Opinion ID: 329985
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: discovery problems

Text: 73 Following the trial court's order that the action be declassified, plaintiffs submitted their initial interrogatories which had sought information dealing with plant-wide job and promotional policies. Defendant (quite naturally) objected, the ground being that the proposed interrogatories were irrelevant to the action as redesigned, whereby undue burden would result from compelling answers. There were 69 of these, and they sought extensive information as to basic conditions and trends. A request was made to Martin for names of each of its departments and for the numbers of blacks, Hispanos and women in each. A request was also made for a breakdown of the promotions and layoffs in each of the departments separated into categories of blacks, Hispanos and women. The work records of all employees in these departments were also requested, and still other inquiries pertained to the numbers of blacks, Hispanos and women hired and rejected by the Martin Company. 74 After a hearing, which was not transcribed, the court entered an order sustaining all of the defendant's objections. Plaintiffs then proceeded to frame a second set of interrogatories. This set was limited to information about employees who worked in the immediate vicinity of the plaintiffs and whose names the plaintiffs could recall. Thus, access was denied to information which would have allowed plaintiffs to establish general overall trends and policies in the defendant's hiring, promotion, demotion and layoff practices within individual departments on a plant-wide level. 5 75 The defendant, on the other hand, had plant-wide information and was allowed to present statistics at trial to show that a higher percentage of minorities received promotions in the plant as a whole during the years 1966-72 than non-minorities. Due to the limitations on discovery, plaintiffs were also deprived of information to rebut these general statistics of defendant. For example, it was impossible to show that the large percentage of the minority promotions were at lower employment levels with high turnovers or that substantial numbers of these promotions involved Orientals. 76 Plaintiffs maintain that the limitations which were imposed on them in conducting their discovery constituted prejudicial error. In our opinion the court should have allowed the facts to be explored, for there were no other means of ascertaining whether there was merit in the allegations of the plaintiffs. If the answers to interrogatories failed to establish discrimination, the doubts would be dispelled and the matter would be ended. To frustrate the search is a most unsatisfactory result in that it fosters suspicion. Also, it was grossly unjust to allow the defendant company to utilize plant-wide statistics involving large classes of people plus statistics of other employers in this five-county area, while at the same time restricting the plaintiffs to the narrowest possible scope. It was also inequitable to allow the company to show statistics for a period far beyond the alleged violations while the plaintiffs, because of inability to discover, could not gain information or statistics to show that Martin changed its promotion policies immediately following the EEOC complaint being filed. 77 It is plain that the scope of discovery through interrogatories and requests for production of documents is limited only by relevance and burdensomeness, and in an EEOC case the discovery scope is extensive. This is a factor which the court should balance on the benefit side as against the burden to the defendant in answering the interrogatories. See 8 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2174, at 548 (1970). If the information sought promises to be particularly cogent to the case, the defendant must be required to shoulder the burden. There is a remedy, of course, if the effort fizzles. The costs can finally be assessed to the interrogating parties. 78 Our court has in prior cases dealt with the issue of relevancy of plant-wide employment practices and employment practices within individual departments. Thus, in Joslin Dry Goods Co. v. EEOC, 483 F.2d 178 (10th Cir. 1973), the complaint was unlawful discharge. EEOC issued a subpoena requesting hiring and firing practices of all of defendant's stores in the area. The district court refused to enforce the subpoena. Our court agreed that the request should have been limited to the store in which the plaintiff was employed; it also recognized the relevancy of store-wide inquiry, and in doing so reversed the district court's ruling that the EEOC was barred from investigating hiring as well as firing practices. 79 In a more recent case, EEOC v. University of New Mexico, 504 F.2d 1296 (10th Cir. 1974), the complainant alleged discriminatory failure to promote and retaliatory discharge. Again an EEOC subpoena issued demanding copies of personnel files of all persons terminated between 1970 and 1973, and personnel files for all faculty members employed by the defendant as of the date of complainant's termination. The district court enforced the subpoena and the Tenth Circuit affirmed. 