Piggly Wiggly Grocery Store Chain Settles Four-State Racial Bias Suit for $9 Million

A 1987 class action racial discrimination suit filed against Dixieland Food Stores in four states has been settled for $9 million, attorneys say.

An attorney for the plaintiffs, Kent Spriggs of Tallahassee, Fla., said Thursday that the settlement was reached in a lawsuit against a large group of Piggly Wiggly stores in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

The settlement, approved March 20 by U.S. District Judge Harold Albritton of Montgomery, includes an order requiring the company to hire blacks in 30% to 33% of its management positions within five years.

Following the settlement, Dixieland Food Stores sold its assets and changed its corporate name to D.L. Food Stores, according to court records.

The $9 million in back pay and damages will be paid to about 1,000 blacks, including those “who are or have been employed by, or who have sought to be employed by D.L. Food Stores at any time from Aug. 7, 1981, through May 20, 1990,” the settlement said.