Opinion ID: 584572
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Western-Southern's Appeal

Text: 20 Mr. Taylor's Title VII claim was tried to the bench, and the court entered findings of fact and conclusions of law as required by Fed.R.Civ.P. 52(a). While we review the court's findings of fact under a clearly erroneous standard, we review the court's legal conclusions de novo. Pullman-Standard v. Swint, 456 U.S. 273, 287-90, 102 S.Ct. 1781, 1789-90, 72 L.Ed.2d 66 (1982); Forum Corp. of N. America v. Forum, Ltd., 903 F.2d 434, 438 (7th Cir.1990); Jennings v. Tinley Park Community Consol. Sch. Dist. No. 146, 864 F.2d 1368, 1373 (7th Cir.1988). 21 Western-Southern raises two primary challenges to the district court's legal conclusions. Western-Southern alleges that the district court, in concluding that Western-Southern constructively discharged Mr. Taylor in violation of Title VII, impermissibly relied upon (1) alleged acts that were not like or reasonable related to the violations alleged in Mr. Taylor's EEOC charge, and (2) alleged acts that are wholly unrelated to Mr. Taylor's race and/or interracial marriage. Western-Southern also challenges several of the district court's findings of fact as unsupported or contrary to the evidence.
22 Western-Southern properly notes, As a general rule, Title VII plaintiffs cannot bring claims in a lawsuit that were not included in their EEOC charge. Appellant's Br. at 22. In Jenkins v. Blue Cross Mutual Hospital Insurance, Inc., 538 F.2d 164 (7th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 986, 97 S.Ct. 506, 50 L.Ed.2d 598 (1976), this court adopted the standard that the Fifth Circuit had set forth in Danner v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 447 F.2d 159, 162 (5th Cir.1971): 23 The correct rule to follow in construing EEOC charges for purposes of delineating the proper scope of a subsequent judicial inquiry is that 'the complaint in the civil action ... may properly encompass any ... discrimination like or reasonably related to the allegations of the charge and growing out of such allegations.'  24 Jenkins, 538 F.2d at 167 (quoting Danner ). The reason behind this requirement is to give the EEOC  'an opportunity to settle disputes through conference, conciliation, and persuasion before the aggrieved party [is] permitted to file a lawsuit,'  Babrocky v. Jewel Food Co., 773 F.2d 857, 863 (7th Cir.1985) (quoting Alexander v. Gardener-Denver Co., 415 U.S. 36, 44, 94 S.Ct. 1011, 1017, 39 L.Ed.2d 147 (1974)), as well as to put defendants on notice of the substance of the charge. Schnellbaecher v. Baskin Clothing Co., 887 F.2d 124, 127 (7th Cir.1989) ([T]he reason behind the requirement that allegations not contained in an EEOC charge cannot be contained in the complaint is that the defendant must have notice of the charge, and the EEOC must have the opportunity to investigate and conciliate the charge, in order to attempt to obtain voluntary compliance with Title VII.). See also Rush v. McDonald's Corp., 966 F.2d 1104, 1110 (7th Cir.1992). 25 Nevertheless, Jenkins does not require a Title VII plaintiff to allege in an EEOC charge each and every fact that combines to form the basis of each claim. Indeed, this court has been charitable in applying the Jenkins standard because it recognizes that most EEOC complaints are completed by laypersons rather than lawyers. 26 [T]he Civil Rights Act is designed to protect those who are least able to help themselves. Complainants to the EEOC are seldom lawyers. To compel the charging party to specifically articulate in a charge filed with the Commission the full panoply of discrimination which he may have suffered may cause the very persons Title VII was designed to protect to lose that protection because they are ignorant of or unable to thoroughly describe the discriminatory practices to which they are subjected.... 27 Jenkins, 538 F.2d at 168 (quoting Willis v. Chicago Extruded Metals Co., 375 F.Supp. 362, 365-66 (N.D.Ill.1974)). This court has held that Title VII is to be construed and applied broadly, and that [a] single charge may 'launch a full scale inquiry'  into racial discrimination. Motorola, Inc. v. McLain, 484 F.2d 1339, 1344, 1346 (7th Cir.1973) (quoting Jenkins v. United Gas Corp., 400 F.2d 28, 33 (5th Cir.1968)), cert. denied, 416 U.S. 936, 94 S.Ct. 1935, 40 L.Ed.2d 287 (1974); Babrocky, 773 F.2d at 864 (The standard is a liberal one in order to effectuate the remedial purposes of Title VII, which itself depends on lay persons, often unschooled, to enforce its provisions.); see also Rush, 966 F.2d at 1111. 