80 In Circle K Corporation, Inc. v. EEOC, 501 F.2d 1052 (10th Cir. 1974), an applicant was told to return when she finished a cashier training program. She did so and was then told that she would be contacted. However, she never was contacted, and when she reapplied she was told that she did not qualify. The EEOC pursued a broad scope of discovery. It consisted of: 81 . . . a list of all applicants and present employees subjected to the polygraph examination, their racial-ethnic identity and whether they were accepted or rejected; documentation of the nature, standardization and validity of the polygraph test and a list of questions asked of each applicant; qualifications of the examiners who administered the tests; testimony under oath of all knowledgeable employees and officers; and all related matters. 82 Id. at 1054. 83 The district court turned away the demand for access to this information. Our court reversed, refusing to recognize the objections that the information lacked relevancy and was too burdensome. 84 It cannot be said, therefore, that the policy of this court has been to narrowly circumscribe discovery in EEOC cases. 6 The fact that these cases had to do with discovery efforts by the EEOC itself rather than by individuals cannot serve as a point of departure. See Burns v. Thiokol Chemical Corp., 483 F.2d 300 (5th Cir. 1973). The Act's purposes in each instance are the same. Whether, then, the action is by a plaintiff or by the government, the object is the elimination of employment discrimination, whether practiced knowingly or unconsciously and in relation to employment or advancement criteria which, although neutral on its face, is in fact discriminatory in its application. EEOC v. University of New Mexico, 504 F.2d at 1302. Information relevant in an EEOC inquiry is equally relevant in a private action. 85 The plaintiffs' requested information as to hiring, firing, promotion and demotion of blacks, Hispanos and women on a plant-wide basis and within individual departments was relevant in either an individual or class action. Particularly in light of the contention of the defendant and the findings of the court that the circumstantial evidence was ambiguous, it became the more necessary for the plant-wide statistics and facts to be obtained and presented, for they very likely would prove crucial to the establishing or failure to establish a prima facie case. 7 86 In Woods v. North American Rockwell Corp., 480 F.2d 644 (10th Cir. 1973), the plaintiff contended that he was given an examination which was irrelevant in relationship to the job he was seeking. The court held that since the plaintiff made no showing that the test itself produced a discriminatory result, plaintiff had failed to establish a prima facie case. The court went on to hold that the plaintiff was required to demonstrate with statistics or otherwise the discriminatory effect of the promotion test. We think it is plain, therefore, that the plaintiffs had a right to the information and statistics from which they could have compiled trends and policies on the numbers of white persons receiving promotions during the relevant time periods in the departments and throughout the plant opposed to the number of blacks, Hispanos and women who received promotions. If it is true that the immediate evidence and circumstances pertaining to the plaintiffs are not sufficient to constitute a prima facie case, plant-wide statistics and department statistics are of the highest relevance. 8 87 If the plaintiffs do establish a prima facie case and if the defendant is able to rebut it by showing a business necessity, such information or statistics would also be relevant to an attempt by the plaintiffs to show that the business necessity was pretextual. See McDonnell-Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 805 n.19, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973); Motorola, Inc. v. McClain, 484 F.2d 1339 (7th Cir. 1973), Cert. denied, 416 U.S. 936, 94 S.Ct. 1935, 40 L.Ed.2d 287 (1974). 88 Under the facts and circumstances of this case, taking into account that defendant was allowed to defend with plant-wide statistics, the relevance of the information sought by the plaintiffs both in support of their initial case and for the purpose of rebuttal has a high degree of relevance and cannot be ruled out as burdensome. In all likelihood the defendant already has the figures isolated and computed. If not, it ought to proceed forthwith compiling them or at least compiling information from which the plaintiffs can prepare their evidentiary tables or statistics. The fact that they might have been generally invited to peruse the defendant's documents does not fill the bill. Such an approach does not compel the defendant to come forward with everything demanded as does an interrogatory. 9