On May 9, 2001, several former and current African-American employees of Xerox filed a lawsuit against the company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Represented by private counsel, the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit on behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, alleging that Xerox engaged in a pattern and practice of racial discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.) and the 1991 Civil Rights Act (42 U.S.C. § 1981a et seq.). Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that Xerox (1) assigned black sales employees to inferior sales territories, (2) refused to promote or transfer them to more lucrative territories, (3) denied them commissions they had earned, and (4) retaliated against black sales employees who attempted to assert their civil rights. The plaintiffs sought injunctive relief, back pay, front pay, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorneys' fees.

On March 16, 2007, the parties filed a Proposed Consent Decree, which the Court (Judge John Gleeson) approved via an Order and Final Judgment on September 19, 2008. For the purposes of the settlement, the Court certified a class comprising of "African Americans who are or were employed by Xerox in a Sales Representative position with USCO, XBS or NASG, or their successor organizations, at any time from February 1, 1997 through April 3, 2008 holding a quota-bearing Sales Territory assignment and who are or were part of the commissioned sales workforce."

Under the Consent Decree, Xerox agreed to create a task force comprised of Xerox personnel that was designed to evaluate the existence of racially-based disparities with respect to compensation, assignments, and other work conditions. Subsequently, the task force would draft a list of recommendations, which Xerox would then be required to implement. In addition to providing this injunctive relief, Xerox was required to pay $12 million dollars in monetary relief through the establishment of a settlement fund. Class members received compensatory damages through this fund, and the plaintiffs' attorneys' fees were also paid out of this fund. Likewise, each of the named plaintiffs received incentive awards of $5,000 that were paid out of the Settlement Fund. Under its stated terms, the consent decree remained in effect for three years. The case is now closed.

Jordan Rossen - 01/17/2014


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