Opinion ID: 448953
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: dismissal of plaintiffs' challenge to the written tests

Text: 16 The district court's order of January 9, 1973, dismissed that portion of plaintiffs' complaint challenging the use of written tests as a condition of promotion. The court noted that the requirement of exhaustion of administrative remedies is satisfied when the issues (a) are expressly raised in the pleadings before the administrative agency, (b) might reasonably be expected to be considered in a diligent investigation of those expressly raised issues, or (c) were in fact considered during the investigation. The court held, however, that the Postal Service had not had an opportunity to consider the issue of the written test. 17 The starting point for determining the permissible scope of a judicial complaint is the administrative charge and investigation. The judicial complaint is limited to the scope of the administrative investigation which could reasonably be expected to grow out of the charge of discrimination. Evans v. U.S. Pipe & Foundry Co., 696 F.2d 925, 929 (11th Cir.1983); Eastland v. Tennessee Valley Authority, 714 F.2d 1066, 1067 (11th Cir.1983), cert. denied sub nom., James v. Tennessee Valley Authority, --- U.S. ----, 104 S.Ct. 1415, 79 L.Ed.2d 741 (1984). Griffin's administrative complaint charged racial discrimination in that qualified blacks were and are still being systematically excluded in training and development and opportunities for advancements. We hold that Griffin's complaint clearly challenged aspects of defendant's employment practices which would reasonably include testing. The written examinations were an integral part of the promotional scheme from 1968 through 1976 because employees became eligible for promotion to supervisory positions only by attaining a passing score on the examination. Thus, the impact of the written tests should have been encompassed in a reasonable investigation of this charge of systemic discrimination in promotions. 18 In fact, the investigative report prepared by the Postal Service at the conclusion of its investigation contains numerous references to the written tests. The report contains copies of both the 1968 and 1971 supervisory registers, and indicates that only one black was in the zone of consideration for promotion. The investigator's report indicates that almost half of the 31 black employees interviewed referred to the supervisory register or the written examination. Several of these specifically indicated that they were ineligible for supervisory positions because they had failed the written examination. 19 We find that the testing issue was or should have been included in a reasonable investigation of the administrative complaint. We therefore reverse the order of the district court dismissing plaintiffs' challenge to the written tests and remand for consideration of that claim.