WEBSTER, Circuit Judge.
This appeal presents for our review important questions concerning the requirements of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., and the guidelines on religious discrimination promulgated thereunder, 29 C.F.R. § 1605 (1974). Larry G. Hardison, a member of the Worldwide Church of God, initiated this employment discrimination case against his union and his employer following his discharge as a Trans World Airlines (TWA) stores clerk for alleged insubordination. The factual background of this litigation is not disputed, and, in summarizing the relevant details, we rely heavily upon the findings of the District Court,
Hardison's job was covered by a collective bargaining agreement negotiated with TWA by the International Association of Machinists and Aero Space Workers, the International Association of Machinists and Aero Space Workers, District 142, and the International Association of Machinists and Aero Space Workers, Local 1650, all defendants below.
The Stores Department at the Kansas City International Airport, in which Hardison had worked from June 5, 1967, until his discharge on April 2, 1969, operates twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week. Hardison initially worked as a stores clerk in Building No. 1, performing work which was essential to TWA's operation but not unique. In
Soon thereafter, the supervisor notified Kussman that he had been unable to make any "headway" in trying to resolve the problem. Hardison continued to work on Friday evenings and Saturdays, including some voluntary overtime work. On October 4, 1968, Hardison wrote Kussman that he had transferred to the 11:00 p. m. to 7:00 a. m. shift as a result of which he would be able to observe the Sabbath and would soon formally enter the Worldwide Church of God. He reminded Kussman of his assurance that Hardison would be excused from work on certain holidays under those circumstances. Subsequently, he furnished Kussman at his request a list of religious holidays and dates thereof.
On December 2, 1968, Hardison bid for a position as a stores clerk in another section in Building No. 2 in order to obtain a day shift position. Hardison indicated that his reason for transferring to the Building No. 2 section was his recent marriage: he felt day work would be more compatible with married life. Each of these stores clerk sections was governed by a separate seniority list. Thus, although Hardison had relatively high seniority in Building No. 1, he had the second lowest seniority position in Building No. 2. As a result, his ability to select days off was considerably diminished.
In March, 1969, Bill Wyatt, the man on the bottom of the seniority list in the Building No. 2 section, went on vacation. Hardison was called to substitute for Wyatt, whose work schedule included Friday evenings and Saturdays. On March 6, 1969, Hardison met with Kussman and James Tinder, a union steward, to discuss the conflict between this schedule and Hardison's religious practices. Several possible adjustments were explored,
Hardison did not report for work on Saturday, March 8, informing the storekeeper that he had personal business to do. Hardison was likewise absent from work on the following two Saturdays, March 15 and March 22. He was then notified that a discharge hearing had been scheduled. Prior to that hearing, Hardison met with Local 1650's grievance committee. Various avenues of legal redress and defenses were discussed, and it was decided that the best approach would be a plea for leniency coupled with an effort to obtain reversal at a higher level in the event of an adverse result. The possibility that the union might waive its seniority rules to permit Hardison to work on a different shift was not discussed. Following the meeting, Hardison voluntarily changed his shift to the "twilight shift" (3:00 p. m. to 11:00 p. m.) in an effort to resolve the problem. When Hardison left work early (at sundown) on Friday, March 28, however, it became apparent that this change in schedule would not obviate future problems as Local 1650 had hoped.
Hardison filed an unlawful employment practice charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which deferred to the Missouri Commission on Human Rights. On February 10, 1972, after all administrative procedures had been exhausted, Hardison filed suit against TWA and the three unions in United States District Court pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2.
In essence, the decision below held that the valid seniority provisions of the unions' collective bargaining agreement with TWA did not permit further accommodation by any of the defendants. Hardison appeals, contending that the District Court's findings of reasonable accommodation and potential undue hardship were clearly erroneous. Separate briefs have been filed by Hardison, the unions, TWA, and by two amici curiae seeking reversal, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and COLPA (National Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs).
The issues before us include the alleged unconstitutionality of Title VII and the guidelines on religious discrimination, the extent of the unions' duty of fair representation under the circumstances presented, and whether the findings below that the defendants had fulfilled their respective duties to attempt a reasonable accommodation, short of undue hardship, of Hardison's religious practices were clearly erroneous.
