## Facts

- KCOH, Inc. operated a Houston radio station with black-oriented programming and a longstanding practice of using only Black disc jockeys.
- Clarence Chaline, Jr., a white male with extensive radio experience, was hired in 1979 as production manager, responsible for producing and coordinating commercials and announcements; he did not work as a disc jockey.
- After declining ratings and billings, KCOH’s general manager, Michael P. Petrizzo, decided to merge the production manager job with part-time disc jockey duties to reduce costs.
- Petrizzo asked Chaline to move into sales at reduced pay; Chaline objected and asked to remain in production with added part-time disc jockey duties.
- Chaline’s employment was terminated after he refused the sales transfer.
- Don Samuels, a Black male and known disc jockey, had auditioned for the combined production manager/part-time disc jockey role and assumed that position after Chaline’s discharge.
- Chaline alleged KCOH discharged him and excluded him from the combined role because of his race, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981.

## Issues

1. Whether the district court clearly erred in finding that KCOH discharged Chaline and bypassed him for the combined production manager/part-time disc jockey position because of race, violating 42 U.S.C. § 1981.
2. Whether the district court properly awarded back pay and ordered reinstatement as production manager.

## Decision

- The Fifth Circuit affirmed the judgment for Chaline.
- The court held the district court’s finding of intentional race discrimination under § 1981 was not clearly erroneous.
- The court upheld the remedies of back pay (subject to offsets for interim earnings) and reinstatement as production manager.

## Legal Principles

- 42 U.S.C. § 1981 prohibits intentional race discrimination in employment contracting and protects individuals of any race, including white employees.
- In a bench-tried discrimination case, appellate review of intent and causation findings is highly deferential; reversal is warranted only if the findings are clearly erroneous.
- An employer’s consistent practice of staffing particular positions with only one race may support an inference of discriminatory motive when coupled with an adverse action tied to job restructuring.
- Back pay is a favored make-whole remedy for unlawful race discrimination, ordinarily calculated from discharge to judgment with mitigation offsets.
- Reinstatement is a standard equitable remedy to eliminate ongoing effects of discrimination and may be denied only when impracticable or inequitable on the record.

## Conclusion

The Fifth Circuit sustained the district court’s determination that KCOH intentionally discriminated on the basis of race when it terminated a white production manager in connection with creating a combined production manager/disc jockey role, and it affirmed back pay and reinstatement as appropriate relief under § 1981.


Chaline v. KCOH, Inc., 693 F.2d 477 (5th Cir. 1982)