Texaco Accused of Defying Settlement

Texaco Inc. faces accusations of defying a 1997 settlement with the U.S. government by refusing to submit black employees’ claims of racial discrimination to arbitration. A group of 25 black oil field workers last week asked U.S. District Judge Charles L. Brieant in White Plains, N.Y., to make Texaco honor the settlement, their lawyer Bob Weininger said. Brieant, who presided over the litigation, must decide whether Texaco’s agreement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission covers hourly workers, not just salaried employees. The third-largest U.S. oil company agreed in 1996 to pay $176 million to settle a private racial discrimination lawsuit. Not long after that, Texaco promised the EEOC it would establish a dispute-resolution program to address employees’ claims of racial bias. The settlement did not include hourly workers, who are protected under their union’s collective-bargaining agreement, company spokesman Chris Gidez said. Last month, Chevron Corp. agreed to buy Texaco for about $45 billion. Texaco shares rose 50 cents to close at $61.44 on the NYSE.