On June 24, 2005, a job applicant who was rejected by defendant because she did not have two years heavy industrial experience, filed a class action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and 42 U.S.C. § 1981a against United States Steel Corporation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Southern Division. On June 19, 2008, other named plaintiffs joined the suit and amended the complaint to include additional class action allegations. Plaintiffs, represented by private counsel, asked the court for declaratory judgment, equitable relief and money damages, claiming that defendant's reliance upon "heavy industrial experience" and other selection criteria had disparate impact on female applicants and that defendant had engaged in a pattern and practice of discriminating against females on the basis of their sex with respect to production positions.

On January 13, 2009, the parties filed a Joint Motion for Final Approval of Class Action Settlement. On March 2, 2009, the Court (Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins) approved the settlement.

According to the settlement agreement, the company agreed to implement a new hiring process and to pay up to $580,000.00 to the Class Fund, along with plaintiffs' attorney fees and costs.

Kunyi Zhang - 06/09/2010


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