Thompkins v. Morris Brown College

• Decision Date: 04 February 1985
• Docket Number: No. 83-8847,83-8847
• Citation: 752 F.2d 558
• Parties: 37 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 24, 36 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 34,970, 22 Ed. Law Rep. 701 Alvie THOMPKINS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MORRIS BROWN COLLEGE, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 558

752 F.2d 558

37 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 24, 36 Empl. Prac.

Dec. P 34,970,

22 Ed. Law Rep. 701

Alvie THOMPKINS, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MORRIS BROWN COLLEGE, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 83-8847.

United States Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit.

Feb. 4, 1985.

Thomas E. Maddox, Jr., Atlanta, Ga., for plaintiff-appellant.

Lenwood A. Jackson, Atlanta, Ga., for defendant-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Before KRAVITCH and HENDERSON, Circuit Judges, and ATKINS ^*, District Judge.

KRAVITCH, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiff Alvie Thompkins brought this employment discrimination suit pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e et seq. Plaintiff claims that defendant Morris Brown College discriminated against her by refusing to grant her part-time employment on the same basis as male employees and by discharging her for maintaining full-time employment outside of defendant college while allowing males to maintain such outside employment. Plaintiff also claims that defendant retaliated against her for complaining of this alleged sex discrimination to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The court below found in favor of the defendant on both grounds. Because we find that the court applied the wrong legal standard to plaintiff's claim of sex discrimination, and inadequately analyzed her claim of retaliation, we reverse and remand.

I. BACKGROUND

The district court made the following findings of facts:

Plaintiff, a female, was employed as a full-time instructor of mathematics at defendant college from the fall of 1977 until her discharge in 1980. Plaintiff's teaching schedule at defendant college for each of the semesters from the fall of 1977 through the fall of 1979 was such that her classes were either all in the early part of the day or all in the latter part of the day. During the academic year 1979-80, plaintiff also was employed as a full-time instructor of math at Douglass High School, requiring her to be at the high school between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Defendant's policy was to discourage full-time employment outside of defendant college by full-time faculty members. Plaintiff was the only full-time female faculty member with a full-time outside job. With the exception of plaintiff's predecessor, Mr. Albert Taylor, no other faculty member classified as full time had ever maintained a full-time outside job. There was no evidence to show that Dr. Payne, Vice President of Academic Affairs of defendant college, was ever aware of Taylor's outside full-time employment. There were persons employed full time elsewhere who were hired by defendant as part-time faculty members. Two such employees were Dr. Mosteller and Dr. Gilliam. Mr. Evans was another male faculty member employed part time at defendant college, ¹ but the lower court found no evidence that he had other full-time employment. The lower court found that there was some dispute as to what constituted full-time faculty status at defendant college; "[t]hat is, whether or not the assignment of a courseload of twelve hours or more, in and of itself, rendered a faculty member a full-time employee." Thompkins v. Morris Brown College, C81-1059A, slip op. at 3 (N.D.Ga. Oct. 31, 1983). The court, however, concluded that Mosteller, Gilliam, and Evans were part-time employees as evidenced by their pay, the lack of any formal requirement to attend faculty meetings, and their understanding of their status. In addition, two women were employed on a part-time basis and assigned ten to twelve hour courseloads. ²

Mosteller, Gilliam, and Evans taught in the business department. Defendant offered evidence that special needs--including the need for PhDs and the large number of students majoring in business--created the necessity for large courseloads for these part-time teachers. The lower court concluded that "[t]here was no evidence disputing such contentions." Id. at 4.

Early in the 1979-80 academic year, Dr. Payne learned that plaintiff had undertaken full-time employment at Douglass High School. He informed her of defendant's policy against such employment by full-time faculty members, and asked her to decide which full-time job she wanted to keep. Subsequently, in the fall of 1979, Payne had plaintiff assigned to a morning class for the second semester of the academic year, 1979-80. In early January of 1980, Payne visited plaintiff's morning class and discovered plaintiff absent and a student in charge. Plaintiff had authorized the student to oversee the class in her absence. Payne dismissed the class.

