Opinion ID: 403759
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Remedy Under Title VII

Text: 112 Under Title VII, the court has extensive remedial powers. When it finds an intentional violation, the court may 113 order such affirmative action as may be appropriate, which may include, but is not limited to, reinstatement or hiring of employees, with or without back pay ... or any other equitable relief as the court deems appropriate. 114 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(g) (1976). In exercising these powers, courts are to be guided by complementary aims: discouraging employers from discrimination, and compensating discrimination's victims as fully as possible. Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 95 S.Ct. 2362, 45 L.Ed.2d 280 (1975). In light of these goals, we commend the overall design of the Title VII remedy fashioned by Judge Richey, but remand for certain limited purposes. 115 1. The Monetary Awards. Both sides raise questions about the back and front pay pools constructed by Judge Richey. First, GPO contends that bindery workers should not have shared pro rata in the pools, without showing individually that they sought and were qualified for the training and supervisory opportunities that they were denied. Second, GPO argues that Judge Richey erroneously allowed the two-year Title VII recovery period to include time before the statute applied to GPO. Third, GPO asserts that the amount of the back pay award was erroneously inflated by calculating back pay amounts by reference to positions the plaintiffs might have filled, had they not been subject to discrimination after 1969, some three years before Title VII applied to GPO. Fourth, GPO contends that the termination formula for front pay-when women hold half of all craft and supervisory positions in the Bindery-is too generous. Finally, plaintiffs complain that Judge Richey failed to construct a front pay pool to compensate prevailing Equal Pay Act plaintiffs for denial of supervisory opportunities, a Title VII violation that did not duplicate their Equal Pay Act recovery. 116 a. The Need for Plaintiffs to Make Individualized Showings to Share in the Monetary Awards. In a class action, proof that the defendant has violated Title VII with respect to an entire plaintiff class does not immediately entitle individual class members to compensatory relief. To determine individual plaintiffs' entitlements, the court must normally conduct additional evidentiary proceedings. International Brotherhood of Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324, 361, 97 S.Ct. 1843, 1867, 52 L.Ed.2d 396 (1977). Members of the class seeking relief must show that they were potential victim(s) of unlawful discrimination, id. at 367, 97 S.Ct. at 1870. Class members who actually applied for the openings at issue can show victimization by merely indicating that they applied. Id. at 362, 97 S.Ct. at 1868. Non-applicants, however, face the more difficult task of showing that their failure to apply was one of the effects of discrimination. Id. at 364, 97 S.Ct. at 1869. 117 In the case at bar, few plaintiffs had applied formally for apprenticeship training or supervisory positions at GPO. The plaintiffs raised the issue whether individualized showings were to be required, R. 159 at 13, and argued that under Teamsters they were only required to show class membership, because all bindery workers could have applied for the openings at issue. They ultimately made no further showings, however, because GPO took the position that it did not care how the pay award was shared among the plaintiff class. R. 166 at 30 (This money pool can be distributed among the class member (sic) as the Court sees fit.) See also Tr. Mar. 24, 1980 at 9. In this appeal, GPO reverses its position and contends that Teamsters required the plaintiffs to make individual showings in order to share in the remedy. 118 We hold that this contention comes too late. GPO waived the issue of further proceedings at the remedy phase, and cannot resurrect the claim now. See, e.g., Browzin v. Catholic University of America, 527 F.2d 843, 850 (D.C.Cir.1975) (If appellant expected the court to assign (the burden of proof) to the University, he was under an obligation at least to apprise the court that there was some controversy over the matter.). See also EEOC v. Korn Industries, 662 F.2d 256 (4th Cir. 1981) (on appeal, EEOC cannot protest trial court's limited back pay award when it chose not to participate in case-by-case determination of damages). GPO is especially dilatory in making this contention on appeal because the plaintiffs specifically raised the issue during the remedy proceedings. For GPO to hang back at the trial level, and then complain on appeal is a trap play we cannot countenance. Judge Richey's decree therefore properly allowed the plaintiffs to share monetary relief on a pro rata basis. 