The agreement, the second reached in the lawsuit, is intended to settle the claims of about 2,400 employees and more than 100,000 applicants in a class action brought under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Reynolds is still with the department as a district engineer. But the settlement agreement, if approved, will not bring the entire case to an end. The claims of another class, made up of non-black employees, are still pending. The non-black class challenged the effect of a 1994 consent decree.
Intervenors seek race-neutral remedies.
The class of non-black intervenors was formed after entry of a 1994 consent decree that required the department to change its hiring and promotion policies and practices. Under the new settlement, the state would have a year to establish the procedures it agreed to in 1994. The new mediation agreement between the black plain tiffs and the state provides for delays in administering tests for promotions, Clark explained. But the non-black intervenors oppose such delays, he said. Long history of litigation.