Opinion ID: 789900
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Promotion and Back Pay

Text: 39 If a district court finds that an employer has engaged in an unlawful employment practice, Title VII authorizes an award of back pay and other retroactive relief. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(g)(1); see also Loeffler v. Frank, 486 U.S. 549, 558, 108 S.Ct. 1965, 100 L.Ed.2d 549 (1988). As the Supreme Court explained in Loeffler, the back pay award authorized by Title VII is a manifestation of Congress' intent to make `persons whole for injuries suffered through past discrimination.' Id. (quoting Albemarle, 422 U.S. at 421, 95 S.Ct. 2362). 40 Where racial discrimination is found, the (district) 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. Louisiana v. United States, 380 U.S. 145, 154, 85 S.Ct. 817, 13 L.Ed.2d 709 (1965). The general rule is, that when a wrong has been done, and the law gives a remedy, the compensation shall be equal to the injury. The latter is the standard by which the former is to be measured. The injured party is to be placed as near as may be, in the situation he would have occupied if the wrong had not been committed. Wicker v. Hoppock, 6 Wall. 94, 99, 18 L.Ed. 752 (1867). The Congressional Record, 118 Cong. Rec. 7168 (1972), makes clear: 41 The [remedy provisions of Title VII] 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. 42 Congress' purpose in vesting a variety of discretionary powers in the courts was to make possible the `fashion(ing)(of) the most complete relief possible.' Albemarle, 421 U.S. at 425, 95 S.Ct. 1733 (citing 118 Cong. Rec. 7168). 43 The district court found that the most complete relief possible includes both an award of back pay and promotion retroactive as of July 12, 2000, because plaintiffs would have been promoted and received lieutenants' salaries but for the unlawful discrimination. We agree with the district court, despite the City's arguments to the contrary. The City argues that plaintiffs are not entitled to promotion or back pay because there is no assurance, even had the sergeants passed the promotional process, that they would have been promoted to lieutenant because the police department often operates below budget and may not have hired all passing candidates. However, the City does not present any evidence to support this contention, and, thus failing to meet its burden, see Wooldridge, 875 F.2d at 547 (holding that defendant bears burden of demonstrating by a preponderance of the evidence that factors other than the condemned discrimination caused the decision of which claimant complains), we dismiss its argument. 44 The City also contends that none of the plaintiffs would have ranked high enough on its eligibility list even if no cutoff score had been used. However, as the district court correctly stated, the ranking was invalid because only job knowledge had been tested in the written test, not the entire job domain,... the rank orderings were indeed unreliable and should not have been used in the promotion considerations. Relying on that same rank ordered list at this juncture would be inconsistent with the Court's judgment in the liability phase. 45 Third, the City contends that the statistical analyses relied on by the district court showed that only two of the four plaintiffs ranked within the group eligible for a promotion. Because the district court reasonably concluded earlier that the test could not approximate job performance and had no business justification, the City cannot now successfully argue that only two of four plaintiffs could be eligible based on the tests results.