119 b. Retroactive Liability Under the 1972 Amendments to Title VII. The federal government, and GPO, came within the scope of Title VII on March 24, 1972, Pub.L.No. 92-961, 86 Stat. 111 (1972), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16 (1976). Federal employees thus obtained a new means to enforce their preexisting right to be free from discrimination-in the case of GPO employees, a right dating at least from August 8, 1969, the date of the first Executive Order specifically prohibiting discrimination within GPO, 34 Fed.Reg. 12,985 (1969). See, e.g., Chisholm v. United States Postal Service, 665 F.2d 482, at 488 (4th Cir. 1981); Womack v. Lynn, 504 F.2d 267 (D.C.Cir.1964); Koger v. Ball, 497 F.2d 702 (4th Cir. 1974). The 1972 Amendments to Title VII also limited back pay recovery to two years from the date of plaintiff's administrative complaint, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(g) (1976). The significant legislative history emphasizes that GPO had an obligation to shed discriminatory practices at least from 1969 on. The 1972 Amendments to Title VII only added a forum and procedures for federal employees-it was not the date of birth of the right to a federal job free of racial or sexual bias. 120 In this case, the plaintiffs' administrative complaint was filed on May 25, 1973. Judge Richey awarded back pay for the full two-year period, to May 25, 1971. Amounts of back pay were to be measured by events reaching back still further, to the date of the Executive Order prohibiting discrimination within GPO; plaintiffs' back pay pool was to be the additional level of wages they would have achieved, had they filled one-half of all craft and supervisory openings in the Bindery after August 8, 1969. Judge Richey's back pay award is thus retrospective in two respects. In this section, we consider the retroactivity problem analogous to the problem raised under the Equal Pay Act-whether the two-year period of back pay recovery may reach back before the effective date of the 1972 Amendments. In the next section, we consider whether the amounts of back pay due may be measured on the basis of events beyond the two-year accrual period. 121 As with our consideration of the retrospective reach of the period of Equal Pay Act relief, our analysis here is guided by Bradley v. School Board of City of Richmond, 416 U.S. 696, 94 S.Ct. 2006, 40 L.Ed.2d 476 (1974). See Lawrence v. Staats, 665 F.2d 1256, 26 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 1225 (D.C.Cir.1981) (opinion accompanying denial of rehearing). 31 We are to apply the law as it now is-authorizing a two-year period of back pay recovery-unless statutory history or the requirements of justice demand we do otherwise. 122 Congress amended Title VII because it was deeply concerned about the poor record of the federal government in ending employment discrimination. See S.Rep.No. 415, 92d Cong., 1st Sess. 4 (1971); H.R.Rep.No. 238, 92d Cong., 1st Sess. 3-5 (1971), U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News, 1972, p. 2137. It sought to require the federal government to put its own house in order in terms of ending its own discriminatory employment practices, 117 Cong.Rec. 32,101 (1971) (Remarks of Rep. Badillo), and it regarded the matter as urgent. 123 To this end, Congress provided federal employees with a new arsenal of remedies-not rights, but remedies. Most importantly, these included a secure basis for resort to the courts and recovery of back pay. Although the Civil Service Commission indicated in hearings that federal employees could challenge discrimination in court, 32 Congress wished to make clear that the barrier of sovereign immunity had been overcome. See, e.g., 118 Cong.Rec. 4929 (1972) (Remarks of Sen. Cranston). No one questioned the appropriateness of allowing federal employees to recover back pay for a period antedating 1972. By contrast, Congress emphasized the importance of providing back pay for federal employees victimized by their government's discrimination. See, e.g., id. at 4923. (Remarks of Sen. Williams). 124 Moreover, the legislative history is explicit that Congress viewed the 1972 Amendments as vindicating existing rights. See Brown v. General Services Administration, 425 U.S. 820, 96 S.Ct. 1961, 48 L.Ed.2d 402 (1976). Both the Senate and the House Reports enumerated the then-existing prohibitions of discrimination in federal employment, including the Executive Order applying specifically to GPO: 125 The prohibition against discrimination by the Federal government, based upon the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, was judicially recognized long before the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Congress itself has specifically provided for nondiscrimination in the Federal government by stating that it is the policy of the United States to insure equal employment opportunities for Federal employees without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin ... ... The primary responsibility for implementing this stated National objective has been granted to the Civil Service Commission (sic) pursuant to Executive Order 11246 (1964) and more recently by Executive Order 11478 (1969). 