Compliance July 31, 2007

Nike Settles Discrimination Charges for $7.6M

July 31, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Nike Inc. has agreed to a $7.6 million settlement in a class action case charging the company with racial discrimination at one of its stores in Chicago, according to Business Insurance.
Reported by

Four-hundred African American current and former employees claimed in the suit that the company:

  • Segregated its black employees into its lower-level and lowest-paying jobs;
  • Denied them equal opportunities for promotions and attractive positions;
  • Applied workplace rules and meted out discipline in a racially-biased manner; and
  • Routinely denied minorities employee benefits by predominantly hiring them into part-time rather than full-time positions.

The suit was originally filed in December 2003 and was granted class action in March 2006 by a federal court in Chicago, Business Insurance reported.

In addition to the $7.6 million, Nike also agreed to a court-appointed diversity consultant to monitor the firm and periodically report to the court, and to the appointment of a compliance officer at Nike’s headquarters.

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