Court Opinion

ID: 9853636
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 05:51:27.13846+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:19:56.814514
License: Public Domain

WILKINS, Justice:
All statutory references are to Utah Code Annotated, 1953, as amended, unless otherwise indicated.
Defendant, Belva Alsop (hereafter “Alsop”), commenced this action below claiming a violation under the Utah Antidiscrim-ination Act, Chapter 35, Title 34 (hereafter “Act”). On September 4, 1974, she filed a complaint, pursuant to Sec.' 34-35-7, claiming sex discrimination in rate of pay between herself and several men who were hired to do the same work that the defendant did. On April 28, 1975, the original hearing in this matter was held before a hearing examiner of the Industrial Commission of the State of Utah. On May 8,1975, the hearing examiner made findings of fact and conclusions of law in favor of Alsop. In its order dated July 8,1975, the Industrial Commission adopted the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the hearing examiner and from its order Plaintiff Beehive Medical Electronics, Inc., now known as Beehive International, (hereafter “Beehive”), appealed to the District Court of Salt Lake County for a trial de novo.
The trial de novo commenced on January 24,1977, and on March 11,1977, the District Court entered judgment affirming the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the Industrial Commission by determining that there had been discrimination against Alsop. Judgment was granted in favor of Alsop in the sum of $4,326.80, representing the differential in pay arising out of the discrimination. Beehive was ordered to cease and desist from discriminating against the defendant at the place of her employment on the basis of her sex, and was ordered to pay her the same rate of pay as was being paid to her male counterparts who were doing the same work. Beehive was further ordered to refrain from taking any retaliatory action against the defendant for her action in filing the complaint with the Industrial Commission of the State of Utah or for pursuing her legal rights in Court.
*56On April 26, 1977, a hearing was held before the District Court based upon an Order to Show Cause, following which the Court entered an order, dated May 3, 1977, adjudging the plaintiff to be in contempt of court for violating the antiretaliatory and antidiscriminatory provisions of the March 11, 1977 judgment. Plaintiff Beehive appeals from the judgment and orders above.
Alsop was employed by Beehive in February of 1972 as an expediter in the material supply organization of Beehive. In November of 1972 she began to function in the purchasing phase of the material operation. She worked in that activity for a period of time and then moved to an assignment as the stores supervisor for the company for a short period of time. She returned to work in the purchasing phase until she had health problems. Then on August 5, 1974, she re-commenced work in the purchasing phase of the company activities.
The District Court in findings dated March 11, 1977, found that Beehive had discriminated against Alsop on account of her sex, in violation of Sec. 34-35-6(l)(a), by paying her a lower wage than was paid to her male counterparts in positions which were similar and comparable to the work which Alsop performed for Beehive; that Beehive also discriminated by failing to credit Alsop with on-the-job experience and training in determining her wage and job title while concurrently crediting her male counterparts with such experience and training; that Beehive discriminated against Alsop by establishing, creating and utilizing what amounted to fictitious job titles and job levels as a basis for justification for paying her a lower wage than her male counterparts, when the actual respective duties of Alsop and her male counterparts were not significantly or materially different and further, the male counterparts did not require a level of skill higher than that at which Alsop was actually performing.
The Court granted judgment in favor of Alsop for $4,326.80, which represented the sum of differential pay to which she was entitled from August 5, 1974 to February 28, 1976 in her employment, thereby compensating her for deprivation of equal pay, employment status and classification in violation of the Act. The Court also in the March 11, 1977 judgment ordered Beehive to cease and desist from further discrimination against Alsop and additionally prohibited Beehive from retaliatory action against her for bringing this action.
Plaintiff assigns a number of errors infra to which we address ourselves. Additional facts will be recited in the assignments of error to which they pertain. Beehive contends that the. hearing before the Industrial Commission was unlawful and invalid because an attorney for the Commission did not present the case in support of Alsop’s complaint. It cites as authority for this position Sec. 34-35-7(7), which provides that:
The case in support of such complaint shall be presented at the hearing by one of the commission’s attorneys or agents.
