McDaniel v. Essex Intern., Inc.

• Decision Date: 12 March 1981
• Docket Number: No. K74-288 C.A.,K74-288 C.A.
• Citation: 509 F. Supp. 1055
• Parties: Doris McDANIEL, Plaintiff, v. ESSEX INTERNATIONAL, INC., aka Essex Wire, a Michigan Corporation, and International Association of Machinists, Local Lodge No. 982, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan

509 F. Supp. 1055

Doris McDANIEL, Plaintiff, v. ESSEX INTERNATIONAL, INC., aka Essex Wire, a Michigan Corporation, and International Association of Machinists, Local Lodge No. 982, Defendants.

No. K74-288 C.A.

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

March 12, 1981.

Boothby, Huff & Yingst, Berrien Springs, Mich., Lee Boothby, Berrien Springs, Mich., of counsel, for plaintiff.

Gallucci & Hopkins, Fort Wayne, Ind., William Hopkins, Fort Wayne, Ind., of counsel, for Essex Intern.

Highsaw, Mahoney & Friedman, Washington, D. C., Clinton J. Miller, III, Washington, D. C., of counsel, for defendant Union.

OPINION

FOX, District Judge.

This case involves a claim by the plaintiff, Doris McDaniel, that her employer, Essex International, Inc., and the union local representing the employees at the Essex plant in Berrien Springs, Local Lodge No. 982 of the International Association of Machinists, violated her rights as set out in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq., 2000e-2, 2000e(j), by discharging her and causing her discharge because of her religious beliefs. Specifically, plaintiff refused to join the union or pay fees equal to the entire amount of union dues, and, on the insistence of the union, the company discharged her.

This case is presently before the court on remand from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. 571 F.2d 338 (6th Cir. 1978). In that opinion, the Court of Appeals reversed a decision of the district court granting summary judgment to the defendants based on the statutory language. In this appellate decision, the court held that § 701(j) required that defendants make a reasonable accommodation to plaintiff's religious beliefs and, if no reasonable accommodation could be agreed to, make a showing that to accommodate plaintiff would result in undue hardship. Since there was no discussion of those requirements on the record, the case was remanded to this court in order to "receive evidence and to determine therefrom whether any reasonable accommodation to the religious needs of the plaintiff may be made by Essex and IAM without undue hardship." 571 F.2d at 344. While noting that the exact degree of accommodation required is not certain, the Court stated that no prior opinion excuses an employer or a union from making an effort at accommodation. 571 F.2d at 342. "The burden is on Essex and IAM to make an effort at accommodation and, if unsuccessful, to demonstrate that they were unable to reasonably accommodate the plaintiff's religious beliefs without undue hardship." 571 F.2d at 343. The Court of Appeals also reiterated its skepticism of "hypothetical hardships" raised in justification of a failure to reach accommodation. 571 F.2d at 343, citing Draper v. U. S. Pipe & Foundry Co., 527 F.2d 515, 520 (6th Cir. 1975).

Though this case was appealed and remanded on this court's summary judgment decision, it is presently being considered on the merits after the parties stipulated to all relevant facts. There are two major areas of legal argument involved in this case. The first revolves around the language and burdens of section 701(j): were there efforts by defendants to come to a reasonable accommodation with plaintiff; is it necessary for defendants to show a good faith effort toward an accommodation before they can argue the "undue hardship" defense; was there an undue hardship to the defendants in accommodating the plaintiff? The second area, the defendants' establishment clause challenge to the constitutionality of section 701(j) as applied in this case, can be addressed only if this court finds in favor of the plaintiff on the statutory questions.

Before beginning an analysis of the legal questions outlined above, it is necessary to lay out the factual situation of this case as agreed to by all the parties. Additional relevant facts will be brought up in discussion of particular legal issues.

