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Claims sting oil industry
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November 20, 1996: 8:52 a.m. ET
Discrimination allegations are becoming increasingly commonplace
From Correspondent Irv Chapman
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WASHINGTON (CNNfn) - Texaco's $176 million discrimination settlement may have been the most expensive payout of its kind, but Texaco is far from being alone in either the oil industry or business in general.
Texaco last week reached an agreement with a group of African American employees who said they were denied promotions. In addition to Texaco, lawsuits have been filed against Shell Oil by employees in Texas and California.
African Americans with 10-15 years of experience say they were denied promotions at Shell based on their race.
Earlier this month, Chevron paid an estimated $8 million to 800 female employees who charged they were passed over for promotions.
Big oil has been notably vulnerable. Experts say it's partly because top executives tend to climb the ladder from refinery jobs in what some call an "old-boy" system.
"If you're on a professional track or a corporate track, you'll be transferred perhaps to another refinery, do a stint at corporate headquarters or to a marketing center.
"It really is an insular, self-contained, almost self-perpetuating culture," said Lawrence Lorber an attorney with Verner Liipfert.
Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, said the oil industry is far from unique. Dozens of well-known companies have been hit with discrimination lawsuits. (144K WAV) or (144K AIFF)
Those lawsuits have caused companies to take notice and commit to diversifying the workplace. An example is State Farm Insurance, where women have made up half of the new agents hired since the company settled a sex discrimination case in 1992 for nearly $200 million.
Supermarket chain Lucky Stores agreed to stop restricting women to non-management track jobs. Publix markets also faces a similar suit as does Home Depot.
Among restaurants, Shoney's agreed to give African Americans better than entry-level jobs. Denny's brought in more African American managers after one store was sued for discriminating against African American customers.
The number of court cases soared after Congress changed the law five years ago to allow damages of up to $300,000 per employee to be awarded. Prior to that, litigants were eligible for only back pay which often meant successful plaintiffs received less money than it cost them to bring the suit in the first place.
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