Ottaviani v. STATE UNIVERSITY OF NY AT NEW PALTZ

679 F. Supp. 288

Roberta OTTAVIANI, individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, Carolee Schneeman, Joan Marie de la Cova, Dorothy Jessup, Plaintiffs-Intervenors, v. STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT NEW PALTZ, and Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., in his capacity as Chancellor of the State University of New York, Defendants.

Harriet KLAPPER, Plaintiff-Intervenor, v. STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT NEW PALTZ, Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., Alice Chandler, Peter Vukasin, and The Trustees of the State University of New York, Defendants.

No. 77 Civ. 6259 (SWK).

United States District Court, S.D. New York.

January 11, 1988.

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Edwards and Angell, New York City by Susan Egan, Alfred R. Poliani, for plaintiff, Roberta Ottaviani, and plaintiffs-intervenors, Carolee Schneeman, Joan Marie de la Cova and Dorothy Jessup.

Sive Paget and Reisel, P.C., New Paltz by Laura Zeisel, for plaintiff-intervenor, Harriet Klapper.

Robert Abrams, Atty. Gen. of State of N.Y., New York City by Judith T. Kramer, Jan P. Ryan, Marilyn T. Trautfield, Asst. Attys. Gen. (Lewis Rosenthal, Counsel's Office, State University of New York, of counsel), for defendants, State University of New York at New Paltz, Clifford R. Wharton, Jr., Alice Chandler, Peter Vukasin, and The Trustees of the State University of New York.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

KRAM, District Judge.

Plaintiffs in this case claim that the State University of New York at New Paltz ("New Paltz") discriminated against women in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (Title VII). The Court has certified a plaintiff class, which, pursuant to a stipulation, is composed of all full-time academic rank faculty members who were employed in the Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences at New Paltz at any time from academic years 1973 through 1984.¹ In the same stipulation, the plaintiffs limited their claims to discrimination in salary, rank, and initial placement in rank.²

Plaintiff Roberta Ottaviani is the class representative. Plaintiff-intervenors Dorothy Jessup, Joan Marie de la Cova, and Harriet Klapper are members of the plaintiff class because they were full-time academic rank members of New Paltz' Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences during the class period. Plaintiff-intervenor Carolee Schneeman is not a member of plaintiff class because she was a member of the Fine Arts Division. Each individual plaintiff brings separate claims against New Paltz which are discussed infra.

This case was tried to the Court pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 52. The following are the Court's findings of fact and conclusions of law.

I. TITLE VII: GENERAL LEGAL STANDARDS

A. Burden of Proof in a Class Action

The plaintiff class claims that New Paltz treated women differently from men on the basis of sex. In order to prove such a claim of disparate treatment, plaintiff must prove discriminatory intent. See Melani v. New York City Bd. of Higher Education, 561 F.Supp. 769, 773 (S.D.N.Y. 1983). Plaintiffs must demonstrate that "unlawful discrimination has been a regular procedure or policy followed by an employer...." Int'l Bro. of Teamsters v. United States, 431 U.S. 324, 360, 97 S.Ct. 1843, 1867, 52 L.Ed.2d 396 (1977). The occurrence of sporadic or isolated discriminatory acts is not sufficient; gender discrimination must be New Paltz' standard operating procedure. Id. at 336, 97 S.Ct. at 1855; Coser v. Moore, 739 F.2d 746, 749 (2d Cir.1984).

A finding of classwide discrimination creates a rebuttable presumption in favor of individual claims of discrimination. Franks v. Bowman Transp. Co. Inc., 424 U.S. 747, 772, 96 S.Ct. 1251, 1268, 47 L.Ed. 2d 444 (1976); Teamsters, 431 U.S. at 359, 97 S.Ct. at 1866. If the class claims are unsuccessful, individual claimants may still pursue their actions, but they must satisfy the burden of proof described in the next section.

B. Burden of Proof in Individual Claims

The Supreme Court has established a three step process for adjudicating individual Title VII claims. McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802-804, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 1824-25, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). First, the plaintiff has the burden of proving a prima facie case of discrimination by a preponderance of the evidence. Id. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824; Zahorik v. Cornell University, 729 F.2d 85, 92 (2d Cir.1984). The burden of production then shifts to the defendant "to articulate some legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for the employee's rejection." McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824. If the defendant satisfies this burden, the plaintiff must show that the reason is merely a pretext for discrimination. Zahorik, 729 F.2d at 92. Although the burden of production shifts to the defendant in the second step, the burden of persuasion remains with the plaintiff throughout. Id.