126 S.Rep.No. 415, 92d Cong., 1st Sess. 12-13 (1971); see also H.R.Rep.No. 238, 92d Cong., 1st Sess. 22 (1971). Congress thus recognized in no uncertain terms the illegality of discrimination within GPO and other federal agencies, and sought to act against it. 127 Finally, the 1972 Amendments specifically provided that changes in enforcement proceedings including the availability of back pay should apply to pending charges and to all charges filed thereafter. Pub.L.No. 92-261 § 14, 86 Stat. 113 (1972). As to these enforcement provisions, Congress clearly intended to bring administrative complaints pending in 1972 and those filed subsequently within the same treatment category. See International Union of Electrical, Radio & Machine Workers v. Robbins & Myers Inc., 429 U.S. 229, 242, 97 S.Ct. 441, 449, 50 L.Ed.2d 427 (1976) (§ 14 applies to all Title VII enforcement procedures); Laffey, 567 F.2d at 467 (two year limit on back pay period does not apply to lawsuit filed before 1972, but applies to administrative complaints filed on that date and thereafter). Although this provision does not apply directly to the amendments which brought federal employees within Title VII, it covers them, because these amendments specify that federal employees are to have the benefits of the enforcement provisions. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-16(d) (1976). The congressional scheme suggests we treat the lawsuit here in terms of the enforcement provisions we would apply to cases arising in their entirety after 1972-including, of course, back pay for as long as two years. 128 The legislative history thus contains no indication that Congress intended to prohibit Title VII back pay periods for federal employees from extending before 1972. To the contrary, Congress appears to have meant to provide federal employees with an effective remedy as quickly as possible. The considerations of justice at stake here, moreover, are the same ones that led us to permit retroactive reach of the Equal Pay Act back pay period. 33 Following Bradley, we conclude that Judge Richey's retroactive extension of the Title VII back pay period was proper. 129 We pause briefly, however, to explain why several lines of precedent cited by GPO do not preclude retroactive application of the Title VII back pay period. First, GPO, and the dissent, rely upon a line of precedent that articulates the extent of the right to bring suit under Title VII. It is settled that the right to sue under the 1972 Amendments to Title VII extends retroactively to administrative complaints or lawsuits pending on the effective date of the Amendments, Hackley v. Roudebush, 520 F.2d 108 (D.C.Cir.1975); Grubbs v. Butz, 514 F.2d 1323 (D.C.Cir.1975); Womack v. Lynn, 504 F.2d 267 (D.C.Cir.1974), 34 and to pre-1972 acts forming part of a process of discrimination continuing past 1972, Bethel v. Jefferson, 589 F.2d 631 (D.C.Cir.1978). 35 Plaintiffs may not, however, bring suit under the 1972 Amendments on acts of discrimination terminated before 1972, in the absence of a timely administrative complaint pending in 1972, Brown v. Turner, 659 F.2d 1199 (D.C.Cir.1981). 36 Nor may plaintiffs resurrect claims of employment discrimination on which the statute of limitations has run, by virtue of the fact that the impact of the discrimination continues to be felt. United Airlines, Inc. v. Evans, 431 U.S. 553, 97 S.Ct. 1885, 52 L.Ed.2d 571 (1977); Klapac v. McCormick, 640 F.2d 1361 (D.C.Cir.1981). 130 The plaintiffs here had no administrative complaint pending on the date Title VII applied to GPO; their right to sue GPO for acts of discrimination occurring before 1972 arises only because the acts were part of a series of violations that continued beyond 1972. From this, GPO would have us conclude that the plaintiffs' remedy is limited to the post-1972 acts of discrimination. We reject this inference. Depriving the plaintiffs of back pay for pre-1972 actions would undercut the remedial purpose of their lawsuit. Plaintiffs are entitled to sue on the continuing discrimination and should be allowed to recover for the entire period permitted by Title VII. See Chisholm v. United States Postal Service, 665 F.2d 482, at 490 (4th Cir. 1981) (allowing back pay for pre-1972 portions of allowable two-year period). 