Opinion ID: 659943
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Compelling Reasons for Invalidating the EEOC

Text: 23 Guideline. 24 The EEOC Guideline at issue in Spun Steak provides that an employee makes out a prima facie case of national origin discrimination by proving that the employer has adopted an English-only rule. See 29 C.F.R. Sec. 1606.7(b) (1991). The resulting presumption of discrimination is rebuttable, however. An English-only rule will be upheld if the employer shows that it is supported by a business justification. Id. Thus, instead of imposing a more onerous per se rule, the Guideline creates a framework of shifting burdens. Given the history of national origin discrimination in this country, the rule is surely a moderate and reasonable one. 25 In invalidating the EEOC Guideline, the Spun Steak majority virtually ignores the long-standing rule that EEOC Guidelines constitute 'the administrative interpretation of [Title VII] by the enforcing agency,' and [that] consequently they are 'entitled to great deference.'  Albemarle Paper Co. v. Moody, 422 U.S. 405, 431, 95 S.Ct. 2362, 2378, 45 L.Ed.2d 280 (1975), quoting Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424, 433-434, 91 S.Ct. 849, 854-55, 28 L.Ed.2d 158 (1971). See also Espinoza v. Farah Mfg. Co., 414 U.S. 86, 94, 94 S.Ct. 334, 339, 38 L.Ed.2d 287 (1973) (EEOC Guideline entitled to deference unless there are 'compelling indications that it is wrong' ); EEOC v. Commercial Office Products Co., 486 U.S. 107, 115, 108 S.Ct. 1666, 1671, 100 L.Ed.2d 96 (1988) (EEOC's interpretation of ambiguous language need only be reasonable to be entitled to deference). Though acknowledging that only compelling indications that the Guideline was erroneous would justify rejecting it, the majority makes only a token effort to abide by this standard, dedicating less than a page to describing its compelling reasons for invalidating the Guideline. 4 26 In its short discussion of the topic, the Spun Steak majority lists four justifications for rejecting the Guideline, none of which is persuasive, let alone compelling. 998 F.2d at 1489-90. First, the majority claims to follow Garcia v. Gloor, 618 F.2d 264 (5th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1113, 101 S.Ct. 923, 66 L.Ed.2d 842 (1981) [hereinafter Gloor ], in which the Fifth Circuit did not even consider the EEOC Guideline (since none existed at the time), but only described how a court would rule in the absence of agency construction of Title VII. 5 Second, unable to find specific evidence that the Guideline was erroneous, the majority contents itself with quoting general observations indicating Congress' disinclination to infringe on the independence of employers and unions except to correct discriminatory practices. 998 F.2d at 1489-90 (quoting United Steelworkers of America, AFL-CIO v. Weber, 443 U.S. 193, 206, 99 S.Ct. 2721, 2728, 61 L.Ed.2d 480 (1979)). Here, the majority ignores the obvious fact that correcting a discriminatory practice is precisely what the EEOC was trying do. In any event, if such self-evident and general statements are sufficient to override the deference due EEOC Guidelines, then every Guideline is in grave jeopardy. 27 Third, and most incomprehensible, the majority objects to the presumption of disparate impact contained in the EEOC Guideline. It does so not on the merits of the presumption, but on the basis of the uncontroversial and irrelevant proposition that in disparate impact cases plaintiffs have the burden of proving the discriminatory effect of the challenged policies. The panel's reasoning constitutes a total non-sequitur. 6 There is simply no connection between the elementary proposition stated by the majority--that plaintiffs have the burden of proof--and the majority's deduction therefrom that the EEOC is barred from (1) making generalized findings regarding the effects of particular discriminatory policies, and (2) codifying those findings in a rule that such policies are unlawful unless justification exists in particular cases. In effect, the majority holds that the agency is without authority to determine that English-only rules and similar discriminatory practices are invalid generally. 7 The majority apparently believes that the question of the validity of a widespread discriminatory practice must be decided over and over again on a case by case basis in a private lawsuit each time a new employer adopts it. The majority's remarkably narrow view of the EEOC's authority is reminiscent of courts of the 1930s which refused to accept agency findings regarding labor and food standards. 8 It is a particularly odd view for the 1990s given the broad authority that courts have allowed agencies to exercise in recent years. 28 Finally, the Spun Steak majority cites as a reason for its decision the absence of legislative history regarding Title VII's applicability to English-only rules. 998 F.2d at 1490. With this argument, the majority elevates legislative history to a new height. Those who believe that even affirmative legislative history is, in general, not compelling may be surprised to learn that its absence can be so crucial as to constitute a basis for invalidating an agency rule. See, e.g., United States v. Thompson/Center Arms Co., --- U.S. ----, ----, 112 S.Ct. 2102, 2111, 119 L.Ed.2d 308 (1992) (Scalia, J., concurring in judgment) (describing legislative history as that last hope of lost interpretative causes, that St. Jude of the hagiology of statutory construction). 29