IBM Reaches Out-of-Court Settlement in Bias Lawsuit

A former IBM executive who says he was denied a promotion because he is black, then was put under surveillance and eventually fired after he complained, reached an out-of-court settlement with the computer giant Monday.

Bernard C. Duse Jr., 51, whose 1984 lawsuit sought unspecified damages, said both sides were barred from disclosing terms of the settlement, reached as jury selection was to begin in U.S. District Court.

“I’m satisfied and I would assume IBM is,” Duse said.

John Boudreaux, a spokesman for International Business Machines Corp., said IBM admitted no liability.

Duse, 51, charged that IBM, its former chief executive and six other former or current high-level IBM officials denied him an important promotion in 1983 because he is black.

He also charged that they retaliated against him because of his claim of racial bias by getting a female employee to falsely accuse him of sexual harassment, undertaking a major surveillance effort, accusing him of being mentally unstable and taking other steps to try to force him to resign.