Parker v. Burnley

• Decision Date: 12 July 1988
• Docket Number: No. 1:87-CV-692-RHH.,1:87-CV-692-RHH.
• Citation: 693 F. Supp. 1138
• Parties: Loretta S. PARKER, Plaintiff, v. James BURNLEY, Secretary, United States Department of Transportation; T. Allan McArtor, Administrator, United States Federal Aviation Administration, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia

693 F. Supp. 1138

Loretta S. PARKER, Plaintiff, v. James BURNLEY, Secretary, United States Department of Transportation; T. Allan McArtor, Administrator, United States Federal Aviation Administration, Defendant.

No. 1:87-CV-692-RHH.

United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division.

July 12, 1988.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Dana E. McDonald, Office of Dana E. McDonald, Atlanta, Ga., for plaintiff.

James Randolph Schulz, Office of U.S. Atty., Atlanta, Ga., for defendant.

James T. Langford, Jacobs & Langford, Atlanta, Ga., Alice Dorrier Bonner, for State Bar of Georgia, amicus.

ORDER

ROBERT H. HALL, District Judge.

Plaintiff brings this action for damages, declaratory and injunctive relief pursuant to the Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d); Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16; the Classification Act of 1949, 5 U.S.C. § 5101; and the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 701 et seq. Trial was conducted on February 18, 19, 22, 1988. The court makes the following Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law:

A. Findings of Fact

1. The Plaintiff, Loretta S. Parker, is and has been employed by the United States continuously since October 1, 1962. She has worked for the United States Department of Transportation "DOT" and its constituent agency, the Federal Aviation Administration "FAA" since July 2, 1967. Complaint, ¶¶ 1 and 5 (allegations admitted in Defendants' Answer).

2. From 1962 to 1976, the Plaintiff served in secretarial and clerical positions with the FAA. From 1976 to September 1979, she was assigned to nonclerical positions in Louisville, Kentucky, and Montgomery, Alabama. In September 1979, she was transferred to a GS-7 "Statistical Assistant" position in Atlanta. Plaintiff's Exhibit 10(a).

3. All positions she has held since 1979 have been in the Airway Facilities Division, the organizational unit containing the Maintenance Program Branch and one of its sections, the Field Program Section. The Section supervisor beginning in 1983 was Edward Wayne Watkins. He had been preceded by Anne K. McMillin. Transcript of 11/4/87 deposition of Anne K. McMillin¹ at 10-11, and Administrative Hearing Transcript² hereinafter "AHT", pages 191-193 (Testimony of Mr. Watkins).

4. Ms. McMillin selected the Plaintiff for the Statistical Assistant position as a part of an upward mobility program for women in the FAA. McMillin Dep. at 16. Attaining the position enabled the Plaintiff to enter into a professional career-ladder, thereby affording her the opportunity to achieve significantly higher-graded positions within the division. Id.

5. As part of the program, the Plaintiff was required to enroll in college. McMillin Dep. at 16. She did so, beginning in 1980, and she completed her professional degree program at the Georgia State University in March 1988. She has been an excellent student. Plaintiff's Exhibit 10(b).

6. In May 1982, upon her completion of eight college level mathematics courses, including three advanced statistics courses, Ms. McMillin promoted her to a GS-9 position. Plaintiff's Exhibit 10(a) and (b).

7. On May 15, 1983, she was promoted to a GS-11 Engineering Statistician position in the Field Program Section. Complaint ¶ 5 (admitted in Answer).

8. The Plaintiff has remained a GS-11. Plaintiff's Exhibit 16(a) and (b) (Response to Plaintiff's First Request for Admission 1 and 2).

9. The Plaintiff's job performance has been very highly rated, as indicated by Mr. Watkins' 1985 report:

I have worked with Loretta Parker for several years and have functioned as her supervisor since July 1983. During the time I have worked with Loretta, she has always performed in an excellent manner. She is dedicated to her job and has always tried to improve herself.

Plaintiff's Exhibit 11(b). During the administrative hearing, Mr. Watkins described the Plaintiff as "an excellent employee." AHT 204.

Comparison with Plaintiff's Predecessor

10. A GS-12 vacancy occurred when in 1984 Simon Tran-M-Trung transferred from the Field Program Section. Simon Tran-M-Trung was a member of the Field Program Section from November 13, 1983 to December 21, 1984. AHT 310. Though formally assigned to a position entitled Civil Engineer, Simon Tran-M-Trung's position description did not call for him to perform engineering work. Plaintiff's Exhibit 4(a). Instead, it describes his responsibility for managing the division's property acquisition and services contracts program. The only engineering duty of the job was to study engineering aspects of lease revisions and surveys to reflect changed conditions at the FAA. Plaintiff's Exhibit 4(a).

