Lawsuit settled between Ford and UAW

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has settled a lawsuit against the United Auto Workers (UAW), the Ford Motor Company and two related companies. Ford and its co-defendants will pay $1.6 million in the settlement of a racial discrimination lawsuit over a written test that determined the eligibility for a skilled trades apprenticeship program. In addition the companies will “provide other relief.”

The suit was part of a series of cases begun in 1998 in Cincinnati. In an earlier suit, Ford and the UAW also agreed to payout, in this case $9.2 million covering 3,400 people. The latest settlement accounts for people who were not included in the earlier settlement. The cases were filed in Cincinnati because complaints were generated at plants in Sharonville and Batavia.

The suit alleges that a written test administered at that time was discriminatory against blacks.

Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley denies that the test was discriminatory but it wants to move forward. “[The test] was approved by EEOC when it was developed,” said Kinley. “However, Ford favors the settlement because it is in the company’s and the public’s best interest to work toward developing the best possible test.”

Yesterday’s settlement of $1.6 million goes to the 700 people nationwide who have taken the test (and been denied by its results) since Jan. 1, 1997. The settlement awaits final approval by Cincinnati U.S. District Court Judge S. Arthur Spiegel following a fairness hearing.