All Texaco employees who joined in class-action suit agree to settlement

Jet, March 24, 1997

All of the 1,342 Black Texaco employees who were named in the class-action discrimination suit against the giant oil company have apparently agreed to settle.

All past and current employees named in the suit had until recently to notify the company by mail that they would opt out of the settlement, which would give them the right to sue separately. None had done so by the deadline, according to plaintiff lawyer Dan Berger.

Texaco agreed to settle the race discrimination case for a landmark $175 million after a recording of a company meeting was made public (JET, Dec. 2, 1996). Executives of the company were recorded belittling Blacks and suggesting that papers related to the lawsuit be destroyed.

Of the total amount, $115 million is to be paid directly to salaried Black employees who worked for the company between 1991 and 1996. The average amount each worker will receive is about $60,000. The amount is dependent on the length of employment. Those who initiated the lawsuit are expected to get more.