In December of 1979 and January of 1980, Payne again asked plaintiff to decide which job she wanted to keep full time. Plaintiff did not advise Payne of her decision. In letters dated February 8, 1980, and March 4, 1980, Payne notified plaintiff of her termination. Three of plaintiff's classes were assigned to James Rigdon following plaintiff's dismissal.

Plaintiff testified that she visited the EEOC in November, 1979, and inquired about her rights. She stated that the EEOC officer called Payne at that time. Payne denied receiving the telephone call and the lower court concluded that it did not appear that Payne received such a call. Plaintiff filed a charge of sex discrimination with the EEOC on January 17, 1980, subsequently amending the charge to include retaliation. On March 3, 1980, the EEOC issued a determination of reasonable cause on both charges.

Plaintiff alleges the following facts contrary to, or in addition to, those found by the district court:

Plaintiff contends that the policy in the faculty handbook is one of "not encouraging" outside employment, but that this policy was not followed. ³ She alleges that the following male teachers were not held to this policy: Taylor, her predecessor, taught full time at defendant college and had full-time outside employment. ⁴ Mosteller, Gilliam, and Evans had full-time outside employment while maintaining courseloads of nine to twelve hours. In addition, Rigdon, plaintiff's replacement, taught nine hours at defendant college while maintaining full-time outside employment. Although Mosteller, Gilliam, Evans, and Rigdon were classified as part-time employees of defendant college, plaintiff's request to teach either nine or twelve hours on a part-time basis was denied. Rather, plaintiff alleges that defendant would only allow her to teach six hours on a part-time basis if she chose to keep her full-time outside job. ⁵ Plaintiff further contends that defendant's alleged rationale for allowing the part-time male teachers to teach nine to twelve hours, the need for PhDs in the business department, is pretextual as shown by (1) the fact that Evans is not a PhD and that Rigdon taught in the mathematics department, and (2) the testimony of the chairperson of the mathematics department that teachers were sorely needed in that department.

Plaintiff alleges that two statements were made which constitute direct evidence of discriminatory intent. Dr. Threatt, President of defendant college, allegedly said that he saw no reason for a woman to have a second job. Dr. Payne, Vice President of Academic Affairs of defendant college, stated that the reason that plaintiff could not have four classes in the afternoon like the men was because those males had families and needs that the plaintiff did not have. These two statements were introduced through plaintiff's testimony, and were not rebutted through cross-examination or subsequent testimony.

Regarding her charge of retaliation, plaintiff states that soon after her original contact with the EEOC, Payne called plaintiff's department chairperson and instructed her to change plaintiff's spring schedule so that she would have morning classes. Payne was aware that morning classes would conflict with plaintiff's high school teaching. In January, 1980, plaintiff filed a formal EEOC charge. Plaintiff contends that defendant subsequently harassed her through actions such as dismissing her class one day during the first or second week of February, withholding her paycheck on February 29 and April 1, and ultimately firing her on April 15, 1980. Plaintiff further alleges that she was entitled to certain procedures prior to discharge that she did not receive.

II. SEX DISCRIMINATION

This is a disparate treatment case. Plaintiff claims that she was discriminated against because of her sex in that she was not permitted to work both full time at defendant college and full time outside as had her predecessor, nor was she allowed to work full time outside of defendant college while maintaining part-time employment of nine or twelve hours at defendant college as did Mosteller, Gilliam, Evans, and Rigdon. Because she refused to choose between full-time employment at defendant college and full-time employment at Douglass High School, she was discharged while male teachers who had large part-time courseloads at Morris Brown and full-time outside work were allowed to continue such work. ⁶

The court below evaluated plaintiff's claim of sex discrimination in accordance with the legal standards set out in McDonnell-Douglas v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1824, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Under McDonnell-Douglas, as explained by the Supreme Court in Texas Department of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981), and as applied to the situation at bar, the plaintiff must make out a prima facie case by proving by a preponderance of the evidence that she is a member of a protected class, was qualified for the position held, and was discharged and replaced by a person outside of the protected class or was discharged while a person outside of the protected class with equal or lesser qualifications was retained. ⁷ See, e.g., Lee v. Russell County Board of Education, 684 F.2d 769, 773 (11th Cir.1982). Plaintiff's prima facie case creates a rebuttable presumption...