Plaintiff began working for Essex International in its plant in Berrien Springs on October 15, 1972. Plaintiff's job classification was one that was covered by a collective bargaining agreement between Essex and IAM Local No. 982 which included a union security provision requiring membership in the union as a condition of employment. (Agreed Statement of Facts ¶ 9.) The plaintiff was at the time of her employment, and still is, a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. (ASF ¶ 11.) Included in the practices and beliefs of the church is a prohibition against union membership and financial support of labor organizations. There is no question in this case as to the sincerity of plaintiff's beliefs. Plaintiff and various church officials informed the company and the union of plaintiff's religious reservations towards paying union dues and the related position of the church itself. Plaintiff's pastor sent a letter to Essex on December 19, 1972, with a copy to the Local, requesting that plaintiff be allowed to contribute an amount equal to her union dues to a non-sectarian, non-union national charity located in the Berrien Springs area in lieu of her union dues. (ASF ¶ 15.) On December 22, 1972, however, the union submitted a written demand to the company to terminate plaintiff. (Plaintiff's exhibit 9, defendant's exhibit 1.) The Essex plant manager requested on December 26, 1972 that the termination date of December 28, 1972 be postponed for two weeks to allow some time to reach an accommodation. (Plaintiff's exhibit 6, defendant-Essex's exhibit 2.) The union refused and insisted that plaintiff be discharged on December 28, 1972. (Plaintiff's exhibit 7, defendant-Essex's exhibit 3.) On December 28, 1972, plaintiff sent a letter to the Local president offering to pay the union the proportionate cost of peaceful collective bargaining, with the remainder going to a mutually agreeable, non-religious charity. (ASF ¶ 17.) This offer was never responded to. Also on December 28, a regional leader of the Seventh-day Adventist Church appealed directly to the president of the IAM for intervention. This petition was eventually rejected on January 2, 1973. (ASF ¶ 18.) Further, the defendant-union rejected any proposed accommodation with plaintiff that included non-membership or non-payment of dues. The union did not insist on membership but did insist on the payment of dues and fees. (ASF ¶ 20.) On December 28, 1972, plaintiff was discharged by the company for failure to join the union or to pay dues and fees to the union.

It has been stipulated by the parties (ASF ¶ 26) and recognized by the Court of Appeals in this case, 571 F.2d at 343, that the loss of plaintiff's dues does not constitute an undue hardship to the union. It has also been agreed that no employee or prospective employee of Essex's Berrien Springs plant, except Mrs. McDaniel, had sought an accommodation for religious beliefs proscribing union membership or financial support. (ASF ¶ 29).

Since the parties agree that the plaintiff has established a prima facie case of religious discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, the initial question for determination by this court is whether the defendants have met their statutory and stipulated burden to show that they each made a good faith effort at accommodation and, if unsuccessful, to demonstrate that they were unable to accommodate plaintiff without undue hardship. McDaniel v. Essex International, Inc., 571 F.2d 338, 343; Final Pretrial Order p. 3.

A preliminary issue that must be decided is whether defendants must actually show their good faith attempt to accommodate before they are entitled to raise the undue hardship excuse. Plaintiff argues that defendants did not make such an attempt and, therefore, should not be allowed to raise any undue hardship as a defense.

In support of this position, plaintiff cites the law of this case, as stated by the Sixth Circuit, that the burden is on the company and the union "to make an effort at accommodation and, if unsuccessful, to demonstrate that they were unable to reasonably accommodate the Plaintiff's religious beliefs without undue hardship." 571 F.2d at 343. Additionally, Claybaugh v. Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Co., 355 F.Supp. 1, 6 (D.Ore.1973), holds that though "the requirement upon an employer to make a reasonable accommodation to the religious needs of an employee is not unbending ..., an employer cannot sustain its burden of showing undue hardship without first showing that it made an accommodation as an attempted remedy. As the degree of business hardship increases, the quantity of conduct which will satisfy the reasonable accommodation requirement decreases."

The applicable statutory language is less clear than these cases, however. Discrimination on the basis of religion is forbidden "unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to reasonably accommodate to an employee's or prospective employee's religious observance or practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(j).

Nevertheless, it is the opinion of this court that proof of an effort by the defendant to accommodate the religious practices of an employee is required before that defendant can be allowed to raise the further defense of undue hardship.

Burns v. Southern Pacific Transportation Company, 589 F.2d 403 (9th Cir. 1978), cert. den. 439 U.S. 1072, 99 S.Ct. 843, 59 L.Ed.2d 38 (1979), is quite clear on this point. Once the plaintiff has established a prima facie case of religious discrimination, as was done in the principal case, "the burden was on the Company and the Union to prove that they made good faith efforts to accommodate Burns' religious beliefs, that the efforts were unsuccessful, and that they were unable reasonably to accommodate those beliefs without undue hardship." 589 F.2d at 405. That Court went on to state that the Supreme Court in T.W.A. v. Hardison, 432 U.S. 63, 97 S.Ct. 2264, 53 L.Ed.2d 113 (1977), held that Congress, in enacting section...