28 Mr. Taylor's EEOC charge referred only to specific events which took place in the East St. Louis office in and after November 1985. 3 The issue under Jenkins is whether the discriminatory acts in the Peoria office involving Jack O'Neal--which the court clearly relied upon in concluding that Mr. Taylor was confronted with an aggravated situation beyond ordinary discrimination 4 --are like or reasonably related to the allegations of the charge and growing out of such allegations to be properly included in the lawsuit. 29 Mr. Taylor contends that the events in Peoria are reasonably related to the events in East St. Louis for two reasons. First, Mr. Taylor points to the actions of divisional vice president Douglas, who was Taylor's ultimate supervisor at both the Peoria office and the East St. Louis office. Appellee's Br. at 31-32. Douglas responded to Jack O'Neal's discrimination against Mr. Taylor in Peoria by transferring Mr. Taylor to East St. Louis. Douglas, who also happens to be a black man, told Mr. Taylor that the move to East St. Louis was a good opportunity and that the staff was all black. When Mr. Taylor tried to transfer back to Peoria after O'Neal left that office, Douglas blocked the transfer. Douglas also told Mr. Taylor that there might be a problem transferring to the Alton office as a sales manager because the staff was all white. On more than one occasion Douglas told Mr. Taylor that Mr. Taylor's interracial marriage would impede his advancement. Thus, Mr. Taylor argues, the events in Peoria involving Douglas are reasonably related to the events in East St. Louis involving Douglas. 30 Second, Mr. Taylor contends that the events in Peoria are reasonably related to the events in East St. Louis because the Peoria discrimination contributed to the pattern of discrimination which, after the events in East St. Louis, caused him reasonably to conclude that he was compelled to resign. While Mr. Taylor was not seeking recovery for the specific acts of discrimination which occurred in Peoria in 1982, he sought to establish the fact that those acts occurred in order to support the reasonableness, in East St. Louis in 1987, of his feeling compelled to resign. 31 Western-Southern argues that when the district court looked this far back and beyond the scope of the EEOC charge, it erroneously applied the continuing violation theory of race discrimination. Appellant's Br. at 26. But the continuing violation analysis to which Western-Southern refers is utilized only in the context of a challenge to the timeliness of a cause of action. See, e.g., Davidson v. Indiana-American Water Works, 953 F.2d 1058, 1060 (7th Cir.1992); Young v. Will County Dep't of Public Aid, 882 F.2d 290, 292 (7th Cir.1989). Because Western-Southern never challenged the timeliness of Mr. Taylor's Title VII claim, the court had no reason to consider the continuing violation theory of tolling. Rather, the court was considering whether the evidence supported Mr. Taylor's theory that a continuing pattern of discrimination existed as background to justify his decision to resign. 32 We agree with the district court that Mr. Taylor could properly offer evidence concerning events not included in the EEOC charge--specifically the acts of Jack O'Neal and Charles Douglas in the Peoria office--as background evidence in order to meet his burden of proving that he was reasonable in concluding that he was compelled to resign. The discrimination that occurred in Peoria is sufficiently like or reasonably related to the discrimination in East St. Louis to be introduced for this purpose. We do not intend by this holding to suggest that the Peoria events were sufficiently related to the East St. Louis events to allow Mr. Taylor to have brought suit and sought relief on separate discrimination charges for the events in Peoria. Mr. Taylor is seeking relief only for the ultimate actions which occurred in East St. Louis and were the subject of his EEOC charge. We hold only that the earlier events are sufficiently related to the later events to allow Mr. Taylor to utilize them as background facts to meet his burden of proof that he was reasonable in interpreting the later events as discriminatory and compelling him to resign. 33
