Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Kimberly-Clark Corp.
| Decision Date | 14 February 1975 |
| Docket Number | No. 74--1558,KIMBERLY-CLARK,74--1558 |
| Parties | 10 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 38, 9 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 9952 EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION, Plaintiff-Appellant, v.CORPORATION, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
William A. Carey, Gen. Counsel, E.E.O.C., Joseph T. Eddins, Associate Gen. Counsel, Beatrice Rosenberg, Charles L. Reischel, Beth L. Don, Washington, D.C., for plaintiff-appellant.
J. Fraser Humphreys, Jr., Alexander W. Wellford, Jr., Lawler, Humphreys & Dunlap, Memphis, Tenn., J. Leonard Samansky, Lipkowitz, Plaut, Salberg & Harris, New York City, for defendant-appellee.
Before CELEBREZZE and MILLER, Circuit Judges, and O'SULLIVAN, Senior Circuit Judge.
This case presents several procedural questions of importance to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and to parties bringing and defending charges before it. The basic issue is the scope of the EEOC's power to enforce the provisions of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The specific issues are whether the 1972 amendments to Title VII apply to this suit, whether the EEOC is barred from suing more than 180 days after a charge is filed with it, whether Tennessee's statute of limitations bars the suit, whether Appellant's suit may encompass particular race and sex discrimination charges, and whether the EEOC is limited to the right of permissive intervention once a private civil suit is brought.
This action began on February 2, 1973, when the EEOC sued in federal court to enjoin Appellee from engaging in employment discrimination based on sex and race. The complaint alleged that all conditions precedent to instituting the suit had been fulfilled and that Appellee had been and was then engaged in employment practices unlawful under section 703(a) of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e--2 (1974).
On April 4, 1973, Appellee filed a motion to dismiss or to obtain a more definite statement of Appellant's claims. On May 21, 1973, the District Court ordered Appellant to 'set forth in their complaint specific charges alluded to and those steps or actions deemed to be prerequisite to the bringing of the complaint. . . .'
On June 18, 1973, Appellant filed an amended complaint, setting forth identical statements alleging illegal policies and practices but specifying the individual charges which had been filed with it against Appellee. A second amended complaint was filed on July 2, 1973.
Appellee then filed a document alternatively styled as a motion for summary judgment under Rule 56, Fed.R.Civ.P., a motion to strike allegations of the individual charges on various grounds, or a motion to compel compliance with the Court's prior Order. A hearing was held on September 7, 1973. Thereafter Appellant filed a motion to consolidate its suit with that of the sole private party to file a racial discrimination charge. This party, Mr. Floyd L. Munn, Jr., had filed his charge with the EEOC on June 6, 1969, and had brought suit on August 31, 1972, after receiving a right-to-sue letter from Appellant.
On March 27, 1974, the District Court entered its Order granting Appellee's motion for summary judgment and its motion to strike allegations of racial discrimination and of particular sex discrimination charges, and denying Appellant's motion for consolidation with the Munn private suit. 380 F.Supp. 1106 (W.D.Tenn.1974).
The first issue we face is whether the 1972 amendments to Title VII apply to this case, a ground Appellee urges as sufficient to affirm the Order of the District Court, which did not address the question. A brief sketch of the background and purposes of the 1972 Act is helpful in answering this question.
Until 1972, the EEOC had no authority to enforce the provisions of Title VII, apart from its role of conciliating disputes between employee and employer. The 1972 amendments were intended to empower the EEOC to enforce Title VII.
The House Report on the 1972 amendments recommended that Congress 'grant the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission authority to issue, through well established procedures, judicially enforceable cease and desist orders.' H.R.Rep.No.92--238, 92d Cong., 2d Sess. 1 (1972); 1972 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News, p. 2137. The legislative process, however, resulted in removal of cease-and-desist authority and substituted authorization for the Commission to sue directly in federal court. The substitution was not an attempt to dilute the provisions of Title VII or to deny the EEOC effetive authority to enforce them. As the Minority Views on the House Report stated,
1972 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News, p. 2168.
The House Minority Views' position that 'enforcement of our laws can best be effectuated through our courts,' 1 ultimately prevailed.
In giving the EEOC authority 'to prevent any person from engaging in any unlawful employment practice' under section 706(a) of Title VII, 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e--5(a), Congress specified certain prerequisites to court action:
'If within thirty days after a charge is filed with the Commission . . ., the Commission has been unable to secure from the respondent a conciliation agreement acceptable to the Commission, the Commission may bring a civil action against any respondent . . ..'
§ 706(f)(1), 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e--5(f)(1).
Thus, the only pre-suit requirements were to be a 30-day wait after a charge's filing (except for temporary relief available under section 706(f)(2), 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e--5(f)(2)) and the failure of conciliation efforts.
Fully aware of the substantial backlog of charges pending before the EEOC, 2 Congress explicitly stated in section 14 of the 1972 Act:
'The amendments made by this Act to section 706 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 shall be applicable with respect to charges pending with the Commission on the date of enactment of this Act and all charges filed thereafter.'
Pub.L. No. 92--261, § 14, 86 Stat. 103 (Mar. 24, 1972).