McDonnell Douglas sets forth four elements a plaintiff must prove to make a prima facie showing of race discrimination: 1) plaintiff belongs to a racial minority; 2) plaintiff applied and was qualified for a job for which the employer was seeking applicants; 3) despite plaintiff's qualifications he or she was rejected; and 4) the job remained open after the plaintiff was rejected and the employer continued to seek applicants with plaintiff's qualifications. McDonnell Douglas, 411 U.S. at 802, 93 S.Ct. at 1824. This test is flexible and should be tailored to a specific case. Texas Department of Community Affairs v. Burdine, 450 U.S. 248, 253, n. 6, 101 S.Ct. 1089, 1094, n. 6, 67 L.Ed.2d 207 (1981).

In fulfilling its burden of showing a legitimate reason for its action, the defendant need not prove absence of discrimination. Lieberman v. Gant, 630 F.2d 60, 65 (2d Cir.1980). Rather, the defendant need only show that it acted on a neutral basis. Id. The employer's hiring practices need not be "rational, wise, or well-considered — only ... non-discriminatory." Powell v. Syracuse University, 580 F.2d 1150, 1157 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 984, 99 S.Ct. 576, 58 L.Ed.2d 656 (1978). The evidence the employer presents should be objective. Sweeney v. SUNY Research Foundation, 711 F.2d 1179, 1185 (2d Cir. 1983). Objective factors include evidence that a plaintiff's qualifications do not match those required for a job. Id. A defendant's subjective evaluation of objective criteria also is acceptable, but should be specific and not speculative. Id. at 1185-86.

A plaintiff can demonstrate that a neutral explanation is pretext "either directly by persuading the court that a discriminatory reason more likely motivated the employer or indirectly by showing that the employer's proffered explanation is unworthy of credence." Burdine, 450 U.S. at 256, 101 S.Ct. at 1095. Evidence of pretext includes discriminatory statements or admissions, the mix of the workforce, an atmosphere of discrimination, the employer's general practices, comparative evidence, and statistics. Penk v. Oregon State Board of Higher Education, 816 F.2d 458, 462-63 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 108 S.Ct. 158, 98 L.Ed.2d 113 (1987).

C. The Relationship Between the Class Claims and the Individual Claims

Evidence of intentional discrimination against women in individual cases is relevant to the class claims of disparate treatment. It brings statistics to life, demonstrates how college policies affected the treatment of individual women, and is proof of the state of mind of college officials. Craik v. Minnesota State University Board, 731 F.2d 465, 471 (8th Cir.1984). Similarly, evidence of classwide discrimination is relevant to individual claims because it can demonstrate that a neutral explanation for a decision is pretextual. In short, all evidence of intentional discrimination is relevant to all claims and must be considered as a whole.

II. STATISTICAL EVIDENCE OF CLASSWIDE DISCRIMINATION

Plaintiffs assert that statistical evidence alone proves their claims of classwide discrimination. Gross statistical disparities can be sufficient to prove a prima facie case of discrimination. Hazelwood School District v. United States, 433 U.S. 299, 307-08, 97 S.Ct. 2736, 2741, 53 L.Ed.2d 768 (1977). Statistics are not irrefutable, however, and their usefulness depends on the facts and circumstances of a particular case. Id. Statistics used in a Title VII action against a university must account for the fact that a college hires specialists on a decentralized basis. Coser, 739 F.2d at 750.

Plaintiffs' statistical expert, Dr. Mary Gray, utilized a technique known as multiple regression analysis to determine whether differences in male and female salaries were based on different qualifications or other unexplained factors. See Melani, 561 F.Supp. at 774.

A multiple regression analysis determines the influence that various factors (independent variables) have on an observed phenomena (the dependent variable). For each independent variable, the statistician calculates a coefficient, which is the effect the variable has on a dependent variable. The coefficient is derived from the data about all the faculty members, and measures, for example, the effect a year of service (the independent variable) has on salary (the dependent variable). A multiple regression analysis can determine the effect gender has on salary either by calculating a coefficient which measures the effect of gender (either male or female), or by comparing a woman's actual salary with her predicted salary. The salary is predicted by multiplying the coefficient for each independent variable by the value each variable assumes for the faculty member, and adding the results.

Even if the results of the regression demonstrate that gender influences salary, this is not necessarily relevant. Rather, the difference between male and female salaries, measured by either the size of the gender coefficient...