Section 34-35-7(8) specifically states in pertinent part:
In the discretion of the hearing examiner, a complainant may be allowed to intervene and present testimony in person or by counsel. [Emphasis added.]
It was therefore not improper for Alsop to present testimony either personally or by counsel during the proceedings before the hearing examiner. Other grounds exist for our determination that this contention is unmeritorious but need not be specified as the preceding comments are dispositive.
Beehive asserts that it was error to refuse a jury trial in District Court. Beehive argues that because Section 34-35-8(12) of the Act reads as follows:
The provisions of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, so far as applicable, and not in conflict with this chapter, apply to proceedings in the courts under the provisions of this chapter.
that nothing in the Act specifically negatives the right to jury trial, and that, therefore, Rule 38 of the Utah Rules of Civil *57Procedure governs.1 Beehive further cites Article I, Section 10, of the Constitution of Utah and the Seventh Amendment of the Constitution of the United States as additional authority for its position.
We believe Beehive’s second point is without merit. Sec. 34-35-8(6) states:
Upon the conclusion of a trial de novo in the district court or other proceedings which appropriately dispose of all issues of fact and of law, the district court shall enter findings of fact, conclusions of law and judgment and decree, which shall be subject to enforcement upon the application of the commission or any party to the judgment. The parties may waive findings of fact and conclusions of law. The judgment entered in the district court shall supersede any order made by the commission. [Emphasis added.]
By providing that the District Court shall enter its findings of fact in such cases, the Legislature clearly intended that the court, not a jury, be the fact finder on appeal in antidiscrimination cases, and the provisions of Rule 38 pertaining to jury trials are not applicable to these proceedings. Also the provisions in Utah’s Constitution pertaining to trial by jury are not offended in this case as the proceedings here were essentially equitable.2 Further, Beehive admits that the United States Supreme Court has not specifically extended the right to a trial by jury in civil actions to the States, to which we agree. Further the Seventh Amendment speaks of “Suits at common law”, and we perceive no basis for determining that the proceedings applicable in this case existed at common law.
Beehive assigns as further error that it could not be found guilty of contempt of court for discharging Alsop as it found that Mr. Maeser, a Beehive official who terminated Alsop, did not violate the Court’s antiretaliatory order pertaining to and protecting her.
The effect of Beehive’s contention, were we to adopt it, which we do not, would be that so long as a company official authorized to terminate employees does not personally violate an antiretaliatory court order, company discrimination and retaliation through other company employees against workers who assert their rights under the Act would not constitute contempt of court, and the enforcement power of this type of order would be emasculated and the purposes and policies of the Act would be thwarted to a large degree. The company official authorized to terminate employees is not the exclusive source of retaliation and discrimination which may exist in a business. Employer retaliation and discrimination, violative of court orders, may be inflicted by employees other than the company official authorized to terminate workers. In the instant case the District Court found that the conduct of Mr. Maeser did not violate the antiretaliatory order but rather that the actions and conduct of Mr. Lamb, an employee of Beehive and Alsop’s immediate supervisor, were retaliatory and consequently violative of the Court order.