131 Second, GPO points out that federal employees may sue under the Constitution for damages caused by employment discrimination that occurred before 1972. Davis v. Passman, 442 U.S. 228, 99 S.Ct. 2264, 60 L.Ed.2d 846 (1979). The elements of a case of employment discrimination under the Constitution, however, are not the same as the elements of a Title VII violation, Washington v. Davis, 426 U.S. 229, 96 S.Ct. 2040, 48 L.Ed.2d 597 (1976) (proof of racially discriminatory purpose requisite for a constitutional violation). GPO therefore urges that pre-1972 acts of discrimination must be judged only under the constitutional standard. This too is a non sequitur. Title VII merely altered and clarified the remedies the plaintiffs may pursue, extending those under Title VII and precluding others. It did not alter the fact that GPO's acts of discrimination were illegal both under the Constitution and under Executive Orders, as Congress itself recognized. Moreover, for those federal employees it covers, Title VII provides the exclusive remedy for employment discrimination, Brown v. General Services Administration, 425 U.S. 820, 96 S.Ct. 1961, 48 L.Ed.2d 402 (1976); Torre v. Barry, 661 F.2d 1371, 26 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. 585 (D.C.Cir.1981), and they are entitled to the full range of remedies that Title VII provides. 132 c. Calculating the Back Pay Pool on the Basis of Events Dating Back to 1969. Because August 8, 1969, was the date of the first Executive Order specifically prohibiting discrimination within GPO, Judge Richey allowed back pay amounts to be a function of openings in the Bindery reaching back to that date. For example, for the pay period beginning May 25, 1971, the date on which plaintiffs' right to recover back pay begins, plaintiffs will recover the difference between their actual earnings and what they would have earned during the period had they filled one-half of craft and supervisory openings in the Bindery between 1969 and 1971. It is important to emphasize that this award does not allow plaintiffs to extend the two-year back pay period. It merely measures the recovery during a given pay period by including all the effects of a continuing process of illegal discrimination reaching back to 1969-just as victims of a series of tortious harms may recover damages accrued from the series within the limitations period, even though the statute of limitations may have run on the earliest harms in the series. See Restatement (Second) of Torts § 899(d) (1979); D. Dobbs, Remedies 336 (1973). 133 In analyzing the propriety of this method of calculating back pay, we consider first the general problem of whether Title VII back pay may be calculated by reference to illegal acts of discrimination that fall outside of the two year period of back pay accrual. Our starting point is that Title VII compensatory awards aim to make the victims of illegal discrimination whole, insofar as it is possible to do so. Franks v. Bowman Transportation Co., 424 U.S. 747, 96 S.Ct. 1251, 47 L.Ed.2d 444 (1976); Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 95 S.Ct. 2362, 45 L.Ed.2d 280 (1975); Laffey, 567 F.2d at 471. Lost pay, lost pension rights, lost benefits, or lost seniority must all be rectified, if they result from illegal discrimination. Of course, compensation is only due for the ravages of illegal discrimination. 134 When discrimination continues over time, as it did at GPO, the harms it causes are compounded. An employee denied a raise in one year will fall further behind if raises in subsequent years are a function of prior salaries. Likewise, an employee denied a promotion in a given year may be frozen out of additional promotional opportunities, unless the missed rung on the promotion ladder is somehow replaced. When the effects of illegal discrimination are compounded, basing the plaintiffs' compensation only on events within the two-year accrual period seriously shortchanges their recovery for the harm actually suffered during the accrual period itself. At least four circuits appear to have recognized this fact, as has our local district court. See Patterson v. Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co., 659 F.2d 736, 740 (7th Cir. 1981); Salone v. United States, 645 F.2d 875 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 102 S.Ct. 390, 70 L.Ed.2d 208 (1981); Crawford v. Western Electric Co., 614 F.2d 1300, 1309 (5th Cir. 1980); Verzosa v. Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 589 F.2d 974 (9th Cir. 1978); Chewning v. Schlesinger, 471 F.Supp. 767 (D.D.C.1979). 