Opinion ID: 401058
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Statistical Findings

Text: 12 To recruit applicants for office and unskilled production jobs, Chrysler utilized referrals through the New Castle office of the Indiana Employment Security Division (IESD) and the posting of a sign above the plant door indicating that applications were being taken for positions. From 1966 to 1977, according to the court, the percentage of black employees in Chrysler's New Castle workforce in both unskilled production and office jobs was as follows: 13 Year Percentage Black Employment ---- --------------------------- 1966 1.82% 1967 1.71% 1968 1.68% 1969 1.72% 1970 1.81% 1971 2.09% 1972 2.08% 1973 2.59% 1974 2.55% 1975 2.42% 1976 2.88% 1977 2.91% 14 No significant hiring occurred during the years 1966 through 1970. Moreover, no data exists indicating the racial composition of the applicant pool or the racial designation of persons hired during that period. 15 According to the court, hiring at the facility occurred primarily in three separate periods: (1) late 1971-1972; (2) 1973; and (3) 1976. The court made the following findings of hiring statistics for these three periods: 16 1971-72 1973 1976 ------- ---- ---- Number of applications 1,688 1,812 725 Number of person hired 704 734 583 Number of black applicants 34 44  40 Number of blacks hired 29 24 33 Percentage of blacks in the total applicants 2.01% 4.82% 5.05% Percentage of blacks in the total hirees 4.12% 9.84% 5.07% Percentage of blacks applicants hired 87.29% 54.55% 82.5% Percentage of white applicants hired 40.83% 25.32% 80.3%  On June 9, 1973, a total of 889 applications were filed; however, through oversighht, the racial designations of the applicants on this date were not noted in the applicant log. The statistics on the race of applicants and hirees are based on the remaining 913 applications filed in 1973. It was known that during the entire year, including the June 9 applicants, a total of 45 blacks were hired. 17 During the entire period from 1971 to 1976, only 19 persons were hired for office positions. In 1971, no office workers were hired; in 1972, 11 office workers were hired; in 1973, 8 persons were hired for office positions. From August, 1973, through May, 1977, no persons were hired for any office or clerical positions. The court also found that, during all relevant time periods, Chrysler's criterion for hiring was that the best qualified were to be chosen based upon prior experience. With respect to production jobs, Chrysler sought persons with prior factory experience and, particularly, experience in operating factory equipment. 18 The court acknowledged analyses of employee residences conducted in 1973 and 1978, showing that the defendant's workforce was derived from the following counties in the following percentages: 19 Percentage of the Workforce County From the County -------- --------------------------- Henry 87.66% Delaware 4.24% Wayne 2.79% Hancock 2.40% Madison 1.03% Rush .90% Randolph .43% Marion .17% Fayette .13% Franklin .04% Union .04% Other .17% 20 The data set forth in the United States Bureau of Census Report for 1970, which the parties had agreed was applicable, indicate the following black populations in the labor forces for the above counties: 21 Minority Percentage of Labor County Force in the County -------- ---------------------------- Henry ( .966%) 2 Delaware 4.85% Wayne 4.69% Hancock Too small to measure Madison 4.19% Rush Too small to measure Randolph Too small to measure Marion 15.95% Fayette 2.55% Franklin Too small to measure Union Too small to measure 22 Thus, approximately 87% of Chrysler's workforce had come from Henry County, in which New Castle is located, which has a black labor force of less than 1%. An additional 12% of Chrysler's workforce came from the seven contiguous counties surrounding Henry County: Delaware, Wayne, Hancock, Madison, Rush, Randolph, and Fayette counties. The remaining hirees, less than 1/2% of Chrysler's workforce, came from non-contiguous counties. 23 The district court's finding with regard to one of the critical issues on appeal, the percentage of blacks in Chrysler's relevant labor market, was somewhat convoluted: 24 The Black representation in Defendant's labor market, measured by weighing the Black representation in the respective counties in accordance with the representation of each county in Defendant's workforce, yields an availability figure of (1.257) 3 percent for Blacks in Defendant's relevant labor market. Plaintiff's expert witness concluded that, based upon the actual commuting patterns in effect, Defendant's relevant labor market contained a 1.44 percent Black population. In addition, at all times relevant herein, the maximum availability figure for Defendant's relevant labor market utilized by the Office of Federal Contracts Compliance Programs in measuring Defendant's affirmative-action obligations under Executive Order 11246 was 1.8 percent. 25 We read the district court's finding on the black population percentage for Chrysler's labor market as being 1.257%, even though the court's language might be taken to have endorsed a range of percentages anywhere from 1.257% to 1.8%. As explained in our discussion of the court's ultimate finding that Chrysler was not guilty of any violation of Title VII, the ambiguity in determining the precise figure or figures relied upon by the court does not undercut the validity of its ultimate decision.