I
STATUTORY AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
Our review must necessarily begin with an examination of the controlling statutes and regulations.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 specifically forbids employers from practicing religious discrimination in specifically enumerated ways.
42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a) provides in part:
42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(c) provides:
The EEOC is empowered to promulgate regulations in aid of the statute. 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-12(a). The original guidelines provided:
29 C.F.R. § 1605.1(a)(3), 31 Fed.Reg. 8370 (1966). The regulations were modified in 1967 to provide:
29 C.F.R. § 1605.1(b), 32 Fed.Reg. 10298 (1967). The EEOC further placed upon the employer "the burden of proving that an undue hardship renders the required accommodations to the religious needs of the employee unreasonable." 29 C.F.R. § 1605.1(c), 32 Fed.Reg. 10298 (1967).
The possibility that the revised regulations might impose a burden (to accommodate) not contemplated by the statute which posed "grave constitutional questions" of violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment was raised in dicta in Dewey v. Reynolds Metals Co., 429 F.2d 324, 334 (6th Cir. 1970), affirmed by an equally divided Court, 402 U.S. 689, 91 S.Ct. 2186, 29 L.Ed.2d 267 (1971). Dewey also concluded that Title VII only prohibited acts taken with intent to discriminate. This conclusion was rejected by the Supreme Court in Griggs v. Duke Power Co., 401 U.S. 424, 91 S.Ct. 849, 28 L.Ed.2d 158 (1971).
In 1972, Congress incorporated the substance of 29 C.F.R. § 1605.1(b) into the Act by defining "religion" as follows:
42 U.S.C. § 2000e(j).
This amendment has been held to have eliminated all doubt that the guideline at 29 C.F.R. § 1605.1 reflects the will of Congress. Reid v. Memphis Publishing Co., 468 F.2d 346, 351 (6th Cir. 1972);
TWA LIABILITY
29 C.F.R. § 1605.1, which we hold to be consistent with the statute, defines the parameters of the employer's duty. The company may not accept the role of a Pontius Pilate.
The record reflects a consistent effort by Hardison to acquaint TWA with his religious conversion and the effect of that commitment upon his ability to work during his Sabbath period and certain other religious holidays. He made no demands which were not consistent with his known religious beliefs. He was willing to work long weeks or short weeks provided his religious obligation to abstain from work on his Sabbath could be met. He even transferred to the twilight shift in order to minimize the impact of his absence on the company.
We cannot agree with the company's contention, apparently accepted by the District Court, 375 F.Supp. at 891, that Hardison's transfer from Building No. 1 to Building No. 2 was evidence of a lack of cooperation on his part. The implication is that if Hardison had not transferred he would have retained enough seniority in Building No. 1 to protect himself against Sabbath day assignments. This is not accommodation. To limit Hardison's right of transfer within the company as a condition of accommodation would be "to discriminate against [him] with respect to his * * * conditions, or privileges of employment, because of [his] * * * religion * * *." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). The purpose of this transfer was to obtain a daytime shift, Hardison having recently married. While the regulation implies that the employee must be responsive to a reasonable accommodation, no such accommodation was ever offered by TWA, which at all times contended that it was precluded from accommodating Hardison's Sabbath observance by the collective bargaining agreement. Before an employer can assert the defense of non-cooperation, it is incumbent upon it to establish the accommodation which it has tendered and with which the employee refused to cooperate. See Riley v. Bendix Corp., supra; Claybaugh v. Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Co., 355 F.Supp. 1, 4-6 (D.Or.1973) (Employer should have attempted a temporary accommodation in view of its large work force).
Hardison's job assignment in Building No. 2 was to pick up or deliver parts needed by mechanics working in the building. He was to "run the train", that is, to continually make the rounds of the shops in the building. He was part of a work force of 38 to 40 people, although he would be the only person running the train during his particular shift on the weekend. TWA conceded that there were over 200 available employees who were capable of performing Hardison's work.
The District Court concluded that TWA had made a reasonable effort to accommodate Hardison's religious beliefs and that the alternatives rejected by TWA would have created an undue burden on TWA's business. Upon a full review of the record, we must respectfully disagree with both conclusions.
