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Ford Motor Co, UAW to Pay $1.6 Million for Discrimination

April 2nd, 2008 Posted by Amelia

The EEOC recently announced that the Ford Motor Company will pay $1.6 million to nearly 700 African American employees to settle a major class-action race discrimination suit.

In litigation, the EEOC argued that a written test used by Ford, Visteon and Automotive Components Holdings to determine the eligibility of applicants for an apprenticeship program, had a disproportionately negative effect on African Americans.

Two related companies, as well as the National United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Works of American, or UAW, were defendants in the case with Ford. That’s because the written test was used primarily to screen apprentices in the Ford-UAW Joint Apprenticeship Program.

In order to show race discrimination, the EEOC need not present evidence that the employer intended to discriminate against a protected group. Instead, the EEOC merely has to show that an action by the employer had a greater negative impact on a protected group.

Under the agreement, about 700 African Americans nationwide who have taken the test since January 1, 1997 and were not selected as apprentices at the former Visteon facility, will be entitled to compensation.

In addition, 55 African Americans who took the test will be placed on the apprentice lists. A jointly selected expert will develop a new selection method for the apprenticeship program. The same expert will develop detailed monotoring and reporting procedures.

“We are pleased this settlement will address the serious problem of selection criteria that result in racial minorities receiving fewer job opportunities,” said EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp. “Apprenticeship programs are a ladder to skilled, high-paying jobs and every group should be able to climb that ladder based on genuine abilities.”

This suit is a successor case to the earlier EEOC suit against Ford and UAW which was settled for $8.5 million in 2005 and covers additional people disadvantaged by the test who were not covered in that settlement.

“The EEOC is pleased to have been able to work cooperatively with Ford and the UAW in reaching a mutually satisfactory resolution to this matter,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Jacqueline McNair. “Employers must consider how all aspects of selection processes including written tests may adversely impact members of a particular demographic group.”

In the past 2 years, the EEOC or Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has initiated lawsuits against some high-profile companies, including Target, Walgreens and Nike.

In 2006, the EEOC received 27,238 complaints alleging race-based discrimination, accounting for 36 percent of the agency’s complaints in the private sector. Historically, race-based charges are the most frequent type of filing with EEOC offices nationwide.

The EEOC has pursued a number of high-profile discrimination cases in the past 2 years.

In 2007, Nike settled a race discrimination suit for its Chicago, Illinois Niketown location. The company paid $7.6 million to about 400 African-American employees. The EEOC alleged that Nike hired African-American employees only for part-time jobs as stock clerks and cashiers, and systematically denied them the opportunity to be promoted into higher-paying management and sales positions.

The suit also alleged that African-American employees were searched when leaving the building, while Caucasian employees were not. Black employees also received lower wages, and benefits, were disciplined more severely for attendance problems and other infractions, and failed to receive the employee discount given to others.

These charges are especially ironic, considering that a major portion of Nike’s advertising uses prominent black athletes like Michael Jordon and Kobe Bryant to sell athletic shoes and apparel to young black men.

This is just one in a series of settlements for race discrimination last year.

Walgreen settled a suit by paying $20 million to employees. The suit alleged that the nation’s largest drugstore retailer limited opportunity for African-American pharmacists and managers by assigning them only to underperforming stores in predominantly black neighborhoods.

All of the companies mentioned in this article deny any wrongdoing.