GM Bias Suit Settlement OKd

A federal judge Tuesday approved a settlement of a 6-year-old racial discrimination suit against General Motors Corp. that requires the auto maker to pay up to $3 million.

The suit claimed that GM discriminated against nearly 10,000 salaried black employees in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana in its promotion, wage, transfer and layoff policies. Of those, about 7,000 still work for GM.

After years of legal wrangling, attorneys for GM and the employees reached an agreement last Oct. 21.

The decree calls on GM to pay between $1 million and $1.6 million to about 2,800 former employees, depending on the number of claims filed. GM also will pay about $1 million in salary increases immediately to about 1,000 current employees. Eighty-eight individual plaintiffs and witnesses will split about $322,500 in one-time payments.

The settlement also establishes a system to monitor discretionary pay raises and promotions for five years based on computer models. That portion of the agreement has the potential of being the most beneficial, said attorney Dennis James, who represented the employees.

“We think that’s where the vast benefit comes in,” he said. “It will affect a substantial increase in black salaried promotions compared to the past patterns.”

GM spokesman John Mueller said company officials had not seen the order. However, he said the agreement “provides the opportunity to redress some perceived inequities and strengthens GM’s existing systems to ensure all employees receive equitable treatment.”