STATE OF FLORIDA

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

WOODROW SAMUEL and THE FLORIDA ) COMMISSION ON HUMAN RELATIONS, )

)

Petitioner, )

)

vs. ) CASE NO. 80-1053

)

AL PACKER FORD, INC., )

)

Respondent. )

)

RECOMMENDED ORDER

Pursuant to notice an administrative hearing was held before Delphene C. Strickland, Hearing Officer of the Division of Administrative Hearings, on July 1, 1980 in Room 341-A, Palm Beach County Courthouse in West Palm Beach, Florida beginning at 9:00 a.m.

APPEARANCES

For Petitioner: Franklin G. Callas, Esquire

(for Woodrow Samuel)

125 Worth Avenue, Suite 308 Palm Beach, Florida 33480

For Respondent: Thomas E. Kingcade, Esquire

Post Office Box 2755

Palm Beach, Florida 33480

No appearance for the Florida Commission on Human Relations.

ISSUE

Whether Respondent Al Packer Ford, Inc. terminated the employment of Petitioner Woodrow Samuel on the basis of race, which is an unlawful employment practice pursuant to Section 23.167 (1)(a), Florida Statutes.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

The Petitioner, Woodrow Samuel, filed a Charge of Discrimination alleging that the Respondent, Al Packer Ford, Inc. discriminated against the Petitioner on the basis of race (Negro) in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as Amended. Pursuant to Section 706(c) of the Civil Rights Act the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission deferred the charge to the Florida Commission on Human Relations, which accepted jurisdiction pursuant to the Human Rights Act of 1977, as Amended. The Charge filed on or about October 25, 1978, alleged that the Respondent racially discriminated against the Petitioner by unlawfully terminating his employment on August 8, 1978. An investigation was conducted by the Florida Commission on Human Relations which filed a determination on February 21, 1980, stating that there was reasonable

cause to believe that Al Packer Ford, Inc. committed an unlawful employment practice. The Commission filed a Notice of Failure Conciliation on April 30, 1980, which resulted in the Petitioner's filing of his Petition for Relief on May 22, 1980. The Commission requested the Division of Administrative Hearings to hold a formal hearing by "Transmittal of Petition" dated June 6, 1980.

Prior to the scheduled hearing, the Florida Commission on Human Relations notified the Hearing Officer that it would not participate in the hearing.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. Petitioner was discharged from his employment on August 8, 1978 and believes that his discharge was because he is black.

   
   

2. Petitioner was hired on April 4, 1978 by the Service Manager for Respondent corporation who had been his supervisor at Dominion Chevrolet in Richmond, Virginia. Petitioner was employed as a quick service mechanic and worked for approximately three (3) monthe. During that time Petitioner's Production was low and at least on two (2) occasions made serious errors in servicing customers automobiles. Once he failed to put in oil, and once he failed to replace brake slices. He received a warning from his employer but was not discharged. Thereafter he was transferred to the Okeechobee Road Used Car Lot as a Lot Man. There he had the opportunity to make more money under a pay plan which did not depend on mechanical work by the job. After two (2) weeks he was transferred to the Respondent's main used car lot on Military Trail under the supervision of George Mills, and his salary was increased by forty (40) dollars per week.

   
   

3. Prior to Petitioner's discharge Petitioner's immediate supervisor, George Mills, was on vacation. During this period Petitioner took a used Cadillac for his personal use from the lot in West Palm Beach and drove it to Miami for the weekend. Petitioner had not been authorized by Mills or by anyone else to use the Cadillac, according to the testimony of Mills which is more credible then the testimony of Petitioner. Mills learned of the use of the car by Petitioner after his return from vacation and after it had been scheduled for repairs. Mills stated that Petitioner had been warned not to use vehicles for his private use and, when he learned of the use of the Cadillac, terminated his employment and told him why. Petitioner appealed to his original employer, George Hollifield, who then was the supervisor of Petitioner's direct supervisor, for reemployment but was refused.

   
   

4. Use of vehicles from the used car lot by employees of Respondent is allowed as a general company policy only upon specific authorization. A witness, another black man, had seen Petitioner use vehicles on occasion from the lot but did not know whether the use was authorized.

   
   

5. About 10 percent of the employees of Respondent are Hispanic or Black, and the stated policy of the business is to employ competent people to make money for the corporation, and race is not a factor or consideration.

   
   

6. Petitioner Samuel and Respondent submitted proposed findings of fact, memoranda of law and proposed recommended orders. These instruments were considered in the writing of this order. To the extent the proposed findings of fact have not been adopted in or are inconsistent with factual findings in this order, they have been specifically rejected as being irrelevant or not having been supported by the evidence.

   CONCLUSIONS OF LAW

   
   

7. The Division of Administrative Hearings has jurisdiction of this matter and the parties thereto pursuant to Section 120.57, Florida Statutes.

   
   

8. Section 23.167 Unlawful employment practices; remedies; construction. provides:

   
   

   1. It is an unlawful employment practice for an employer:

      1. To discharge or to fail or refuse to hire any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, condi- tions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicap, or marital status.

         
         

9. The Respondent corporation, Al Packer Ford, did not violate the foregoing statute by discharging Petitioner Woodrow Samuel from his employment because of his race or color. The discharge was based on factors other than prohibited by the foregoing statute as shown in the foregoing Findings of Fact.

RECOMMENDATION

Based on the foregoing Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law the Hearing Officer recommends that the complaint and petition he dismissed by the Florida Commission on Human Relations.

DONE and ORDERED this 1st day of October, 1980, in Tallahassee, Leon County, Florida.

DELPHENE C. STRICKLAND

Hearing Officer

Division of Administrative Hearings Room 101, Collins Building Tallahassee, Florida 32301

(904) 488-9675

COPIES FURNISHED:

Franklin G. Callas, Esquire

125 Worth Avenue, Suite 308 Palm Beach, Florida 33480

Norman A. Jackson, Executive Director Florida Commission on Human Relations Suite 100, Montgomery Building

2652 Executive Center Circle, East Tallahassee, Florida 32301

Thomas E. Kingcade, Esquire Post Office Box 2755

Palm Beach, Florida 33480

Mr. Al Packer

Al Packer Ford, Inc.

1530 North Military Trail

West Palm Beach, Florida 33403

Docket for Case No: 80-001053

Orders for Case No: 80-001053