[July 31, 2007] Nike Settles Lawsuit Over Racial Discrimination At Chicago Store For $7.6 Million Tweet (InvesTrend Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) July 31, 2007 (FinancialWire) Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) has reached a $7.6 million settlement in a class-action race discrimination lawsuit filed on behalf of 400 black employees of the company's Chicago Niketown store. The lawsuit, filed in 2003, claimed managers at the retail store used racial slurs to refer to black workers and customers. They also said the store segregated black employees into lower-paying jobs as stockroom workers and cashiers rather than giving them lucrative sales jobs. The lawsuit also alleged that managers made unfounded accusations of theft against black workers and directed store security to monitor black employees and customers because of their race. Nike has denied the allegations. Under the terms of the agreement, Nike Retail Services will pay $7.6 million to the current and former employees to resolve the claims. The lawsuit covers black employees who worked at the store from 1999 to the present. Nike must also make a host of other changes to address diversity, such as appointing a diversity consultant to monitor the Chicago store's compliance and a compliance officer at Nike's headquarters in Beaverton. The company must also add an ombudsperson at the store and conduct diversity training for all supervisors and managers there. Nike is required to review its human resources practice, create equal opportunity objectives for the store and review its theft-loss policies. It also will create a formal mentoring program for black employees. For up-to-the-minute news, features and links click on http://www.FinancialWire.net FinancialWire is an independent, proprietary news service of Investrend Information, a division of Investrend Communications, Inc. It is not a press release service and receives no compensation from any company for its news or opinions. Other divisions of Investrend, however, provide shareholder empowerment platforms such as forums, independent research and webcasting. For more information or to receive the FirstAlert daily summary of news, commentary, research reports, webcasts, events and conference calls, click on http://www.investrend.com/contact.asp For a free annual report on a company mentioned in the news, please click on http://investrend.ar.wilink.com/?level=279 To become an investor monitor of independent research for a company in which you are invested, go to the not-for-profit Shareholders Research Alliance, Inc. website by clicking on http://www.shareholdersresearch.com/ The FinancialWire NewsFeed is now available in multiple formats to your site or desktop, free. Click on: http://www.investrend.com/XmlFeeds?level=268 (Distributed for Investrend Communications, Inc. via M2 Communications Ltd (www.m2.com)) Copyright 2007 M2 Communications Ltd. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]