135 The legislative history of Congress' decision to limit Title VII compensation to two years further supports our decision to allow back pay awards to take into account the effects within the accrual period of illegal discrimination that came before. By in effect imposing a statute of limitations on Title VII, Congress intended to protect employers against the enormous monetary penalties that might result from indefinite liabilities. H.R.Rep.No. 238, 92d Cong., 1st Sess. 66 (1971) U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 1972, p. 2175 (minority views). Representative Erlenborn, one of the staunchest defenders of limiting Title VII liability, emphasized that the purpose of the amendment was to confine the liability to reasonable stretches of time: It is only fair to say that liability should not go back ad infinitum but that there should be some reasonable statute of limitations. 117 Cong.Rec. at 31,981 (1971). 136 Within the two-year period, however, Congress did not intend to diminish the recovery available. There is no evidence that Congress wished to remove the taint of illegality from discrimination upon which the limitations period had run. Nor is there evidence that Congress intended to insulate employers from liability for the latent effects of previous illegal discrimination. Indeed, in a section by section analysis in the Conference Report, Senator Williams pointed out the continuing broad scope of the back pay remedy: 137 The provisions of this subsection are intended to give the courts wide discretion exercising their equitable powers to fashion the most complete relief possible. In dealing with the present section 706(g) the courts have stressed that the scope of relief under that section of the Act is intended to make the victims of unlawful discrimination whole, and that the attainment of this objective rests not only upon the elimination of the particular unlawful employment practice complained of, but also requires that persons aggrieved by the consequences and effects of the unlawful employment practice be, so far as possible, restored to a position where they would have been were it not for the unlawful discrimination. 138 118 Cong.Rec. 7168 (1972). Congress intended Title VII recovery to continue to make victims of illegal discrimination whole-but within a two-year period at the outside. We therefore hold that it is proper to allow acts of illegal discrimination lying beyond the two-year period of Title VII back pay accrual to affect the measurement of the award. 139 Judge Richey's award, however, involves the additional problem of whether the retroactivity involved in the reach to 1969 precludes the use of events beyond the two-year period to influence the award in this case. Our explanation of why on Bradley standards it does not, can be brief. We have found no indication in the history of the 1972 Amendments that such retroactivity is prohibited; rather, the history conveys Congress' intent to allow federal employees to realize their rights fully and to allow all employees to receive ample compensation for harm caused by discrimination. More than any other factor, Congress' explicit recognition of the illegality of federal discrimination by 1969 allays concern that selection of the 1969 date was manifestly unjust to GPO. We therefore affirm Judge Richey's decision to calculate back pay by measuring what plaintiffs would have earned, had they received a percentage of openings in the Bindery since 1969. 140 Finally, we turn to the plaintiffs' argument that Judge Richey should have calculated back pay amounts on the basis of acts of discrimination reaching back to 1965. While the congressional reports do suggest that discrimination in federal employment has probably been unconstitutional all along, see supra at p. 288, we cannot say that Judge Richey erred in selecting 1969 as the touchstone. At that time, with the Executive Order, promulgated under congressional authority, specifically outlawing sex discrimination in GPO, the illegality of GPO's discrimination stood out. Title VII relief is to be targeted to deter illegal discrimination and compensate its victims. The Executive Order put GPO on clear notice that it should have taken steps to end the discrimination within its work force. Such persistence in behavior identified as illegal is the kind of conduct at which deterrence can be aimed. Selection of the August 8, 1969 date, therefore, comports with the deterrence goals of Title VII. In addition, it makes plaintiffs whole for the effects of discrimination that had been identified clearly as illegal. 