Norfolk Southern pays $28M to settle discrimination case

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 2/1/2001

The Norfolk Southern Railroad has settled a class-action lawsuit over alleged racial discrimination in promotions by agreeing to pay damages to the plaintiffs. The agreement comes after two years of mediation of a 1993 case that was filed by an employee and was certified as a class action in 1997.

The agreement provides for a $28 million payment to 7,700 African-Americans who have worked for NS since Dec. 16, 1989, and their attorneys. NS has also agreed to establish good-faith goals for the promotion of African-Americans to management-level jobs within the company during the four-year term of the consent decree.

Both sides say they are satisfied with the agreement. David R. Goode, chairman, president, and CEO of Norfolk Southern, says, "The agreement builds on our continuing commitment to provide a workplace in which all people are treated fairly and given equal opportunity." Carol Moore, the lead plaintiff, says, "I am pleased that Norfolk Southern has agreed to take aggressive measures to prevent discrimination against its African-American employees in the future."

NS has agreed to improve its procedures for identifying, training, and selecting job-promotion candidates. The railroad also has agreed to name a major railroad facility for a prominent African-American involved in the civil rights movement or the rail industry. Thomas Mullenix, NS's vice president of human resources, says the company has earmarked $2.6 million in this year's budget to implement the new procedures.