Alternatives Rejected
(1) Within the framework of the collective bargaining TWA could have permitted Hardison to work a four-day week. Hardison was willing to do this,
In determining whether a possible accommodation would result in undue hardship or mere inconvenience, we must look to the facts of each case. The burden of demonstrating undue hardship is upon the employer. In this case, the company contends that a short week for one man during the temporary period of Wyatt's vacation would have hampered its operations. Two company witnesses expressed such an opinion without any further evidence or factual support. We think the District Court erroneously drew an inference of undue hardship from such testimony. The actual hours involved in this case did not even amount to a full shift, since Hardison had transferred to the twilight shift and would have worked from 3:00 p. m. on Friday until sundown (approximately 6:30 p. m.), thus further reducing the impact upon the company's operations. Balanced against the interests to be protected by § 2000e, we cannot say such an accommodation would result in an undue hardship to the employer.
(2) Another alternative within the framework of the collective bargaining agreement was for TWA to fill Hardison's Sabbath shift from other available personnel. This could be accomplished by holding a worker over from the last shift, calling a worker in early, or, more logically, assigning a worker from the pool of 200 employees qualified to do the work. TWA contended that this alternative would be an undue hardship because such workers must be paid overtime compensation. The District Court said, "The duty to accommodate does not require that an employer make every effort short of going out of business to permit his employees to s[t]ay on the job and also to observe their religion", 375 F.Supp. at 889, and that "Title VII cannot be interpreted to require that companies finance employee's religious beliefs." 375 F.Supp. at 891. These general statements, while arguably correct, may tend to distort the actual hardship which overtime payments would have imposed upon TWA to fill Hardison's Sabbath shift under the facts of this case. The regulation does not preclude some cost to the employer anymore than it precludes some degree of inconvenience to effect a reasonable accommodation. Cf. Ward v. Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corp., 397 F.Supp. 375, 377 (W.D.Pa.1975). The regulation expressly casts upon the employer the burden of proving undue hardship upon its business. Each case must stand upon its own facts. The actual cost of accommodation by filling Hardison's Sabbath shift from available personnel is not clear from the record. We do know that in this case the cost would have ended upon Wyatt's return from his vacation.
(3) A third alternative considered was a swap between Hardison and another employee, either for another shift or for the Sabbath days.
The company relied upon the union steward to handle the details. Every swap was technically at risk because the exchange was subject to the right of a senior worker to bump into the opening. Thus, the company and the union contended that they could not individually or jointly act to make a job exchange which would accommodate Hardison's religious need to be free of servile work on his Sabbath.
The proper relationship between a bona fide seniority system and the requirement of reasonable accommodation under 29 C.F.R. § 1605.1 has not yet been settled by the Supreme Court.
TWA did not even seek to find volunteers within the seniority system. It left that task to the union steward, who likewise did nothing. The matter was not referred to the Union Relief Committee, an informal organization of union members through which the union and TWA were normally able to avoid confrontations over seniority variances in special situations. This was the first Sabbath request which TWA and the union had received at the Kansas City operation. While company officials testified of their concern that giving Hardison a variance would irritate other union members, we find no evidence to support such an inference, nor are we convinced that such irritation, if real, would have been an undue hardship on the employer's business. See Cummins v. Parker Seal Co., 516 F.2d 544 (6th Cir. 1975). See generally, Annot., 22 A.L.R.Fed. 580 (1975).
III
UNION LIABILITY
The District Court rejected the union's contention that the duty of accommodation falls only upon the employer and not upon the union. Judge Oliver observed:
375 F.Supp. at 882. We agree with Judge Oliver's analysis and conclusion that in a proper case union may be held to a duty of reasonable accommodation as well as the employer. This conclusion is consistent with the provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(c), which declare it to be an unlawful employment practice for a union "to cause or attempt to cause an employer to discriminate against an individual in violation of this section." Thus, the union may be held liable if it purposefully acts or refuses to act in a manner which prevents or obstructs a reasonable accommodation by the employer so as to cause the employer to discriminate.