141 d. Termination Date for Monetary Relief. Because there are at present few craft and supervisory openings in the Bindery, some time may pass before plaintiffs can move into the jobs they have been unjustifiably denied. Judge Richey therefore ordered monetary compensation to continue into the future. A number of circuits have approved the use of such front pay to make plaintiffs whole for the losses caused by discrimination, and we join them. See, e.g., United States v. Lee Way Motor Freight, Inc., 625 F.2d 918, 932 (10th Cir. 1979); James v. Stockham Valves & Fitting Co., 559 F.2d 310, 358 (5th Cir. 1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1034, 98 S.Ct. 767, 54 L.Ed.2d 781 (1978); Equal Employment Opportunity Comm'n. v. Enterprise Association Steamfitters, Local 638; 542 F.2d 579, 590 (2d Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 911, 97 S.Ct. 1186, 51 L.Ed.2d 588 (1977); Patterson v. American Tobacco Co., 535 F.2d 257, 269 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 920, 97 S.Ct. 314, 50 L.Ed.2d 286 (1976). 142 Awards of front pay are to be judged by the standards applied to all Title VII relief: whether they will further the goals of ending illegal discrimination and rectifying the harm it causes. We find that Judge Richey's structuring of the front pay award did not follow these standards in all respects, and therefore remand that portion of his decree. 37 The front pay decree reads: 143 until the class plaintiffs fill one-half of all promotion positions in the Bindery, for each pay period each Title VII plaintiff remains employed by defendant, she shall receive the difference between her wages and the wages she would have received on a pro-rata basis as if (bindery workers) for that pay period filled one-half of all promotion positions in the Bindery or a proportionate number of such promotion positions, whichever number is lower; provided, however, that no (bindery worker) receiving a promotion shall receive compensation under this paragraph after receiving said promotion. 144 J.A. 220. This language does not set out clearly the formula for calculating amounts of front pay. Front pay for a given pay period is apparently measured by the lesser of what the plaintiffs would earn if they immediately held half of craft and supervisory positions in the Bindery, or some unexplained proportionate number of such positions. The back pay formula, by contrast, awards plaintiffs what they would have earned during a given period had they received a half of all craft and supervisory openings in the Bindery after 1969. Judge Richey's front pay formula thus may yield far larger award amounts for a pay period than would the back pay formula applied to the same period. Front pay, however, should compensate plaintiffs only for the fact that the wrongs for which they are entitled to receive back pay cannot be righted without delay. We therefore remand the front pay award with directions to Judge Richey to construct the front pay pool as a continuation of the back pay pool. Whatever the formula on which they are constructed, the two pools must match. 145 Although the issue was not addressed specifically in this appeal, for purposes of the remand we note our approval of calculating back pay on the assumption that the plaintiffs should have received one-half of promotions within the Bindery after 1969. Given the mandate of the Executive Order in 1969 to take affirmative steps to end employment discrimination and the sorry situation at GPO, it was reasonable to have expected GPO to have filled craft and supervisory positions in the Bindery from the plaintiff class on an expedited basis. An allocation of one-half of the openings to the plaintiff class is certainly within the reasonable spectrum. 146 We also must remand with regard to the termination date for front pay. Under Judge Richey's decree, front pay continues until women hold one-half of all craft and supervisory positions in the Bindery. This date is conceivably thirty years in the future. 38 Front pay should persist, however, only until the wrongs for which the plaintiffs are owed back pay have been righted. For example, if Judge Richey once again determines that plaintiffs should receive back and front pay based on what they would have earned had they received half of all craft and supervisory openings after 1969, front pay should terminate if and when the plaintiffs reach the point of having received half of those openings. This calculation, no more onerous mathematically than Judge Richey's original formula, sets a goal for the termination of front pay that GPO can meet within a reasonable time. GPO will have the ability to terminate or shorten their period of front pay exposure by filling a fair percentage of vacancies in the Bindery with women. 