Opinion ID: 422257
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: liberty's liability.

Text: 37 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2 (1976) provides: 38 (a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer-- 39 (1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges or employment because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; 40 This provision applies not only to the more blatant forms of discrimination, but also to subtler forms, such as discriminatory enforcement of work rules. 41 In Brown v. A.J. Gerrard Mfg. Co., 643 F.2d 273, 276 (5th Cir.1981), we set out a four part test for demonstrating a prima facie case for discriminatory discharge due to unequal imposition of discipline: 42 (1) That plaintiff was a member of a protected group; 43 (2) That there was a company policy or practice concerning the activity for which he or she was discharged; 44 (3) That non-minority employees either were given the benefit of a lenient company practice or were not held to compliance with a strict company policy; and 45 (4) That the minority employee was disciplined either without the application of a lenient policy, or in conformity with the strict one. 46 Id. at 276. 47 E.E.O.C. v. Brown & Root, Inc., 688 F.2d 338, 340-41 (5th Cir.1982). Of course, if an employer is unaware that a nonminority employee is in violation of company policy, the absence of discipline does not demonstrate a more lenient policy. It follows from this that if an employer applies a rule differently to people it believes are differently situated, no discriminatory intent has been shown. See, e.g., Turner v. Texas Instruments, Inc., 555 F.2d 1251, 1256-57 (5th Cir.1977). 48 The parties to this lawsuit do not dispute these legal principles. Instead, they dispute the district court's factual findings underlying the legal conclusion of liability. 49 Findings of fact by the district court will not be disturbed unless clearly erroneous. F.R.Civ.P. 52(a); see Chisholm v. Sabine Towing & Transportation Co., 679 F.2d 60 (5th Cir.1982); Sebree v. United States, 567 F.2d 292, 293-94 (5th Cir.1978). A finding is clearly erroneous when although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 395, 68 S.Ct. 525, 542, 92 L.Ed. 746 (1948). Ferrero v. United States, 603 F.2d 510, 512 (5th Cir.1979). 50 Verrett v. McDonough Marine Service, 705 F.2d 1437, 1441 (5th Cir.1983). The district court's findings can be placed in two groups. First, Findings 1-30 state subsidiary facts. Findings 31 and 32 state the court's ultimate facts. 51 In reviewing the district court's findings, we are mindful of the Supreme Court's admonitions in Pullman Standard v. Swint, 456 U.S. 273, 102 S.Ct. 1781, 72 L.Ed.2d 66 (1982). 52 [Fed.R.Civ.P.] 52 broadly requires that findings of fact not be set aside unless clearly erroneous. It does not make exceptions or purport to exclude certain categories of factual findings from the obligation of a Court of Appeals to accept a district court's findings unless clearly erroneous. It does not divide facts into categories; in particular, it does not divide findings of fact into those that deal with ultimate and those that deal with subsidiary facts. 53 Id. 102 S.Ct. at 1789. Thus, our task is to determine whether, based upon all of the evidence, we are left with a definite and firm conviction that the district court made a mistake in finding that Liberty Mutual applied its law school rule differently to male and female employees. 54
55 The district court made multitudinous findings of subsidiary facts and concluded in a finding of ultimate fact: The defendant applied its law school rule differently to male and female employees. Under Pullman-Standard, supra, unless that ultimate finding is clearly erroneous, we must affirm the legal conclusion of liability. The subsidiary facts detail a plethora of individual instances that each tend to suggest discrimination. Rather than being a single chain, the weakest link of which Liberty Mutual could attack, the subsidiary facts are many threads woven into a strong cord supporting the ultimate finding of discrimination. Liberty Mutual, as it must, attacks each and every thread. However, not many of those threads need remain intact to support the ultimate finding. Rather than enumerating every subsidiary fact and determining whether or not it is clearly erroneous, we need look only until we find enough strands to satisfy United States Gypsum, Pullman-Standard, and A.J. Gerrard. 56 We must review the district court's ultimate finding of discrimination in terms of the four-part test of A.J. Gerrard, supra. It is clear that the plaintiffs are members of a protected group and that there was a company policy or practice concerning the activity for which the plaintiffs were discharged; thus the first two elements of the test are met. It is also clear that minority employees were disciplined without the application of a lenient policy, and in conformity with a strict policy. All women known to violate the law school rule were immediately discharged. Furthermore, even potential violations of the rule by women were investigated promptly. An anonymous letter was sufficient to trigger an investigation of Chescheir, and the fact that Chescheir was attending law school moved the company to interrogate another woman. 57 The only remaining element of the prima facie case under A.J. Gerrard is a finding that male employees either were given the benefit of a lenient company practice or were not held to compliance with a strict company policy. This is the element upon which Liberty Mutual focuses its attack. Recasting Liberty Mutual's argument slightly, it claims that other males were strictly disciplined in accord with the law school rule, and that Liberty Mutual never knew that McCarthy, White, and Ballard were attending law school. Thus, claims Liberty Mutual, the third A.J. Gerrard element was not met. 58 We are not persuaded. First, our review of the record does not disclose any males in the Southwest Division who were discharged because of the law school rule. 1 Second, even were we to accept Liberty Mutual's contention that it did not actually know McCarthy, White, and Ballard were attending law school, we would still affirm the judgment. Under A.J. Gerrard 's third element, the operative question is merely whether Liberty Mutual applied a more liberal standard to male employees. The district court found that there were widespread rumors that McCarthy and Ballard were attending law school. Record at 233, 536, 923. Also, the E.E.O.C. notified Liberty Mutual that a male adjuster was attending law school (Ballard) and requested an explanation. Key managerial employees, at a minimum, suspected McCarthy was attending law school but preferred not to ask and confirm their suspicions. E.g., Record at 233. One male adjustor was told when he was hired that he could attend law school. Record at 287. These factual findings are all fully supported by the record. In contrast to Liberty Mutual's energetic investigation of women it believed might be attending law school, Liberty Mutual never investigated any of these allegations, suspicions, or rumors about male adjustors. The case of Mr. White is even more dramatic. After he expressed a desire to transfer to Houston in order to attend law school, that transfer was granted and he was never told he could not attend law school. Record at 650, 831, 836. 59 These preceding facts are more than enough to support the third leg of A.J. Gerrard --males at Liberty Mutual were subject to lenient enforcement of the law school rule. The district court's ultimate finding of fact--that Liberty Mutual applied its law school rule discriminatorily--finds firm support in the record; all four elements of the prima facie case as enunciated by A.J. Gerrard are present. Reviewing this ultimate finding under the clearly erroneous standard, as we must under Pullman-Standard, we most certainly are not left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed. 60 Once Chescheir and O'Connell established a prima facie case of discrimination, the burden shifted to Liberty Mutual to present a justification. McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973); Chaline v. KCOH, Inc., 693 F.2d 477, 479 (5th Cir.1982). The district court found that Liberty Mutual offered no justification. Liberty Mutual does not seriously dispute that finding nor do we find it to be clearly erroneous. Accordingly, we affirm Liberty Mutual's liability under Title VII.