Opinion ID: 1302380
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether Race Played a Role in the City's Decision to Promote Thompson Rather Than Davis.

Text: The city urges that because Davis, Thompson, and Robert Mullinex were all qualified for appointment to the foreman position as a result of having achieved the top three scores on the civil service examination, the council was free to select any of the three in its sole discretion. There were, the city argues, a number of nonracial reasons why Thompson might have been favored for the promotion. Using this premise, the city suggests that Davis cannot complain of the council's ultimate choice. Were this a case being decided under the civil service laws for public employees, this might be a valid contention. But, this is a racial discrimination case being decided under federal and state statutory protections against discrimination in employment, including public employment. Within the arena of federal employment discrimination legislation (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 75 Stat. 253, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(m)), it has been made abundantly clear that this legislation protects white persons from discrimination based on race as much as it does African-American persons and other racial minorities. United Steelworkers v. Weber, 443 U.S. 193, 201, 99 S.Ct. 2721, 2726, 61 L.Ed.2d 480, 487 (1979); McDonald v. Santa Fe Trail Transp. Co., 427 U.S. 273, 281, 96 S.Ct. 2574, 2579, 49 L.Ed.2d 493, 501 (1976). Because public employment decisions constitute state action, the constitutional dimensions of this issue under the Equal Protection Clause of the federal constitution and our Iowa Constitution prompt us to take a similar view in applying the employment discrimination laws contained in Iowa Code section 216.6. In adjudicating such controversies, it becomes necessary for the trier of fact to go beyond a search for legitimate reasons upon which a challenged employment decision might be based and to seek out the real reason for the decision that was made. This is not, as the city suggests, substituting the court's judgment for that of the city council. It is, rather, a determination of whether the council's judgment was based on legally impermissible factors. In the present case, both the alleged state statutory violation and the alleged federal statutory violations were tried at law. Consequently, the trial court's findings of fact on these issues are binding on review, if supported by substantial evidence, and the case is otherwise reviewed for correction of legal error. Hulme v. Barrett, 480 N.W.2d 40, 41 (Iowa 1992); Smith v. ADM Feed Corp., 456 N.W.2d 378, 384 (Iowa 1990); Landals v. George A. Rolfes Co., 454 N.W.2d 891, 892-93 (Iowa 1990); Lynch v. City of Des Moines, 454 N.W.2d 827, 829 (Iowa 1990). The evidence that race played a controlling role in Thompson's appointment is vividly clear. Traditionally, the decision of whose name is submitted to the council with recommendation for appointment or promotion within the street department was left to the head appointing authority for that department. This was the public works director, Mr. Meyer. In making these decisions, he relies heavily on the recommendation of the department head involved, in this case, Mr. Grimm. Mr. Grimm testified that, based on both experience and ability, Davis's qualifications for the job greatly exceeded those of Thompson. He based these conclusions on the fact that Davis had a much broader experience in the various aspects of the department's operations than did Thompson as a result of having worked in more positions and having worked during day shifts when the bulk of the activities transpired rather than night shifts that were most often Thompson's hours of employment. He strongly recommended to Meyer that Davis be given the foreman job. Meyer testified that he was personally familiar with the relative qualifications of Davis and Thompson. If the affirmative action policy were not implicated, Meyer found Davis to be more qualified for the foreman job. The director of personnel, Mr. Rodemeyer, testified that he did not personally weigh in on the recommendation to the council other than to voice the affirmative action implications. This is borne out by Mr. Rodemeyer's written communication to the council concerning the appointment. He recommended that Thompson be appointed for the sole reason that there was presently no member of a minority group employed as a foreman by the city. The data presented to the council by the personnel department for purposes of making the appointment did not contain any indication of the relative qualifications of the applicants to perform the foreman job. It did not even contain their respective rankings on the civil service examination. From this evidence and the evidence of the council's almost exclusive reliance on departmental recommendations in past personnel matters, the record adequately supports the trial court's finding that Thompson was favored over Davis because of Thompson's race, and but for that factor, Davis would have received the promotion. It is not necessary in this case to test the trial court's individual findings or ultimate findings against the step-by-step proof construct of McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Both parties agree that the elements of that analysis do not completely fit the present controversy. It is abundantly clear from the trial court's written decision that it placed the burden of proof on all of the essential factual issues in the case upon the plaintiff at all stages of its analysis. Because its findings on all of these essential facts are adequately supported by substantial evidence, there was obviously a prima facie case presented by the plaintiff. [1]