147 e. Front Pay for Prevailing Equal Pay Act Plaintiffs. Judge Richey constructed a back pay pool to compensate the Smyth operators for not having received their fair share of supervisory promotions. Although the Smyth operators will receive back pay under the Equal Pay Act, this additional back pay award did not give them duplicate recovery. The wrong of denying them promotions was separate from the wrong of paying them inadequately for their work as Smyth operators, and they are entitled to compensation for both. 148 Judge Richey did not, however, construct an analogous front pay pool for the Smyth operators. He gave no reason for the omission and we can discern none. Front pay recovery for the Smyth operators will not duplicate their Equal Pay Act recovery. Because promotion opportunities open infrequently, some time will pass before the Smyth operators can bid on promotion positions. In the meantime, they will continue to suffer losses resulting from the prior foreclosure of promotion opportunities. 149 In constructing a front pay pool for Smyth operators, Judge Richey should be guided by our directions concerning front pay for the remainder of the plaintiff class. The front pay formula must mirror the back pay formula. Front pay is to be cut off when the wrong has ended and the entitlement of individual Smyth operators to front pay will of course terminate with their promotion. 150 2. The Injunctive Decree. Title VII grants the court wide discretion in formulating injunctive relief, which may include affirmative action and any other equitable relief as the court deems appropriate, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(g) (1976). To prevent further Title VII violations, Judge Richey enjoined GPO from discriminating on the basis of sex in providing training opportunities and filling promotion positions. J.A. 217-18. His decree, for example, required GPO to establish objective hiring criteria and take reasonable steps to recruit female applicants. Given GPO's inability or unwillingness to recognize discrimination, apparent in its conduct throughout, we do not question the trial judge's determination that a general injunctive decree was needed. See Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 418, 95 S.Ct. 2362, 2372, 45 L.Ed.2d 280 (1975) ((T)he court has not merely the power but the duty to render a decree which will so far as possible eliminate the discriminatory effects of the past as well as bar like discrimination in the future.). 151 Judge Richey's decree, however, contained two specific requirements that are more troublesome. First, he forebade GPO to hire bookbinders from outside the Bindery until all bindery workers in order of seniority had been offered the opportunity to bid on and train for bookbinder positions. J.A. 219. Second, he decreed that all supervisory openings were to be filled from the plaintiff class on a three to one ratio until women hold one-half of all supervisory positions in the Bindery, or GPO develops a promotion plan acceptable to the plaintiffs or the court, J.A. 223, 232. The problems raised by these provisions are similar. 152 Somewhat surprisingly, the acceptability of interim quotas in Title VII relief is a question of first impression in this circuit. Although some circuits impose more stringent limits on quotas than others, all other circuits have recognized the acceptability of at least some forms of interim quotas in Title VII relief. 39 Moreover, the Supreme Court has held that a quota imposed by another statute passes constitutional muster. Fullilove v. Klutznick, 448 U.S. 448, 100 S.Ct. 2758, 65 L.Ed.2d 902 (1980) (constitutionality of requirement that 10% of federal funds granted for local public works projects must be used to obtain services of minority businessmen). 153 We join our sister circuits in recognizing the acceptability of interim quotas in Title VII relief. There may be situations in which the carrot of a goal, or the stick of a required minimum, is necessary to encourage a dilatory or obstructive employer to end discrimination. Quotas, however, are a two-edged sword. While opening opportunities to the victims of discrimination, they foreclose the same opportunities to others, including those who have also suffered from discrimination. Quotas should not be prohibited totally; but they must be fashioned and used gingerly, with care to see that they wound as little as possible. 154 In carefully honing a quota, the court should be guided by at least four important considerations. First, it should draw the quota in as limited and short-term a fashion as possible, consistent with effective eradication of discriminatory practices. Second, the court should target the quota specifically at the discrimination to be brought to an end. Third, to the extent possible, it should avoid infringing on the competing, legitimate concerns of others. Finally, the court should consider whether alternative, equally effective methods could supplement or supplant resort to a quota. See United States v. City of Chicago, 663 F.2d 1354 (7th Cir. 1981). 