Opinion ID: 462748
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The District Court's Finding of Unlawful Discrimination

Text: 17 The district court rested its finding of unlawful discrimination primarily on its finding that Grandview's leave of absence policy, as it existed in December of 1982, was facially discriminatory. Grandview asserted, however, that the policy was not discriminatory on its face because a pregnant employee could obtain a three month leave of absence on the mere showing that she was pregnant and that a request for a longer leave of absence was possible under the regular leave for illness policy. The court rejected Grandview's argument, noting that the written policy expressly stated ' [m]aternity leave is limited to three months per employee' (emphasis added), while a leave of absence for 'illness' could be granted for an indefinite duration. The district court further supported its finding with the following facts: 1) neither Williamson nor Edwards could point to an instance in which such a combination of leaves had been given to an employee; and 2) Edwards did not provide Maddox with information of any such possibility of an extended leave when he explained the policy to her on November 30th but rather stated that maternity leave was limited to three months. The district court specifically held that Grandview's contention that the policy was not facially discriminatory was not credible in light of the actual application of those policies. Grandview did not argue any bona fide occupational qualification defense and we find that such analysis would be inapplicable to this case. Considering the record in its entirety, including Williamson's responses to the EEOC which were made part of the record at trial, the district court's finding is not clearly erroneous. 18 Grandview also attempted to rebut the presumption of unlawful discrimination by asserting that Maddox's termination was based on her failure to comply with Grandview's legitimate, nondiscriminatory policy of dismissing employees who are absent for three days without calling in to notify the supervisor of their absence and the cause for it. The district court reasoned that because of the direct evidence of discrimination presented by Maddox, Grandview had to prove that the same decision to terminate Maddox would have been made absent the discriminatory leave policy. See Lee v. Russell County Board of Education, 684 F.2d 769, 774 (11th Cir.1982). The court rejected Grandview's argument, however, finding that Maddox had in fact advised Edwards that she would not return to work after November 30th and that Edwards therefore knew that Maddox would be absent on the three days in question. It further found that without the invalid leave policy limiting maternity leave to three months, plaintiff would have been granted a leave of absence for the duration of her pregnancy, just as any male employee would have received a leave of equal duration upon presentation of similarly compelling medical evidence. Alternatively, the district court held that even if there were not direct evidence of discrimination, it would not hesitate to find that Maddox had satisfied her burden of persuasion by establishing that Grandview's reason was a mere pretext. In light of the record as a whole, these findings are not clearly erroneous. We agree with the district court that this case presents the type of discrimination which Congress intended the PDA to eradicate. 19 We AFFIRM the district court and REMAND for the determination of damages.