Sheet Metal Union Settles Discrimination Suit (6.2 million to compensate 156 minority workers)

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Wall Street Journal

By KRIS MAHER

A union in New York has agreed to pay a $6.2 million partial settlement to compensate black and Hispanic sheet metal workers who suffered discrimination by the union.

The settlement would compensate 156 minority workers of the Sheet Metal Workers International Association Local 28 in New York for lost wages between 1984 and 1991, as a result of being referred to fewer job opportunities.

The agreement between the union and groups representing the workers stems from a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

"It's a historic event because sheet metal workers in the New York area were for such a long time denied equal access to employment opportunities," said Jyotin Hamid, a partner with Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, which acted as co-counsel for the class of workers.

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