In June 2006, the Phoenix District Office and Denver Field Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed this lawsuit against distribution center operators Albertson's, Inc., Albertson's LLC, Supervalu, Inc. and Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, alleging discrimination based on race, color, and/or national origin in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the complaint alleged that the defendants maintained a hostile work environment and subjected the complaining parties to other adverse terms and conditions of employment.

The plaintiffs alleged long-term, continuing, and pervasive harassment and discrimination by supervisors and co-workers, including offensive and disparaging racial comments and graffiti, assignment of minorities to harder and less desirable duties, favoring of non-minorities in promotions, disciplining minorities more harshly, and Albertson’s failure to take appropriate, timely, and effective remedial action.

Supervalu, Inc. and Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. were dismissed from the lawsuit in October 2006. The parties engaged in discovery from 2006 through 2009. On December 3, 2007, the Court (Judge Wiley Y. Daniel) granted motions to allow four plaintiff intervenors to intervene, and the four plaintiff intervenors filed complaints that day.

On April 28, 2008, the parties filed cross motions for summary judgment. The case was reassigned to Judge Christine M. Arguello on October 22, 2008. Proceedings were stayed beginning in February, 2009 pending negotiation and finalization of a consent decree. At the time the consent decree was developed, Albertsons had represented that it planned to close its Colorado distribution center in late fall 2009 for business reasons unrelated to the action.

On December 11, 2009, the parties made a joint motion to consolidate this lawsuit with two other EEOC proceedings involving the Aurora, Colorado Albertson's distribution center. Judge Arguello granted the motion on December 14, 2009, and entered the consent decree that day. The consent decree included provisions against retaliation, a neutral reference for complaining parties, an equal employment opportunity training for supervisory and management employees, and certain terms should Albertson's open or reopen a distribution center in Colorado during the time of the consent decree. The consent decree also provided that Albertson's pay $8,900,000.00 to a class settlement fund to be distributed as determined by the EEOC.

The consent decree remained in effect for four years, and the case is now closed.

Daisy Manning - 05/26/2008
Sarah McDonald - 08/04/2018


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