All charges pending with the EEOC on March 24, 1972 were thereby made available as a basis for an EEOC suit.
Appellee argues that all the charges which underlie the EEOC's complaint were not 'charges' on March 24, 1972, because the charges had passed from the stage of 'charges' to the status of 'cases' under EEOC Regulations,35 Fed.Reg. 10110 (1970). 3
Appellee's argument is an exercise in linguistic sophistry. There is no indication in the legislative history that Congress was making the 'charge-case' distinction in applying the 1972 amendments to pending 'charges.' Indeed, the evidence is that Congress intended to give as much protection as possible to aggrieved parties and broad authority to a Commission swamped with a backlog of work. 4 See EEOC v. Eagle Iron Works, 367 F.Supp. 817, 820 (S.D.Iowa 1973); EEOC v. Bartenders Local 41, 369 F.Supp. 827, 830 (N.D.Cal.1973). Cf. EEOC v. Christiansburg Garment Co., Inc., 376 F.Supp. 1067, 1073--74 (W.D.Va.1974).
The second issue is whether section 706(f)(1) of Title VII precludes the EEOC from filing suit more than 180 days after a charge is filed with it. The District Court held that the EEOC is so precluded and granted summary judgment for Appellee on the ground that all the underlying charges had been filed with the Commission more than 180 days before the EEOC brought suit. The District Court concluded thusly 'with some trepidation in view of the split of authority' among the district courts which had considered the question. 5
Section 706(f)(1), 42 U.S.C.A. § 2000e--5(f)(1), does not on its face limit the EEOC's power to seek court enforcement of Title VII to 180 days from the filing of an administrative charge. In relevant part the section reads,
If within thirty days after a charge is filed with the Commission * * *, the Commission has been unable to secure from the respondent a conciliation agreement acceptable to the Commission, the Commission may bring a civil action against any respondent not a government, governmental agency, or political subdivision named in the charge. * * * The person or persons aggrieved shall have the right to intervene in a civil action brought by the Commission * * *. If a charge filed with the Commission pursuant to subsection (b) of this section is dismissed by the Commission, or if within one hundred and eighty days from the filing of such charge * * * the Commission has not filed a civil action under this section * * * or the Commission has not entered into a conciliation agreement to which the person aggrieved is a party, the Commission * * * shall so notify the person aggrieved and within ninety days after the giving of such notice a civil action may be brought against the respondent named in the charge (A) by the person claimed to be aggrieved or (B) if such charge was filed by a member of the Commission, by any person whom the charge alleges was aggrieved by the alleged unlawful employment practice. * * * Upon timely application, the court may, in its discretion, permit the Commission * * * to intervene in such civil action upon certification that the case is of general public importance. * * *
The District Court construed section 706(f)(1) as cutting off the EEOC's right to sue 180 days after the filing of an administrative charge and thereafter limiting the Commission to permissive intervention in a private suit. The arguments the District Court gave for its construction were that Congress intended speedy disposition of charges, that 'a time restriction (180 days) is a part of a statutory scheme of controlled time frames,' and that the 180-day restriction would not hinder Title VII's enforcement 'since new charges may be filed or an aggrieved...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
United States v. City of Yonkers
...public interest and thus could avail itself of this rule. See Occidental, 535 F.2d at 536-40; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., 511 F.2d 1352, 1359-60 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 994, 96 S.Ct. 420, 46 L.Ed.2d 368 (1975); Equal Employment Opportunity Com......
-
In re Law
...87 S.Ct. 492, 17 L.Ed.2d 343 (1966); Richards v. United States, 369 U.S. 1, 82 S.Ct. 585, 7 L.Ed.2d 492 (1961); EEOC v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., 511 F.2d 1352 (6th Cir.1975); Environmental Defense Fund v. TVA, 468 F.2d 1164 (6th Cir.1972). Furthermore, the courts have recognized that this must......
-
EEOC v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.
...supra, at 44, 94 S.Ct. at 1017; EEOC v. Raymond Metal Products Co., 530 F.2d 590, 593 (4th Cir. 1976); EEOC v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., 511 F.2d 1352, 1361 (6th Cir. 1975); the Commission's responsibilities are "only investigative." Georator Corp. v. EEOC, 592 F.2d 765, 768 (4th Cir. 1979). Se......
-
E.E.O.C. v. Occidental Life Ins. Co. of California
...EEOC's request for injunctive relief is not subject to any state limitations period. Griffin Wheel, supra, 511 F.2d at 459; Kimberly-Clark, supra,511 F.2d at 1359-60. Cf. United States v. Summerlin, 310 U.S. 414, 60 S.Ct. 1019, 84 L.Ed. 1283 (1940). The district court erred insofar as it ba......
-
Sex Discrimination in Employment: Opening a Closed Door
...Nashville R.R. Co. v. EEOC, 505 F.2d 610 (5th Cir. 1974), cert. denied,___ U.S___, 10 EPD ¶ 10,409 (1975); EEOC v. Kimberly-Clark Corp., 511 F.2d 1352 (6th Cir. 1975); EEOC v. E. I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 516 F.2d 1297 (3rd Cir. 1975); EEOC v. Meyer Bros. Drug Co.,___F.2d___, 10 EPD ¶ 10,......