Nazaire v. Trans World Airlines, Inc.

• Decision Date: 09 December 1986
• Docket Number: No. 84-2136,84-2136
• Citation: 807 F.2d 1372
• Parties: 42 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 882, 41 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 36,670, 55 USLW 2370 Mecene NAZAIRE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. TRANS WORLD AIRLINES, INC. and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

Page 1372

807 F.2d 1372

42 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 882,

41 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 36,670, 55 USLW 2370

Mecene NAZAIRE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. TRANS WORLD AIRLINES, INC. and International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 84-2136.

United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit.

Argued Feb. 20, 1986.

Decided Dec. 9, 1986.

Laura A. Kaster, Jenner and Block, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff-appellant.

Michael D. Gordon, Jolley, Moran, Walsh, Hager & Gordon, Kansas City, Mo., Elliot H. Shaller, Dow, Lohnes & Albertson, Washington D.C., for defendants-appellees.

Before WOOD, CUDAHY and RIPPLE, Circuit Judges.

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.

Appellant Mecene Nazaire was employed by appellee Trans World Airlines, Inc. (TWA) for eleven years as an automotive mechanic in its Chicago-O'Hare Airport facility. During that time, Mr. Nazaire was a member in good standing of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (Union). On April 4, 1981, Mr. Nazaire was laid off as part of a reduction in force at TWA's O'Hare facility. Following the layoff, on May 7, 1982, Mr. Nazaire filed suit against TWA and the Union in district court. Mr. Nazaire sought relief pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. Secs. 2000e et seq. (Title VII) and 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981, alleging, inter alia, that TWA had discriminated against him on the basis of his race by manipulating the classification seniority of various employees and that the Union had similarly discriminated against him by refusing to press his grievances with respect to the allegedly discriminatory seniority system. The district court granted summary judgment for TWA and the Union. The court held that Mr. Nazaire's claims were time-barred and that, even if they were timely, Mr. Nazaire's allegations with respect to the seniority system and with respect to other alleged acts of discrimination were insufficient to support a claim under either statute. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I

The district court disposed of this case by granting a motion for summary judgment in favor of TWA and the Union. Therefore, in reviewing the district court's decision, we must construe the facts alleged in the light most favorable to Mr. Nazaire. See Posey v. Skyline Corp., 702 F.2d 102, 103 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 960, 104 S.Ct. 392, 78 L.Ed.2d 336 (1983). Accordingly, the following statement of facts is derived from Mr. Nazaire's pleadings, deposition and affidavits.

Mr. Nazaire is a black male of Haitian descent. He has been a naturalized U.S. citizen since 1978. Although there is some confusion about the date, ¹ the pleadings and Mr. Nazaire's deposition and affidavit indicate that Mr. Nazaire was hired by TWA at O'Hare Airport on May 21, 1970. On all relevant company documents, Mr. Nazaire's company seniority date is listed as May 21, 1970. Mr. Nazaire's first actual day of work appears to have been May 25, 1970, the date of the bid notice. For purposes of administering the collective bargaining agreement (Agreement) between TWA and the Union, Mr. Nazaire was assigned a classification seniority date of May 26, 1970. ²

In January 1972, Mr. Nazaire was furloughed by TWA for approximately six months. Mr. Nazaire did not take any official action at that time to protest the seniority system, although at least two of the employees alleged to have received higher seniority than Mr. Nazaire were still employed at that time. Mr. Nazaire did speak to his union representative, Mr. Bernson, about the operation of the seniority system. Specifically, he sought an explanation of why two employees, Bartkus and Brown, who, according to Mr. Nazaire, had been hired after him, had not been laid off. Mr. Bernson explained to Mr. Nazaire that Mr. Brown had been hired the same day as Mr. Nazaire but was not laid off because, under the Agreement, when two employees had the same seniority, the employee whose name was first alphabetically had the greater seniority. Mr. Bernson also explained that Mr. Bartkus had greater seniority because he had transferred from within the company and therefore was afforded seventeen extra days of seniority because he was a transferee. Mr. Nazaire claims to have been dissatisfied with this response. He did not, however, pursue the matter further.

Mr. Nazaire has also claimed, at least obliquely, that the company engaged in or, at least, acquiesced in a pattern of discrimination against him. He alleges in his deposition that he was slapped by a co-worker, Mr. Bartkus, in 1971; that he was called "black" and "monkey" by his co-workers; that he was assigned to do work alone that was ordinarily done by two men; that in 1978 he was given only two days of General Motors training instead of the scheduled five days; and that he was denied the position of lead mechanic. Mr. Nazaire also claimed that he was never given preferred days off and that he was never allowed to work on holidays or other overtime periods, for which he would have been paid double the hourly rate or more. The only formal complaint made by Mr. Nazaire regarding these purported acts of discrimination was directed not to the Union or to TWA management but, rather, to the Reverend Jesse Jackson (then head of PUSH), who spoke to the company's management on Mr. Nazaire's behalf.

