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Wal-Mart Gets OK for $17.5M Settlement of Race-Bias Claims

By LINDA COADY, ESQ., Andrews Publications Staff Writer

A federal judge in Arkansas has given final approval for Wal-Mart's plan to pay $17.5 million to settle a race discrimination lawsuit brought by black applicants rejected for truck driver positions.

When asked for comment, Wal-Mart referred callers to a news release issued in February after the settlement was first announced.

"We are implementing improvements to our transportation division's recruitment, selection and personnel systems and believe they will be an integral part of our commitment to diversity," the company said in its Feb. 20 news release.

The lawsuit began in 2004, when Daryal Nelson filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas after he unsuccessfully applied for a job with Wal-Mart as an over-the-road truck driver.

He said Wal-Mart discriminates against blacks when hiring for OTR driver positions in violation of federal civil rights laws.

Those statutes protect a number of rights, including the right to make and enforce contracts. Courts have found that the laws prohibit race discrimination in hiring and employment.

Nelson's class-action suit was consolidated with another case in 2005. The amended complaint alleged disparate treatment and disparate impact and asked the court to award back pay, front pay, injunctive relief and punitive damages.

U.S. District Judge William Wilson certified a class of about 4,500 plaintiffs nationwide and designated two subclasses: all black applicants for OTR truck driving positions at Wal-Mart who had been rejected since Sept. 22, 2001, and all blacks who had been "deterred or thwarted" from applying for those positions because of their race.

After participating in settlement and mediation sessions held last winter, the plaintiffs and Wal-Mart decided to settle the claims.

In addition to the monetary award, Wal-Mart agreed to, among other things:

Establish priority job placements at 13 transportation offices for 23 eligible class members; Set benchmark hiring goals; Hire a diversity recruiter at its transportation department; and Provide training to employees involved in hiring and recruitment. The company must also submit to monitoring and reporting of its compliance with the settlement terms for four years after the benchmark program is established, according to the agreement. To comment, ask questions or contribute articles, contact West.Andrews.Editor@ThomsonReuters.com. The plaintiffs were represented by Morgan Welch of Welch & Kitchens in North Little Rock, Ark.; John Walker in Little Rock, Ark.; and Hank Bates of Carney, Williams, Bates, Bozeman & Pulliam in Little Rock.Counsel for Wal-Mart were Philip Kaplan and JoAnn Maxey of Williams & Anderson in Little Rock; Lawrence DiNardo, Elizabeth McRee and Monica McCullough of Jones Day in Chicago; and Richard Deane of the firm's Atlanta office.