24 Pa. Commw. 455 | Pa. Commw. Ct. | 1976
Opinion by
The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (Commission) has, in this action, petitioned the Court to enforce an order of the Commission which directs the St. Joe Minerals Corporation, Zinc Smelting Division (St. Joe), the respondent, to answer written interrogatories issued during the course of an investigation of the Company. Before reaching the merits of the petition, however, it is necessary to set forth briefly the factual background.
On August 21, 1972, the Commission, acting on its own initiative, served St. Joe with a formal complaint charging the company with discriminatory practices in violation of Section 5 of the Pennsylvania Human Rela
The respondent contends that the Court lacks statutory authority to entertain the Commission’s petition and that in any event the interlocutory nature of the Commission’s order precludes enforcement at this time.
It must be remembered “that the power of an administrative agency must be sculptured precisely so that its operational figure strictly resembles its legislative model.” Community College of Delaware County v. Fox, 20 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 335, 351, 342 A.2d 468, 478 (1975); Zamantakis v. Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, 10 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 107, 308 A.2d 612 (1973). Here, Section 9 of the Act, 43 P. S. §959, provides, inter alia, that the Commission, upon its own initiative, may file a complaint “which shall state the name and address of the person, employer, labor organization or employment agency alleged to have committed the unlawful discriminatory practice complained of, and which shall set forth the particulars thereof. . . .” (Emphasis added.) The complaint held to be insufficient by this standard in United States Steel, supra, amounted to no more than an expanded restatement of Section 5(a) of the Act, 43 P. S. §955 (a) .
We must turn, therefore, to the question of whether or not the Commission has power to issue written interrogatories in the course of its investigation of the charges alleged in the Second Amended Complaint. It is clear under Section 7(g) of the Act, 43 P. S. §957 (g), that the Commission has the power to hold hearings, to subpoena witnesses and to compel the production of documents, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission v. Hansson, 17 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 161, 331 A.2d 255 (1975), but nowhere in the Act do we find provisions expressly au
In accordance with these views, therefore, we issue the following
Order
And, Now, this 13th day of May, 1976, the petition for enforcement of the Order of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission dated June 30, 1976 is hereby dismissed.
. Act of October 27, 1955, P. L. 744, as amended.
. See Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission v. United States Steel Corporation, 10 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 408, 311 A.2d 170 (1973) in which we further described the background to the “target” company investigations.
. Interrogatories had also been issued with the original complaint and these were simply an amended version of the same.
. Act of July 31, 1970, P. L. 673, as amended.
. The pertinent allegation of the complaint there involved reads:
“4. The Respondent has in the past and continues until the present time to maintain a discriminatory system of recruitment, hiring, training, employment, compensation, promotion, demotion, job assignment or placement, transfer, layoff, retention, referral, dismissal, rehire, retirement, and pensions, and has otherwise discriminated in the past and continues until the present time to discriminate regarding terms, conditions and*459 privileges of employment because of sex, race and national origin. This pattern and practice of discrimination is in violation of the applicable provision of Section 5 of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, Act of October 27, 1955, P.L. 744, as amended, 43 P.S. §951 et seq.”
. As is required prior to the self-initiation of a complaint by the Commission under Section 101.01 of its own regulations.