article: On November 4, 1998 plaintiffs, a group of eight black employees and one Asian employee of a Sears store in Little Rock, Arkansas, filed suit against Sears, Roebuck and Co. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas alleging that the defendant had unlawfully discriminated against them on the basis of race in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981, Title VII (42 U.S.C. § 2000e), and state law. The complaint stemmed from an allegation of unequal pay but included other related allegations. Specifically the employees alleged disparate treatment and disparate impact in terms of pay, training, placement, transfer, and promotion. They sought a declaratory judgment, a permanent injunction, damages, and costs and fees. On July 3, 2000 the district court (Judge Susan Webber Wright) denied the defendant's motion for summary judgment on the individual claims of each plaintiff and granted the plaintiffs' motion for class certification as modified by the court. The class was comprised of current and former non-white hourly employees of the Sears store in question from November 4, 1995 for the disparate treatment claims and from November 4, 1997 for the disparate impact claims. The parties thereafter pursued settlement negotiations and on May 17, 2001 the court (Judge Wright) granted preliminary approval to their agreement. The settlement provided for injunctive relief and damages. The defendant agreed to hold a job fair for all class members, modify its hiring and promotion procedures, modify its evaluation and employee recordkeeping protocols, and monitor its compliance with the settlement and report to the court and class counsel. Class members were awarded a total of $1,142,000.00 and defendant agreed to pay attorney's fees of costs of $417,717.00. The case terminated on August 17, 2001 when the court (Judge Wright) granted final approval to the settlement agreement.
summary: On November 4, 1998 plaintiffs, a group of eight black employees and one Asian employee of a Sears store in Little Rock, AR, filed suit against Sears, Roebuck and Co. in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas alleging that the defendant had unlawfully discriminated against them on the basis of race. Specifically they alleged disparate treatment and disparate impact in terms of pay, training, placement, transfer, and promotion. On July 3, 2000 the district court denied the defendant's motion for summary judgment and granted the plaintiffs' motion for class certification. The case terminated on August 17, 2001 when the court approved a settlement agreement. The settlement required the defendant to implement various protocols to prevent discrimination and awarded the class $1,142,000.00 plus $417,717.00 for attorney's fees.