Opinion ID: 430902
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Class Action Summary

Text: 68 In affirming the district court's conclusion that no classwide race discrimination existed in this case, we are mindful that employment practices which are based upon the subjective judgments of predominantly white supervisory personnel should be viewed with caution. As we noted in Rowe v. General Motors Corp., supra, 457 F.2d at 359, promotional systems which depend upon the subjective evaluation and favorable recommendation of immediate supervisors provide a ready vehicle for discrimination. In Rowe, we invalidated a subjective promotion system shown to result in discrimination which embodied the following mechanisms: (1) the foreman's recommendation was the single most important factor in the promotion process; (2) foremen were given no written instructions pertaining to the qualifications necessary for promotion; (3) the standards determined to be controlling were vague and subjective; (4) hourly employees were not notified of promotion opportunities or of the qualifications necessary to get jobs; and (5) there were no safeguards in the procedure designed to avert discriminatory practices. Id. at 358-59. 69 The plaintiffs claim that the promotion process employed by Wyatt is precisely the type of promotion system found in Rowe. As the district court noted, however, there are several significant differences between the promotion system employed by Wyatt and that found in Rowe. Unlike in Rowe, the defendant in this case used job classifications which were a product of collective bargaining and set out in the collective bargaining agreement. We stated in Hamilton v. General Motors Corp., 606 F.2d 576, 580 (5th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 447 U.S. 907, 100 S.Ct. 2990, 64 L.Ed.2d 856 (1980), that qualifications required by collective bargaining agreements provide valid criteria which inject an element of objectivity into the promotion process. Thus, we note that although inclusion of objective standards in the collective bargaining agreement does not eliminate the subjectiveness of an employment practice, it does aid in reducing the possibility that employees will be subjected to discriminatory treatment as a result of discretionary decision making. Moreover, the fact that employees were able to seek review of a foreman's testing or promotion decision by speaking with the plant manager indicates that defendant employed some safeguards to avert discriminatory practices. Indeed, the record shows that class members were successful in seeking review of decisions made by company foremen. 70 The most important consideration in our decision to affirm the district court is the fact that the statistics presented by the plaintiffs simply do not show that class members were discriminated against in regard to promotion, progression, and pay during the class period. In fact, the rebuttal statistics presented by defendant reveal that the numbers of minorities employed in Wyatt's higher level jobs has increased gradually but steadily over the years. 71 Thus, [w]hile subjective criteria and discretionary promotion procedures may present a situation conducive to invidious discrimination, Hill v. K-Mart Corp., 699 F.2d 776, 781 (5th Cir.1983), we conclude the record reveals no such classwide discrimination in this case.