Online Exclusive
Judge Approves $24 Million Walgreen Settlement
U.S. District Judge G. Patrick Murphy approved a $24 million settlement in a federal lawsuit accusing Walgreen Co. of racial bias.
Roughly 10,000 past and present black Walgreen workers will split $20 million under the consent decree Murphy approved March 24. Attorneys involved in the case will share about $4.5 million in fees separate from the settlement amount.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the lawsuit in March 2007, accusing the Deerfield, Ill.-based retailer of discriminating against thousands of black workers in hiring and assignment decisions. The lawsuits allege Walgreen assigns black managers, management trainees and pharmacists to low-performing stores and to stores in black communities, and denies them promotions based on race.
The settlement resolves the EEOC’s litigation and a private class-action lawsuit filed in June 2005 on behalf of 14 current and former black Walgreen workers. Those cases were consolidated in April 2007.
Click here to read a 7th Circuit article covering one of the discrimination lawsuits against Walgreen.
Walgreen denied any wrongdoing. “We do not tolerate discrimination in any aspect of employment,” spokeswoman Tiffani Bruce said in a statement.
The decree also requires Walgreen to hire outside consultants to review and make recommendations about the chain’s employment practices, including standardized, nondiscriminatory promotions, promotional benchmarks, store assignments and procedures.