Finally, on April 3, 1979, Mr. Nazaire filed an EEOC charge against TWA alleging racial discrimination. The charge alleged that certain white employees were accorded various rights, based upon allegedly incorrect seniority dates, that were denied to Mr. Nazaire. The EEOC dismissed the charge due to Mr. Nazaire's failure to cooperate. Although the EEOC issued a right-to-sue notice, Mr. Nazaire never brought suit against TWA. On April 22, 1980, Mr. Nazaire filed another EEOC charge against TWA, which was substantially the same as that filed in 1979. He also filed an EEOC charge naming the Union as a party. The charge focused on Mr. Nazaire's belief that TWA had discriminated against him in assigning seniority dates. It alleged that TWA employees Pharis, Wonkowski, Guth, and Bartkus (all of whom are white) were given preferential seniority dates. Mr. Nazaire also charged that the Union failed to represent him with respect to the seniority dates. The EEOC determined that there was no reasonable cause to believe the allegations of that charge and issued a right-to-sue notice. Again, no suit was filed.

On April 4, 1981, Mr. Nazaire was laid off as part of a reduction in force at TWA's O'Hare facility. The layoff was based on seniority. At the time of the layoff, Mr. Nazaire was informed that he had a right to utilize his classification seniority to "bump" into a mechanic's job in New York without losing any pay or seniority credit. Mr. Nazaire declined the offer in favor of the layoff.

In May 1981, Mr. Nazaire filed charges against TWA and the Union, alleging discrimination on the basis of race in the assignment of seniority dates. He also alleged that he was laid off in retaliation for his filing of the prior EEOC charges. He further alleged that the Union had failed to represent him adequately with respect to these charges. These charges were filed not only with the EEOC but also with the Illinois Commission on Human Rights, which dismissed the charges. This dismissal was confirmed on appeal in February 1982. On February 10, 1982, the EEOC, finding no reasonable cause to believe that TWA had discriminated against Mr. Nazaire, issued a right-to-sue notice with respect to TWA. On July 27, 1982, the EEOC found that there was no reasonable cause to believe that the Union had discriminated against Mr. Nazaire and issued a right-to-sue notice.

In May 1982, Mr. Nazaire filed a complaint in the district court against TWA and the Union alleging discrimination in violation of both Title VII and 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981. In late 1982, the Union and TWA filed motions for summary judgment and supporting memoranda. On April 25, 1984, the district court granted the defendants' motions for summary judgment. The court held that Mr. Nazaire's claim was time-barred because it was premised on a seniority designation made in 1970 and known to Mr. Nazaire by January 1971. ³ Subsequently, Mr. Nazaire filed a motion to vacate the judgment, which was denied. This appeal followed.

II

A. Timeliness

1. The general rule: a "present violation"

We turn first to the appellees' contention that Mr. Nazaire's claims are barred by the applicable statute of limitations. The district court held that Mr. Nazaire's Title VII and section 1981 claims were time-barred. The court found that the trigger date--the date that started the running of the limitations period--for Mr. Nazaire's claim was January 1971. At that time, the seniority roster containing Mr. Nazaire's seniority date as well as the seniority dates of Mr. Brown and Mr. Bartkus first became known to Mr. Nazaire. Accordingly, the district court held that Mr. Nazaire's filing of an EEOC charge in 1981 was untimely.

"It should not be forgotten that time-limitations provisions themselves promote important interests; 'the period allowed for instituting suit inevitably reflects a value judgment concerning the point at which the interests in favor of protecting valid claims are outweighed by the interests in prohibiting the prosecution of stale ones.' " Delaware State College v. Ricks, 449 U.S. 250, 259-60, 101 S.Ct. 498, 505, 66 L.Ed.2d 431 (1980) (quoting Johnson v. Railway Express Agency, Inc., 421 U.S. 454, 463-64, 95 S.Ct. 1716, 1721-22, 44 L.Ed.2d 295 (1975)). The limitations period for employment discrimination claims under Title VII and section 1981 commences on the date of the alleged unlawful employment practice. Ricks, 449 U.S. at 258, 101 S.Ct. at 504 (Title VII and section 1981 claims); see Perez v. Laredo Junior College, 706 F.2d 731, 733 (5th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 1042, 104 S.Ct....