11. It is undisputed that the description called for him to perform, and he did in actuality perform, each of the following duties:

a. Processing government Procurement Requests (PR's);

b. Processing lease renewal contracts;

c. Preparing various studies pertaining to the FAA's contracting-out program (designated the A-76 program);

d. Assisting in securing, through the FAA's depot system, replacement parts for facilities located in the Southern region;

e. Administering the FAA's contract program for chairs used by controllers in the region;

f. Preparing reports pertaining to the acquisition and disposition of property.

Plaintiff's Exhibit 4(a), 19(a), 20(a), 20(b), 20(c) and 22(a). The position necessitated knowledge of engineering, government contracting requirements, familiarity with FAA budgeting and accounting procedures, and sufficient technical knowledge of FAA-required structures and devices to appropriately act upon the requested acquisitions and lease renewals. Coordination among various FAA regional officials was often a necessity.

12. During his tenure, Simon Tran-M-Trung coordinated the approval of 1118 PR's. Plaintiff's Exhibit 19(c). The PR's came from among the 96 field and sector offices within the eight southeastern states of the Southern Region. The requests were for either goods or services needed by the FAA office seeking approval of the requests.

13. Sample PR's actually processed by Tran-M-Trung included large security guard service contracts and small ones such as one for a pest control service. Plaintiff's Exhibit 20(c). Tran-M-Trung was shown to have handled the very same kind of pest control PR, telephone service PR, garbage service PR, armed guard service PR, and a janitorial service PR that the Plaintiff later handled. Compare Plaintiff's Exhibit 20(c) and 20(d). So extensive was the regulation in this area, that he even had to approve the use of antistatic carpet spray at one of the FAA offices. Plaintiff's Exhibit 20(e).

14. In acting upon the PR's, Tran-M-Trung was required to follow a detailed administrative approval process. Plaintiff's Exhibit 21(a).

15. Because of the sheer volume of work and the need to keep track of it, the Field Program Section maintained a running log of the PR's processed. Plaintiff's Exhibit 20(a) and 20(b). Tran-M-Trung himself entered upon the log details concerning many of the requests received from the field and processed by him.

16. Of the 1118 PR's he processed, only 15 required referrals to the FAA environmental engineering office, the office responsible for deciding upon any engineering question arising from the PR. Plaintiff's Exhibits 19(c). There is no evidence that even one referral was avoided because of his activity in "studying engineering aspects of lease revisions and surveys to reflect changed conditions at FAA facilities." See Plaintiff's Exhibit 4(a).

17. In addition to his responsibility over the Southern region's PR approval process, Tran-M-Trung also processed lease renewals. Of the approximately 1600 leases existent in the region at any given time, 90 to 120 leases were renewed each year. Plaintiff's Exhibit 23. As in the case of the PR approval process, the renewal of those leases was accomplished in accordance with FAA Orders and procedures. Plaintiff's Exhibit 24.

18. Finally, Simon Tran-M-Trung was responsible for the preparation of reports and studies regarding contract-related issues, including studies involving the FAA's A-76 program, Plaintiff's Exhibit 22(a), and for the administering of the Southern Region's air traffic controller chair repair contracts. Plaintiff's Exhibit 22(c).

19. Simon Tran-M-Trung's official position description did not require him to prepare, revise, or otherwise create engineering drawings or produce any engineering work product. Plaintiff's Exhibit 4(a). Instead, the description refers to him as an "engineering consultant" and narrowly specified that he was expected to "study engineering aspects of lease revisions and surveys to reflect changed conditions at FAA facilities ..." Id. Therefore, though he was trained as an engineer, Simon Tran-M-Trung's official position description did not call for him to perform engineering duties.

20. Because the work continued after Simon Tran-M-Trung's departure, the section supervisor, Mr. Watkins, took steps to fill the vacancy. On December 18, 1984, he certified to the FAA personnel office that the vacancy should be filled with a replacement GS-12 position, the same grade as Simon Tran-M-Trung. Plaintiff's Exhibit 6(a). His certification was made despite the fact that he had retitled the position from Civil Engineer to Program Analyst and had removed all references to engineering in the description. Raymond C. Shipley, the Plaintiff's co-worker and an Acting Section Supervisor during the relevant time period, testified about conversations he had with Mr. Watkins in which Watkins expressed the opinion that the grade should be GS-12, just as Tran-M-Trung's had been. Trial Transcript, Vol. I at 113-114 (hereinafter "TT 1:113-114").

21. On May 26, 1985, the FAA selected the Plaintiff for the vacancy, but the grade was lowered to GS-11. As with her predecessor, the Plaintiff's primary responsibility involved the property acquisition and services contracts program, including the...