In November 2001, the Los Angeles District Office of the EEOC filed this lawsuit against McKesson Water Products Co. in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California alleging discrimination on the basis of race, African-American, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We do not have a copy of the complaint; therefore, the exact allegations involved are unknown. The complainants intervened in this lawsuit in November 2001. Prior to the defendant's appearance in the lawsuit, the lawsuit was settled through a consent decree between the EEOC, intervenors, and the successor to the defendant, Groupe Danone in February 2002. The consent decree was amended in May 2002.

The five-year decree, containing anti-discrimination and retaliation clauses, required the successor to: make compliance reports to the EEOC, keep records, retain an EEO Consultant for monitoring, develop an anti-discrimination policy, utilize objective job descriptions and hiring/promotion criteria, follow recruitment protocols, comply with recruiting and advertising requirements, post and distribute notice of employee rights, provide EEO training, implement dispute resolution processes, develop performance evaluation policies, and pay $1,657,000 to the complainants, attorneys, and a class fund.

Daisy Manning - 04/15/2008


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