Black employees in class action suit against Boeing
Publish date: 31 January 2005
Issue Number: 1265
Diary: Legalbrief Today
Category: Labour
A US District Court in Seattle has given the go-ahead for 15 000 black employees to launch a class action discrimination lawsuit against Boeing Co.
The suit, reports The Washington Post, was filed in 1998 and alleges that Chicago-based Boeing\'s policies give local managers too much power in determining promotions and salaries, fostering discrimination. The suit also alleges that the aerospace giant, which has faced other suits in the past, knew black employees were being discriminated against receiving lower pay and fewer promotions than their counterparts but did not intervene. The suit seeks back pay and punitive damages. In her ruling, Judge Marsha Pechman rejected Boeing\'s arguments, including one that many of the employees covered by the suit no longer worked at the company. Full report in The Washington Post