34 Western-Southern also contends that, among the events upon which the district court relied in finding a pattern of discriminatory treatment, the court improperly considered alleged acts that are wholly unrelated to Mr. Taylor's race and/or interracial marriage. Appellant's Br. at 33-38. Specifically, Western-Southern objects to the district court's reliance on evidence about Mrs. Taylor's employment with Western-Southern, evidence about Western-Southern's republication of the rule barring family members from working together, and evidence about Douglas' and Harp's interpretation of the two-year experience requirement for promotion to field management consultant. We believe that the district court was entitled to consider these events in assessing Mr. Taylor's charge of racial discrimination. 35 First, Western-Southern contends that there is no evidence linking the treatment that Mrs. Taylor received in her employment at Western-Southern with the alleged discrimination against Mr. Taylor. In response, Mr. Taylor argues that it is logical to infer that Western-Southern's negative treatment of Mrs. Taylor was a result of her marriage to Mr. Taylor, especially in light of the comments that Douglas made to Mr. Taylor about the difficulty he would encounter being married to a white woman. 5 We believe that it was within the district court's discretion to draw the relevant inference. Second, Western-Southern contends that there was no evidence offered at trial to support the district court's conclusion that the rule prohibiting family members from working together in the same office was republished shortly after the company president visited the Alton office and met the Taylors. Indeed, Western-Southern argues, both Harp and Douglas testified that there was no relationship between the republication of the rule and the president having met the Taylors. In response, Mr. Taylor contends that both Harp and Douglas conceded that the rule was republished after the company president visited the Alton office in July 1985 and before Mrs. Taylor was discharged in May 1986. Mr. Taylor also notes that vice president Douglas worked out of the home office and was one of the executives in close contact with the company president. Thus, Douglas' statement that the Taylors' interracial marriage was, in the company's view, a problem suggests that the republication of the rule by the home office was indeed related to the president's learning that Mr. and Mrs. Taylor worked together. We find that the district court was entitled to characterize the republication of the rule as it did. Third, Western-Southern contends that the district court improperly inferred that Harp and Douglas were dishonest when they testified that they did not support Mr. Taylor's request for promotion to field manager consultant because they thought a prerequisite for the job was two years' consecutive experience as an associate sales manager, rather than because of racial bias. Here, again, we believe the district court, sitting as trier of fact, was entitled to assess, on the basis of the testimony presented, the true motivation of the company's executives. 36
37 Western-Southern challenges several of the district court's findings of fact as unsupported or contrary to the evidence. In general, Western-Southern contends that, on several issues where evidence offered by the Taylors was contradicted by evidence offered by Western-Southern, the district court credited the Taylors' testimony and discredited the testimony of Western-Southern's witnesses. On this issue, this court has held: 38 Appellate review of credibility determinations is severely limited. We shall reject a district judge's decision to believe oral testimony only where the testimony is seriously inconsistent internally, or contrary to established laws of nature or otherwise fantastic, or irreconcilably in conflict with indubitable documentary or physical evidence, stipulations of fact, admissions, or evidence of equivalent certainty. See Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 575 [105 S.Ct. 1504, 1512, 84 L.Ed.2d 518] (1985). 39 Bullard v. Sercon Corp., 846 F.2d 463, 466 (7th Cir.1988). Because our review of the trial transcript reveals no glaring inconsistencies or fantastic exaggerations in the testimony of Mr. Taylor and Mrs. Taylor, we reject this generalized challenge to the district court's credibility determinations. 