Navy did not show bias
in hiring, jury decides
A federal jury has found the Navy did not discriminate against a Pearl Harbor Shipyard manager who was passed over for a higher position in favor of a Caucasian from the mainland.
Ronald Obrey Jr., a native Hawaiian, had filed suit against the then-secretary of the Navy in January 2002, alleging there was a pattern and practice of hiring managers or persons from the mainland who were Caucasian, when there were qualified Asian-Pacific Islander candidates available.
Clayton Ikei, attorney for Obrey, said they intend to appeal.
Obrey said they had no case after visiting District Judge Manuel Real would not allow him to admit evidence showing race bias and other complaints of race discrimination in the Navy's hiring practices.
"We feel the judge committed reversible error when he denied evidence that the 9th Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court have upheld is admissible in employment cases," Ikei said.
The evidence included an e-mail written by then-Capt. Jeffrey Conners, commander of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility.
The e-mail talked about the Navy strategy in staffing senior civilian positions by seeking to "broaden the gene pool" by hiring mainland candidates, according to Ikei.
The evidence also included other complaints of discrimination alleging bias in hiring practices and evidence that senior managers admitted to bias, according to Ikei.
Ikei also tried to admit statistics that showed that between 1999 and 2000, nine of the senior managers hired were Caucasians.
Attorneys for the Navy had maintained that the selection for the position sought by Obrey was proper and that it tried to hire the best-qualified persons.
Jason Holm, spokesman for the shipyard, said the Navy is pleased with the verdict.
"We've always maintained that we have and will continue to hire the best available candidates," he said. "The plaintiff is a good employee, but in this case he simply was not the best-qualified applicant."
