Boeing Works Out Settlement in Gender Discrimination Case

The suit alleged that before 2000, female employees started at lower wages than men, continued to earn less with every percentage-based pay increase, and were denied job training and promotions, according to a Seattle Times report.

Still unresolved are the nonfinancial issues in the case, according to a  statement from Boeing. The two sides agreed to take up to 45 days to finish talks on those issues, which may include changes to company policies and employment practices.

The settlement covers only state of Washington workers, and not the women in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who brought a separate class-action suit against Boeing, the newspaper reported.

Beck v. Boeing would have been the largest gender-bias case to go to trial in the United States.The 12 named plaintiffs, whose jobs ranged from janitor to corporate sales representative, were suing for unspecified back pay and punitive damages. The company has maintained that the allegations of bias are unfounded.

A separate class-action discrimination suit against Boeing, this one brought by 1,850 Asian engineers and technical workers, is still slated to go to trial before U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik on Monday in Seattle.