EEOC
And Walgreens Resolve Lawsuit
Washington,
D.C. (BlackNews.com) - Naomi C. Earp, Chair of the U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), today announced
a $20 million proposed consent decree resolving a systemic
race discrimination lawsuit against Walgreens, the Illinois-based
national drug store chain.
The proposed
settlement was filed with U.S. District Judge G. Patrick Murphy
of the Southern District of Illinois, with a request for his
preliminary approval (EEOC v. Walgreen Co., S.D. Il. 07-CV-172-GPM
and Tucker v. Walgreen Co., S.D. Il. 05-CV-440-GPM). The EEOC's
suit alleged that Walgreens discriminated against African
American retail management and pharmacy employees in promotion,
compensation and assignment. In addition to the monetary relief
for an estimated 10,000 class members, the consent decree
prohibits store assignments based on race. The decree is subject
to final approval by Judge Murphy following a fairness hearing.
|
"We commend Walgreens for working cooperatively with us
to reach an amicable settlement of this case without protracted
litigation," EEOC Chair Earp said. "We believe this is
a satisfactory resolution for all parties".
A lawsuit alleging similar claims was filed in the U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
in June 2005 on behalf of 14 African American current
and former Walgreens' employees by Foland, Wickens,
Eisfelder, Roper & Hofer, Kansas City, Mo.; Spriggs
Law Firm, Tallahassee, Fla.; and Goldstein, Demchak,
Baller, Borgen & Dardarian, Oakland, Calif. Walgreens
denied each of the allegations made by the private plaintiffs
and the EEOC. The two cases were consolidated in April
2007.
Walgreens' CEO, Jeffrey A. Rein, said, "We are pleased
to reach a resolution that is consistent with our past
and future diversity and equal opportunity objectives.
Our company was built on principles of fairness and
equality, and we do not tolerate discrimination in any
aspect of employment including store assignment, compensation
and promotion opportunities. In fact, we're a drugstore
industry leader when it comes to the employment and
promotion of African American managers and pharmacists".
Private plaintiffs' counsel, Tiffany B. Klosener of
Foland, Wickens, Eisfelder, Roper & Hofer, said, "Walgreens
is a rapidly growing company with lots of opportunity
for its employees. We look forward to working with Walgreens
to promote fair and equal employment opportunities for
all employees".
About The EEOC
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment
discrimination. On February 28, 2007, EEOC Chair Earp
launched the agency E-RACE Initiative (Eradicating Racism
And Colorism from Employment), a national outreach,
education, and enforcement campaign focusing on new
and emerging race and color issues in the 21st century
workplace. Further information about the E-RACE Initiative
is available on the EEOC's web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/initiatives/e-race/index.html.
Further information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.
CONTACT:
For EEOC
David Grinberg
(202) 663-4191
TTY: (202) 663-4494 For
Walgreens
Laurie Meyer
(847) 914-2920
For
Private Plaintiffs
Tiffany B. Klosener
Amy Coopman
W. James Foland
(816) 472-7474
Teresa Demchak
Morris J. Baller
(510) 763-9800
Kent Spriggs
(850) 224-8700
|
|
|
Email
This Article To A Friend
