Opinion ID: 399361
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: discrimination in promotion

Text: 10 Plaintiffs' claim of promotion discrimination stems from Sky Chefs' failure to establish promotion criteria. The lack of well-defined promotion criteria has allegedly enabled Sky Chefs to maintain a discriminatory promotion practice. It does not per se, however, create a disparate impact on either sex. Consequently, the disparate treatment test must be applied when assessing plaintiffs' claims. Heagney v. University of Washington, 642 F.2d 1157, 1163 (9th Cir. 1981); Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324, 97 S.Ct. 1843, 52 L.Ed.2d 396 (1977). To establish a prima facie disparate treatment case, plaintiffs must introduce evidence to show it is more likely than not Sky Chefs failed to promote women because of a discriminatory intent. Lynn v. Regents of the University of California, 656 F.2d 1337, 1341 (9th Cir. 1981), quoting Furnco Construction Corp. v. Waters, 438 U.S. 567, 576, 98 S.Ct. 2943, 2949, 57 L.Ed.2d 957 (1978). Statistical data is one way to establish a prima facie case, Lynn, 656 F.2d 1342-43, and plaintiffs' burden is not an onerous one. Texas Dept. of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 253, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 1093, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981). 11 Plaintiffs, both for the individual and class claims, relied primarily upon statistical evidence of disparity between the representation of women in the lower paying positions and the higher paying positions. Taken with the evidence of the stated policy of promotion from within, the statistical evidence created an inference of discrimination against women in promotions. Relying upon Pack v. Energy Research & Development Administration, 566 F.2d 1111 (9th Cir. 1977) (per curiam), the district court held that plaintiffs' statistical evidence did not establish a prima facie case because plaintiff failed to offer evidence that the women qualified for the promotion. 12 We disagree. Pack is distinguishable for two reasons. First, the positions at issue in Pack were those of highly specialized geologic engineers. Hence, it was manifest in Pack that the prima facie case required evidence of specific, professional qualifications, since those skills are not easily or quickly acquired. However, the jobs at issue here involve supervision of airline meal preparation, and the trial court must yet determine whether the supervisory skills are specialized. We recently held that when a position involves skills that many persons may easily learn, comparisons with the general labor pools are more probative than when the job requires specialized training. Piva v. Xerox Corp., 654 F.2d 591, 594 (9th Cir. 1981). In fact, such statistical disparity in a proper case may, by itself, constitute prima facie proof of a pattern of discrimination. Id. 13 Second, plaintiffs produced evidence that Sky Chefs relied entirely on subjective criteria in making promotions. Plaintiffs also assert that qualifications for its upper-level positions have never been articulated by defendant. Given the rule that subjective decision-making strengthens an inference of discrimination from general statistical data, see, Lynn, 656 F.2d at 1342-43 (9th Cir. 1981); Davis v. Califano, 613 F.2d 957 (D.C.Cir.1979); a prima facie showing that members of the class were qualified, when qualifications are unknown, would be an unrealistic burden to meet. See Texas Dept. of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 254, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 1090, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981). 14 The trial court further found that defendant's cohort group study rebutted any inference of discrimination from plaintiffs' statistics. The study showed that the disparity between male and female advancement was less than the standard deviation required by Hazelwood School District, et al. v. United States, 433 U.S. 299, 308-09 n.14, 97 S.Ct. 2736, 2741-2742 n.14, 53 L.Ed.2d 768 (1977), to create an inference of discrimination. However, the cohort group study covered advancements in years from 1976-1979, but the named plaintiffs left Sky Chefs in 1976. The asserted individual claims encompassed the period from 1968-1976, and the class claims appear to cover the years 1964-1978. Hence, any inference from the defendant's 1976-1979 study would seem to have little probative value for the class' pre-1976 claims or the individuals' 1968-1976 claims. The weight of such evidence is, of course, a matter for determination by the trier of fact. In addition, this action was filed in 1977, and later changes in promotion policies could not erase liability for earlier discrimination. Teamsters, 431 U.S. at 341-42, 97 S.Ct. at 1857-58. Finally, not only do plaintiffs' experts attack the methodology of defendant's study, but they also draw conflicting inferences from those of defendant's experts as to the cohort group study. These collective cohort problems indicate that there are material factual disputes yet to be resolved. See, Piva v. Xerox Corp., 654 F.2d 591, 594 (9th Cir. 1981); Williams v. City of San Francisco, 483 F.Supp. 335, 338-39 (N.D.Cal.1979). 15 In addition to statistical evidence, plaintiffs produced evidence of specific instances of promotion discrimination. The district court analyzed instances of alleged discrimination against the named plaintiffs, but did not consider the instances of alleged discrimination against other women. The existence of unresolved factual disputes regarding these instances precludes summary judgment. 16 The district court found that the defendant's depositions showed legitimate reasons for its individual employment decisions and that the plaintiffs had not controverted this evidence. Thus, it held that a prima facie case made on the theory of McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973), had been rebutted and no factual issues relevant to that theory remained. It may be that summary judgment may be given on this basis in a case where the sole theory is that of McDonnell Douglas. 1 Meyer v. California and Hawaiian Sugar Co., 662 F.2d 637 (9th Cir. 1981). However, in this case the prima facie showing of discrimination against the individual plaintiffs rests in part upon proof that there was a pattern or practice of discrimination. A prima facie case that there was such a pattern or practice rests in part upon a statistical showing on the theory of Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324, 97 S.Ct. 1843, 52 L.Ed.2d 396 (1977). 2 The district judge did not reach the question of whether the defendant had successfully rebutted the prima facie proof of individual acts of discrimination that would arise from proof of a pattern or practice of discrimination. In general, it is more difficult for a defendant to gain summary judgment in a case like the present one. The McDonnell Douglas test focused on the promotion for which plaintiffs applied or could have applied, so that it is relatively clear what the defendant must prove in order to rebut the prima facie proof. The same is not true here. A pattern or practice of discrimination can take subtle forms. There may be no announcements of vacancies or qualifications. Men may be more frequently evaluated for promotion potential than are women. We do not say that summary judgment is never proper against individual plaintiffs in a pattern or practice case, but in this case we think that the defendant has not made a sufficient showing. 17 Regardless of whether the named plaintiffs were the best qualified applicants, their depositions and other evidence, including the statistics, raised the factual issue of whether Sky Chefs had a regular practice of keeping women from advancing by not announcing job openings and by seeking men to fill the positions. If such a practice is proved, a rebuttable presumption will arise that any promotion decision during the discriminatory practice period was made as a result of the practice. The burden will then shift to the defendant to show it denied the promotion for lawful reasons. Teamsters, 431 U.S. at 357-62, 97 S.Ct. at 1865-68 citing Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co., 424 U.S. 747, 773, 96 S.Ct. 1251, 1268, 47 L.Ed.2d 444 (1976). 18 Finally, under the present record, we think that triable issues of fact exist as to whether individual prima facie cases of promotion discrimination under McDonnell Douglas may be established. Although they have not shown that they were in fact rejected when promotion decisions were made, plaintiffs need not make such a showing. In Reed v. Lockheed Aircraft Corp., 613 F.2d 757 (9th Cir. 1980), we held that to establish a prima facie individual case of sex discrimination a plaintiff may offer statistical evidence showing a disparity between the overall percentage of female employees with an employer and the percentage of females holding managerial positions. We opined that the district court's finding that Reed was not discriminatorily denied certain promotions was almost irrelevant in light of ... (her) attack on ... (her employer's policies). 613 F.2d at 762. Similarly, the named plaintiffs' attack on Sky Chefs' promotion practices enables them to withstand a motion for summary judgment on their individual claims.