40 More specifically, Western-Southern challenges several of the district court's fact-based findings. First, Western-Southern challenges the district court's finding that Charles Douglas made a point to mention to Mr. Taylor that the East St. Louis staff was all black. R.34 at 18. Western-Southern contends that the only testimony in support of this finding was Douglas' admission on cross-examination that he may have told Mr. Taylor that the staff was black. In response, Mr. Taylor contends that it is uncontradicted that Douglas' assistant, Max Pearson, made such a statement to Mr. Taylor. Indeed, one of the district court's findings of fact was that Pearson, rather than Douglas, told Mr. Taylor that the East St. Louis staff was all black. Thus, Western-Southern is correct that the district court erred. However, the court's error was simply that, in restating its finding, it attributed this remark to vice president Douglas rather than to assistant vice president Pearson. We do not believe that this matter can be considered outcome-determinative. 41 Second, Western-Southern challenges the district court's finding that Douglas and Harp criticized Mr. Taylor for his performance in 1986 even though his performance did not falter until November of that year. R.34 at 20. Western-Southern points to the EEOC charge, where Mr. Taylor asserted that the negative criticism began around November 1986. Mr. Taylor responds that he testified at trial that the criticism began around August 1986, and Douglas admitted on cross-examination that he probably criticized Mr. Taylor throughout 1986. The district court's finding was not clearly erroneous. 42 Third, Western-Southern challenges the district court's finding that Mrs. Taylor applied for, and was denied, the position of associate sales manager at the Alton office. R.34 at 11. Western-Southern points out that Mrs. Taylor testified at trial that she never formally applied for this job, but only telephoned Frank Harp and told him she was interested in and would like to be considered for the position. Given the vagueness of the phrase applied for, and given the fact that it is undisputed that, within hours of Mrs. Taylor's phone call to Frank Harp, Harp returned Mrs. Taylor's call and told her that the position was filled, we do not find that the court was clearly erroneous in concluding that Mrs. Taylor had applied for the position. 43 Fourth, Western-Southern contends that the district court erred in listing as an event which took place and support[s] a finding of aggravating circumstances the fact that O'Neal used racial epithets and slurs involving the word 'nigger' in the presence of [Mr. Taylor and Mrs. Taylor] during work hours when [Mr. Taylor] was the only black employee ... in the Peoria office. R.34 at 16-17. Western-Southern argues that the only slur testified to was the one-time use of the word nigger in connection with the gun-photograph incident and, thus, the court's finding of this event improperly suggests that racial slurs were commonplace at the Peoria office. Yet, as Mr. Taylor notes, Mrs. Taylor testified that O'Neal often told jokes derogatory of blacks including one with the punch line, [M]ay all your babies be white. Tr.I at 175. And Mr. Taylor testified that when O'Neal first took over the Peoria office, O'Neal told Mr. Taylor, [Y]ou are all right because I know you are married to a white. Tr.I at 43. Again, the district court's finding is not clearly erroneous. 44 Fifth, Western-Southern challenges the court's listing as an event which took place and support[s] a finding of aggravating circumstances that Douglas and Harp conspired to convince Mrs. Taylor to work as an ordinary agent and then reneged on their promise to let her return to a sales representative position. R.34 at 19. In response, Mr. Taylor contends that the contract clearly had a provision to allow Mrs. Taylor to return to a position as sales representative, and Mrs. Taylor was assured that she could return to that position at will. Furthermore, before Mrs. Taylor was discharged from her position as ordinary agent, she did seek to be reinstated as a debit agent. According to Mrs. Taylor's testimony, Harp denied that request. Tr.I at 196-97. Again, the district court's finding was not clearly erroneous. 45 We conclude that the district court's factual findings are sound. Western-Southern raises minor errors--such as the court's use of the name Douglas when it meant Pearson--as grounds for reversal. Considering that the court made over fifty findings of fact and relied upon twenty-one in concluding that aggravated circumstances existed, we do not believe that such errors are significant enough to affect the outcome of the case. There is considerable evidence to support the district court's conclusions that Western-Southern repeatedly discriminated against Mr. Taylor based upon his race and interracial marriage and that this pattern of discrimination caused Mr. Taylor to feel compelled to resign.