Eldredge

Twenty-one years and three appeals ago, Linda Eldredge brought this class action against the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (“JATC”), alleging that the method it used to select carpentry apprentices had an impermissible disparate impact upon female applicants. Nine years ago, we agreed and remanded for a trial on remedies. Eldredge v. Carpenters 46 Northern Cal. Counties Joint Apprenticeship & Training Comm., 833 F.2d 1334 , 1341 (9th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 487 U.S. 1210 , 108 S.Ct. 2857 , 101 L.Ed.2d 894 (1988). Now, the plaintiff class appeals the district court’s remedial order, arguing it will actually reduce opportunity for women who seek to enter the apprenticeship program rather than afford increased access. Because the remedies adopted by the district court are unlawful, inadequate, and contrary to the principles we set forth in Eldredge IV, 1 we reverse and remand with instructions to adopt adequate remedies.

I. FACTS AND PRIOR PROCEEDINGS

The JATC is a joint labor-management committee, established pursuant to a trust agreement, that administers a carpentry apprenticeship program in Northern California. The four-year program combines classroom training…