Beehive also contends that the District Court erred in ordering reinstatement of Alsop or payment of wages in lieu thereof after her discharge on March 24, 1977. After her discharge, with insubordination assigned as the cause therefor, an order was immediately served on Beehive, supported by Alsop’s petition, ordering Beehive to appear in Court to show cause why it should not be found in contempt thereof for disobeying prior orders of the Court relating to the employment of Alsop, why Alsop should not be awarded her earnings during the period she is “kept off the job by the conduct” of Beehive, and why economic sanctions should not be imposed against Beehive for its disobedience of the Court’s prior orders. The Court hearing was held on April 26, 1977. The Court found, after this hearing, that Alsop’s discharge was without cause, retaliatory, and hence in disobedience *58of its prior orders. It awarded Alsop damages of $792 from her date of discharge to the date of the hearing, which represented her loss of earnings during that period. Additionally, the Court stated “that for each day that (Beehive) continues to disobey the orders of the Court, it is guilty of a contempt of court. Each day’s disobedience constitutes a separate contempt and it is the order of the Court that a fine of $200 per working day, that is four days per week, aggregating the sum of $800 per week, be levied, which said fine shall continue as long as (Beehive’s) contemptuous conduct continues.” And finally the Court ordered that Beehive pay Alsop $180 per week, less normal deductions, in lieu of re-employment. In the order, dated May 3, 1977, the Court ordered Beehive to permit Alsop to return to her employment or to pay her the wages which she was paid on the day of her discharge. On May 5, 1977, Beehive, by pleading, elected to compensate her in lieu of employment at the rate she was paid on that date, without prejudice to Beehive to claim error concerning this and other matters.
Plaintiff asserts, in effect, that the sole means of enforcing the Court order is the statutory sanction for contempt and that the remedies ordered are within areas of jurisdiction reserved to the Industrial Commission, not the District Court. Noting that part of Sec. 34-35-8(6), noted ante, which provides that: “The judgment entered in the district court shall supersede any order made by the commission.”, it would be illogical to assert that the District Court’s judgment could supersede any order made by the commission if the sole method of court enforcement were the statutory sanction of contempt while the commission is empowered by Sec. 34-35-7(12) to:
. issue and cause to be served upon such respondent an order requiring such respondent to cease and desist from such discriminatory or unfair employment practice and to take such affirmative action, including, but not limited to, hiring, reinstatement, or upgrading of employees, with or without backpay, the referring of applicants for employment by any respondent employment agency, the restoration to membership by any respondent labor organization, the admission to or continuation in enrollment in an apprenticeship program, on-the-job-training program, or a vocational school, the posting of notices, and the making of reports as to the manner of compliance, .. [Emphasis added.]
The District Court is not limited to the statutory sanction for contempt as the sole means of enforcing its judgments and orders in antidiscrimination cases. Rather, the powers granted by statute to the Industrial Commission may also be exercised by the District Court in these cases at the trial do novo. And those powers are buttressed by Sec. 78-32-11 which provides:
If an actual loss or injury to a party . is caused by the contempt, the court, in addition to the fine or imprisonment imposed for the contempt or in place thereof, may order a person proceeded against to pay the party aggrieved a sum of money sufficient to indemnify him.[Emphasis added.]
Beehive contends that the penalty of two hundred dollars per day levied by the District Court is unlawful because it operates prospectively and it is in excess of the maximum permitted under Sec. 78-32-10. That section provides in part:
. if it is adjudged that he [the person proceeded against] is guilty of the contempt, a fine may be imposed upon him not exceeding $200, or he may be imprisoned in the county jail not exceeding thirty days, or he may be both fined and imprisoned .
In this action the District Court found that the acts of Beehive toward Alsop constituted contempt. Having elected to levy a fine as the penalty, the Court under the statute could have imposed a fine of up to $200. The Court, however, ruled that Beehive would be guilty of a separate offense of contempt for each day after the date of the order that Beehive failed to reinstate Alsop or compensate her in lieu thereof and imposed a fine of $200 per working day as a penalty.
*59In making its order, the District Court exceeded its authority in two ways. First, it levied a fine of over $200. Second, it levied a penalty prospectively for acts that had not taken place.