155 While the quotas set by Judge Richey here would surely work major changes in employment practices at GPO, they fall outside these guidelines. First, they do not appear to have been based on consideration of how extensive the goals need to be to compel GPO to implement truly nondiscriminatory training and promotion procedures. Second, while they would vastly increase the number of women holding craft and promotion positions at GPO, they do not focus sharply on the particular acts of discrimination at issue: that GPO has systematically failed to hire, train, and promote qualified and available women. This deficiency is connected to another: that the quotas are not supplemented by other methods, such as special screening and training programs, designed to prepare bindery workers to enter the craft and supervisory ranks quickly. Instead, the decree requires that all members of the plaintiff class be offered training on bookbinder positions as vacancies occur. Training is to extend for the minimum time required for the (bindery worker) to become proficient in such position consistent with safety and efficiency. J.A. 219. Members of the plaintiff class are to be offered the training on the basis of seniority, rather than on the basis of likely bookbinding skills. Because members of the plaintiff class would receive training only after vacancies occur, if some either drop out of or fail to complete the training, this method can be expected to result in delays to other bindery workers in reaching craft ranks. These delays could be eliminated, however, by screening programs and training offered generally before craft vacancies appear. 156 Most importantly, the quotas ignore the concerns of others who might wish to seek employment in the GPO Bindery, including both blacks and women from inside and outside GPO. The requirement that GPO forego all outside hiring and promotion of printing plant workers until all bindery workers have been offered the opportunity to train on craft positions could theoretically shut out other applicants for craft positions for as long as fifty years. 40 The requirement that members of the plaintiff class fill supervisory positions on a three to one ratio until women hold half of all such positions or GPO develops an acceptable plan is somewhat more limited, but may still foreclose the legitimate interests of others unnecessarily. 157 We therefore remand the quotas to Judge Richey, with instructions to reshape the injunctive decree along the four guidelines listed above. The first consideration must be what goals and timetables are needed to ensure that GPO provides training and supervisory opportunities on a genuinely non-discriminatory basis. Second, the decree should be tailored to the discrimination to be corrected at GPO: the failure to provide training and supervisory opportunities for those bindery workers who are interested in and would have been qualified for such advancement. Efforts should be made to ascertain to what extent interested and qualified members of the plaintiff class have actually been frozen out of such opportunities by the discriminatory practices found at GPO. Quotas and timetables should then be set to move bindery workers into what reasonably might have been their rightful place in the Bindery. Because of the longstanding and pervasive discrimination in the printing industry, women have been woefully underrepresented in craft and supervisory positions. Nonetheless, it is not clear that absent discrimination, the Bindery workforce could be expected to reflect the makeup of the general population. A far more useful starting place for determining bindery workers' rightful place would be to consider what percentage of bindery workers are desirous and capable of craft training. Reasonable goals and timetables could then be developed to see that these women move into craft positions at a rate that will bring discrimination in the Bindery to a swift end. 158 Third, we urge the district court to consider whether other methods are available to supplement quotas and shorten the period in which they are necessary. These other methods might include further attention to developing objective hiring and promotion criteria and impartial selection procedures within GPO. They might also include efforts to ascertain quickly which bindery workers are interested in and qualified for craft training. Furthermore, the parties might explore the feasibility of an expedited training program for interested bindery workers, rather than waiting for craft openings to offer bindery workers the opportunity for craft training. 159 Finally, our most serious concern about Judge Richey's original injunctive decree is that it would bar others seeking employment with the Bindery. Because of the dismal record of the printing industry generally in providing opportunities for minority groups, this foreclosure is especially troubling. Whatever timetables and goals appear necessary on remand should be chosen to affect the job opportunities of others as little as possible.