defendants should not comply with the administrative subpoena served by the agency. The matter was set for hearing before Magistrate Thomas A. Carlson for May 22, 1981. This hearing date, however, was adjourned on May 19, 1981 at the request of the parties, and reset for June 5, 1981. On May 20, 1981, the defendants noticed the deposition of the commissioner who filed the discrimination charge against them, in addition to various employees, to be designated by the agency, familiar with the circumstances surrounding the filing of the discrimination charge against the defendants. The depositions were noticed for May 29, 1981. Before the depositions could be taken the EEOC filed a motion for a protective order to prohibit the defendants from taking the depositions of the commissioner and designated employees. Per the stipulation of the parties, the Show Cause hearing was adjourned pending the outcome of the plaintiff's motion for a protective order before Magistrate Carlson.
On June 5, 1981, Magistrate Carlson entered an order denying the EEOC's request for a protective order and granting the defendants the limited opportunity to depose the former commissioner and employees to be designated by the agency concerning the validity of the discrimination charges filed against the defendants. In granting the limited request for discovery, Magistrate Carlson noted:
The Court is persuaded that there is sufficient reason to permit further inquiry into the date charged on the charges that have been brought and the oath or affirmation that has been signed which would go to the validity of the request—the underlying request to enforce the subpoena. (Tr. of hearing before the Magistrate at p. 30-31.)
The EEOC filed objections to the Magistrate's Report and Recommendation, and asked this court to reconsider the Magistrate's order allowing limited discovery. After careful review of the briefs submitted by the parties before the Magistrate, the transcript of hearing before the Magistrate, and the briefs submitted by the parties in support of their positions for reconsideration, this court denied plaintiff's request for reconsideration, finding that the Magistrate's decision was neither clearly erroneous nor contrary to law within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A). This motion for clarification followed.
It is important to note at the outset that the court is not required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to make detailed findings of fact and conclusions of law to support its order of August 27 on plaintiff's motion. See United States v. Crescent Amusement Co., 323 U.S. 173, 65 S.Ct. 254, 89 L.Ed. 160 (1944). It is clear to the court that the Magistrate's order of June 5, 1981 and the court's order of August 27 satisfy both the letter and spirit of the applicable rule, which is Rule 52(a).
In reaching his decision to allow the defendants the limited opportunity to depose the former commissioner and designated employees of the agency the Magistrate, in a well reasoned report and recommendation, spelled out exactly why he allowed the defendants the limited opportunity to depose the commission and the designated employees. In reviewing the transcript of the hearing before the Magistrate the court noted that both the EEOC and the defendants were given the opportunity to fully plead and argue their respective positions; and that the Magistrate carefully weighed and balanced the considerations applicable to each of the parties before reaching his final conclusions. If the plaintiff misunderstands the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the Magistrate it need only look to the transcript of the hearing before the Magistrate and his report and recommendation for further elucidation.
Likewise, this court's order affirming the report and recommendation of the Magistrate needs no further clarification. As noted in the order affirming the Magistrate's decision, this court after review of the entire file, found that the Magistrate's decision was not clearly erroneous or contrary to the law.
Close examination of the plaintiff's motion for clarification reveals that it is but a veiled attempt to circumvent the court's order requiring the plaintiff to make available for deposition the former commissioner and designated employees familiar...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Shell Oil Company
...and should include enough other information to show that those dates have " 'some basis in fact.' " Ibid. (quoting EEOC v. K-Mart Corp., 526 F.Supp. 121, 125 (ED Mich.1981). In addition, the charge and notice should contain a "statement of the circumstances" of the alleged statutory violati......
-
E.E.O.C. v. K-Mart Corp., K-MART
...court to vacate that discovery order. For the reasons below, we grant the writ of mandamus and vacate the district judge's order. 526 F.Supp. 121. FACTS On September 28, 1979, former EEOC Commissioner Ethel Bent Walsh filed a charge of discrimination against the K-Mart Corporation and K-Mar......
-
E.E.O.C. v. A.E. Staley Mfg. Co., 82-1655
...as amended, strengthened "the old reasonable cause standard to require sufficient information upon which to base its investigation." 526 F.Supp. 121, 126. The Sixth Circuit examined the standard to be applied in reviewing the Commissioner's...
-
Shell Oil Co. v. U.S. E.E.O.C., 81-1811
...of the investigation. We read section 706(b) to require "some basis in fact for the date alleged in the charge." EEOC v. K-Mart Corp., 526 F.Supp. 121, 125 (E.D.Mich.1981). We find no factual basis in the EEOC's allegation of July 2, 1965, as the beginning date of the alleged Title VII In a......