The contempt statute provides for certain formal procedures that must be followed before a penalty can be imposed. When an alleged contempt is not committed in the immediate view and presence of the Court, the person accused appears before the Court, and the Court thereupon must proceed to investigate the charge, and must hear any answer which the person arrested may make to the same. Sec. 78-32-9. The determination of guilt is made by the Court upon the answer and evidence taken at the hearing. Sec. 78-32-10. The District Court in this action, however, ruled not only that action not yet taken would constitute an offense, but also that Beehive must pay a fine for that action. In so doing, the District Court was in error. Further, the Court misconstrued the penalty provision of the statute by imposing a penalty of $200 each day. The Court, having found plaintiff guilty of contempt, could lawfully have imposed a fine of up to $200, but under these circumstances, no more.
As noted ante, the District Court ordered that Beehive pay Alsop $180 per week less normal deductions, in lieu of reinstatement. Sec. 34-35-7(12) allows the issuing of orders promotive of affirmative action in cases of discriminatory and unfair employment practices as will “effectuate the purposes of this chapter”. We have heretofore declared that actions under the Act are essentially equitable. It is in this vein that our comments are made on this point.
Sec. 34-35-7(12) refers specifically to reinstatement as an affirmative action and we herein hold that payment in lieu thereof is also under proper circumstances an affirmative action though not specifically listed in said section as one. This section acknowledges the need and desirability of affirmative actions other than those stated with specificity by employing the language of “ . . . affirmative action, including, but not limited to . ”. We feel it would impair the efficacy of the Act to acknowledge reinstatement as an affirmative action but not at times its logical alternative, viz., payment in lieu thereof, if an equitable-solution so requires. We affirm the District Court in permitting payment in lieu of employment in this case as the bitterness (reflected in the record) engendered between the parties would otherwise we believe sow seeds for a mutually destructive relationship, and hence promote continuous future litigation. Of course, payment in lieu of reinstatement would not always be an acceptable affirmative action; we perceive under certain circumstances that reinstatement should be mandated with no alternative.
When, however, payment in lieu of reinstatement is ordered as a remedy, guidelines must be set in order to achieve an equitable solution consistent with the purposes of the Act. We therefore hold here that there must be a termination of payment to Alsop after a reasonable period of time from the remand of this case to the District Court; that Alsop must pursue reasonable diligence after said remand to seek employment for which she is qualified and at a salary commensurate with her skills; that the pay of $180 per week, less normal employee deductions (as ordered by the District Court) must also be diminished after remand by earnings Alsop receives from other employment or unemployment compensation, if any, during her period of payment under Court order; and the adoption of other relevant factors to which the individual facts and equities lend themselves.
Beehive also asserts that the findings of the District Court are not supported by substantial or competent evidence and it alleges in essence, alternatively, that those findings are against the clear weight of the evidence. We hold that the findings are supported by competent and substantial evidence and, under equitable principles of review, we further hold that the evidence does not clearly preponderate against the *60District Court’s findings as is required for a reversal in equity cases.3
Beehive finally contends that the Utah Antidiscrimination Act as construed and applied by the District Court violates the Due Process Clause of the Utah Constitution, Article I, Section 7; the Due Process Clause of the Constitution of the United States, Amendment XIV, Section 1; and the Contract Clause thereof, Article I, Section 10. Specifically, it contends that the Act, as applied and construed in this case fulfills no legitimate state objective, and is beyond the Legislature’s police power. We disagree.
The legislative mandate in the Act not to discriminate, inter alia, against one on the basis of sex is in harmony with and fulfillment of the Constitution of Utah, Article IV, Section 1, which declares:
The rights of citizens of the State of Utah to vote and hold office shall not be denied or abridged on account of sex. Both male and female citizens of this State shall enjoy equally all civil, political and religious rights and privileges.
And this constitutional declaration is the matrix for achieving the goal of abolishing discriminatory practices — which ought to be abolished though at times they may have the seemingly appealing aspect of benignity.
