Background
Shannon Bazemore, appearing pro se, filed a complaint alleging that the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 1475 discriminated against her and other African American members based on race in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. She alleged that the union engaged in disparate employment practices, including a segregated work list and changing seniority rules to prevent African American members from obtaining AA seniority status. Bazemore claimed the union implemented a waiver under duress and that a text message from a white union member indicated a conspiracy to block African American members from advancing. The district court dismissed the complaint for failure to exhaust administrative remedies and failure to state a claim.
The court’s reasoning
The Eleventh Circuit reviewed the dismissal de novo. Regarding exhaustion, the court found that the discrete acts Bazemore challenged, including the September 2021 waiver and the October 2021 Memorandum of Understanding, occurred more than 180 days before she filed her EEOC charge. The court concluded that the continuing violation doctrine did not apply because the acts were not part of an ongoing unlawful practice that violated her rights on a repeated basis. Regarding the merits, the court held that the facts asserted, taken as true, did not suggest intentional racial discrimination. The seniority plan changes were race-neutral and applied to white members as well. The text message from Jimmy Gunby did not mention race and could not reasonably be inferred as referencing race. Furthermore, the complaint failed to allege facts sufficient to support a hostile work environment claim because the single text message was not pervasive and did not alter the terms and conditions of employment.
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces the strict 180-day filing deadline for EEOC charges in Georgia and clarifies that race-neutral seniority classifications applied uniformly do not constitute racial discrimination. It also sets a high bar for inferring racial animus from informal communications between union members.