The District Court next considered the union's duty in light of its existing contract. Finding the seniority provisions of the contract to be facially neutral, the District Court held it to be "coincidental" that as to Hardison "the seniority system acted to compound his problems in exercising his religion." 375 F.Supp. at 883. The District Court further found that the union's duty to accommodate in this case "did not require the union to ignore its seniority system" and that the
These conclusions are not directly challenged upon appeal, and the briefs and oral argument are directed to the breach of duty by TWA. We are thus not required to reach the substantive correctness of such conclusions. Twin City Federal Savings & Loan Association v. Transamerica Insurance Co., 491 F.2d 1122, 1127 (8th Cir. 1974); Mississippi River Corp. v. Federal Trade Commission, 454 F.2d 1083, 1093 (8th Cir. 1972). We reserve for future cases the effect of a union's refusal to modify its employee seniority rights when no other accommodation can be accomplished without undue hardship to the employer's business. See Robinson v. Lorillard Corp., 444 F.2d 791 (4th Cir.), petition for cert. dismissed, 404 U.S. 1006, 92 S.Ct. 573, 30 L.Ed.2d 655 (1971).
IV
CONSTITUTIONAL CLAIM
Since we conclude that TWA violated its duty of accommodation, we must reach its constitutional claim that Title VII violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by requiring an accommodation. TWA contends that the statute is not neutral as between groups of religious believers and nonbelievers. See School District of Abington Township v. Schempp, 374 U.S. 203, 83 S.Ct. 1560, 10 L.Ed.2d 844 (1963); Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1, 67 S.Ct. 504, 91 L.Ed. 711 (1947). The view that it is constitutionally impermissible for a government to enforce accommodation of religious beliefs in a manner which results in privileges not available to a nonbeliever, or which result in inconvenience to the nonbeliever, is not without articulate support. See Edwards and Kaplan, Religious Discrimination and the Role of Arbitration Under Title VII, 69 Mich.L.Rev. 599, 628 (1971). But see Comment, Religious Observance and Discrimination in Employment, 22 Syracuse L.Rev. 1019 (1971).
The District Court, however, found this constitutional attack upon the statute and guidelines to be without merit. It first applied the three-fold test set forth in Committee for Public Education & Religious Liberty v. Nyquist, 413 U.S. 756, 772-73, 93 S.Ct. 2955, 37 L.Ed.2d 948 (1973): (1) the law must reflect a clearly secular purpose; (2) it must have a primary effect that neither advances nor inhibits religion; and (3) it must avoid excessive government entanglement with religion. The District Court stated:
375 F.Supp. at 888.
The same constitutional argument was recently raised in Cummins v. Parker Seal Co., supra, and similarly rejected. The Sixth Circuit held that both the statute and the regulation met the three-fold test of Nyquist. The purpose of the statute, it observed, was "to prevent discrimination in employment." Id. at 552. This purpose, it noted, was upheld against constitutional challenge in Griggs v. Duke Power Co., supra, which dealt with racial discrimination. It found further, support in the reasoning of the Supreme Court in Gillette v. United States, 401 U.S. 437, 91 S.Ct. 828, 28 L.Ed.2d 168 (1971), wherein draft exemptions for conscientious objectors were upheld, not only upon pragmatic grounds but also because a valid state interest lay in the promotion of conscientious action thought to be important in a democratic society. The Sixth Circuit noted that neither the statute nor the regulation advanced religion; no financial support was mandated for religious institutions. See Lemon v. Kurtzman, 403 U.S. 602, 612, 91 S.Ct. 2105, 29 L.Ed.2d 745 (1971); Walz v. Tax Commission, 397 U.S. 664, 668, 90 S.Ct. 1409, 25 L.Ed.2d 697 (1970). Finally, it noted that the mere requirement of reasonable accommodation involved far less government entanglement with religion than the Sunday closing laws sanctioned by McGowan v. Maryland, 366 U.S. 420, 81 S.Ct. 1101, 6 L.Ed.2d 393 (1961). We find this reasoning persuasive, and we agree with the District Court's conclusion that the constitutional challenge must be rejected.
V
CONCLUSION
We affirm the entry of judgment in favor of defendant unions. Since we hold that TWA engaged in religious discrimination by breach of its duty to make a reasonable accommodation to the religious needs of Hardison through affirmative action, we reverse the judgment in favor of TWA and remand the case to the District Court for a determination of appropriate relief under 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-5(g) and 2000e-5(k).
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