In Kopp v. Salt Lake City, 29 Utah 2d 170, 506 P.2d 809 (1973), this Court denied relief to a woman claiming a violation of the Act on the basis that there had in the fact situation of that case been no discrimination against her though she was paid a lower wage than her male counterparts. Though the Court did not address the issue of the Act’s constitutionality — or the unconstitutionality of the application of the Act— as Beehive urges here — it is significant that this Court did state:
The purpose of the Antidiscrimination Act is to eliminate discrimination in the payment of wages based solely on the basis of sex where men and women are doing the same or similar work under all of the same conditions. We agree that that is a salutary and proper purpose. In that connection it is of interest to note that the Constitution of the State of Utah has, since statehood, contained . Article IV, Sec. 1 .
This clear and comprehensive statement in our foundational law [Art. IV, Sec. 1] correlates with the purpose that there shall be no discrimination based on sex. [At 506 P.2d 809-810, emphasis added.]
One other matter concerning constitutionality should be mentioned. If we assume, arguendo, that there is irreconcilability between two provisions of the Constitution of Utah, viz., Art. IV, Sec. 1, ante, and Art. I, Sec. 184 which states:
No . . . law impairing the obligations of contracts shall be passed,
then Art. IV, Sec. 1 must prevail as the more precious right in our basic law. All fundamental rights — including obligation of contract — remain, we believe, in peril or unfulfillment when invidious discrimination is permitted by law, notwithstanding any seeming winsomeness of argument which suggests vindication for that discrimination.
However, we do not believe there is any tension between Art. IV, Sec. 1 and Art. I, Sec. 18 of Utah’s Constitution. It has always been recognized that a contract contains, implicitly, the laws existing at the time it is completed. See Quagliana v. Exquisite Home Builders, Inc., Utah, 538 P.2d 301 (1975); Edwards v. Kearzey, 96 U.S. 595, 24 L.Ed. 793 (1878).5 It has also long been recognized that the “impairment of obligation” provision of the United States Constitution (and similarly that of *61Utah’s Constitution) is not to protect future contracts but rather those existing prior to the enactment of the challenged statute. These provisions do not establish a right of parties to make contracts that are illegal and against public policy. They merely prevent “impairment” by a changing of the laws after the contract has been made. Ogden v. Saunders, 12 Wheat. 213, 25 U.S. 213, 6 L.Ed. 606 (1827); Edwards v. Kearzey, supra, 96 U.S. 595.
Utah’s Antidiscrimination Act finds nourishing validity in Art. IV, Sec. 1 of this State’s Constitution and we know of no other provision in the Constitution of Utah or the United States which impoverishes that validity, including those provisions cited by Beehive, ante.
Sec. 34-35-6(l)(a) states:
. “To discriminate in matters of compensation” means the payment of differing wages or salaries to employees having substantially equal experience, responsibilities, and competency for the particular job. . . . [Emphasis added.]
In this case, it is significant to note that the findings of the District Court, and particularly the ones specified in the findings of March 11,1977, demonstrate that Alsop suffered discrimination in pay though she had “substantially equal experience, responsibilities, and competency for the job” which her male counterparts, or more precisely one male counterpart, a Mr. Kenneth Edwards, possessed.
This case is remanded to the District Court for a further hearing concerning the matter of payment to Alsop in lieu of reinstatement consistent with this opinion. Affirmed in all other matters except the order concerning the fining of Beehive prospectively, discussed ante, which is reversed.
Costs are awarded to Alsop and against Beehive.
MAUGHAN and HALL, JJ., concur.

. Rule 38 provides: “The right of trial by jury as declared by the Constitution or as given by statute shall be preserved to the parties.”

. It is the protection and enforcement of important personal and civil rights that establish these proceedings as basically equitable. See 27 Am.Jur.2d, Equity, Sec. 66.

. Nelson v. Nelson, 30 Utah 2d 80, 513 P.2d 1011 (1973).

. Cf. Constitution of the United States, Art. I, Sec. 10: “No State Shall . . . pass any . . . Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts . . . ”.

.The contract here was made after the statute was enacted in 1969. As such the contract implicitly contains the challenged provisions of the Act.