Social Security Administration settles race discrimination suit

The Social Security Administration agreed Friday to pay $7.75 million to settle a discrimination suit lodged by 2,200 black male employees in 1995. The class action suit was filed in 1995 after black men at the department's headquarters in Baltimore claimed they were discriminated against in promotion decisions, awards and bonuses, performance appraisals and disciplinary actions. The suit includes nearly all of the black male employees who worked at the agency during the past 15 years, from wage-grade workers to Senior Executive Service members. At least 500 of the affected employees no longer work for the agency. "The settlement is a very good settlement," said Michael Kator, an attorney for the employees. "The long-term impact for employees at the Social Security Administration is a fair and nondiscriminatory environment." Based on a formula developed by the attorneys, affected employees will receive no less than $2,000 and some may receive as much as $150,000. The settlement also includes changes to the promotion system at Social Security, including the installation of a seven-member oversight committee to monitor competitive promotions at the agency during the next four years. The committee, which will include members of the class action suit, will also oversee compliance with the settlement. Finally, the settlement provides for employee volunteers to serve on competitive employee promotion panels to help ensure that quality step increases are distributed fairly. "This settlement has no admission of guilt, but a promise of change," said Ken Burden, one of three men who filed the original Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint that led to the class action suit. "These mechanisms will benefit all people, and will put a spotlight on fairness and equity at the Social Security Administration." According to Paul Barnes, deputy commissioner for human resources at the Social Security Administration, more than 40 percent of the agency's employees are minorities and 27 percent of the workforce is black. "This settlement is a victory for employees," Barnes said during a press conference announcing the settlement Tuesday morning. "Not only does this agreement provide some sort of relief for the members of the class, it also establishes a committee to monitor implementation of the agreement." Now the settlement must go before an EEOC judge for approval. Once final approval is granted, class members will get letters telling them about the settlement. Final approval is expected within 90 days.