Oliver v. Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Co.

The appellants, Charles W. Oliver and his wife, Linda L. Oliver, brought an employment discrimina tion suit against the respondent, Pacific Northwest Bell Telephone Company (PNB), alleging that a company-wide policy which subjected employees to disciplinary proceedings for dishonest acts committed outside of employment was discriminatory because it had a disproportionate impact upon black employees. The trial court granted a directed verdict in favor of PNB, ruling that the disparate impact analysis was inapplicable to the present facts, and even if it did apply, the Olivers had failed to…