Beale

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Plaintiffs filed suit against Defendant alleging discrimination on the basis of gender, age, race, and national origin, stemming from their layoffs from employment with Defendant. Defendant filed a Motion to Dismiss or, in the Alternative, for Summary Judgment, claiming that Plaintiffs’ claims were preempted by the Labor Management Relations Act (“LMRA”), were time-barred for failure to exhaust administrative remedies, and that Plaintiffs had failed to make a prima facie showing of disparate treatment or impact. The Court held' oral argument on Defendant’s motion on August 30, 1996. At the hearing, the Court informed the parties that it would construe the motion as one for sunu mary judgment in the interests of efficient judicial administration, especially given the prior passage of the discovery cut-off date and the submitted evidentiary materials. In addition, the Court permitted limited additional discovery on Plaintiffs’ gender and age discrimination claims and allowed the parties to file additional briefs on these issues. The parties did so, each filing supplemental briefs and evidentiary material on September 27, 1996.…