Financial deal in Boeing lawsuit
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On the eve of what would be the largest sex-discrimination lawsuit ever to go to trial, The Boeing Co. yesterday reached a financial settlement of the class-action suit involving about 28,000 former and current female employees in the Puget Sound area. In a joint statement, Boeing and attorneys representing the plaintiffs said they will try to resolve still-outstanding issues during the next 45 days. Terms of the financial settlement were not disclosed. Meanwhile, the federal court trial, scheduled to begin Monday in Seattle, will be delayed. “I always had the faith to believe it was a good cause, that it would be something that every woman would benefit from at The Boeing Co.,” one of the women who filed suit, Fern Neatherlin of Everett, said yesterday. Now retired after being laid off from Boeing in 2002, Neatherlin said she heard about the financial settlement on the radio while driving home from baby-sitting her grandchildren. “It’s overwhelming to me to be part of something that is so beneficial to so many,” said Neatherlin, 66. She said she worked as a telephone operator at Boeing’s Seattle offices for three years starting in 1993 and as a fax machine operator in Everett for another nine years. She claimed in the suit that she was rarely informed of career opportunities, was denied overtime opportunities, was warned of retaliation if she continued complaining of such treatment, and was sent an e-mail calling her a “bitch.” She also claimed in the suit that in July 1999, her job classification and retention ratings were changed without explanation, in apparent retaliation for her previous complaints. Other women in the lawsuit said they were paid less than male workers at Boeing for the same jobs and that the company tolerated sexual harassment. Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company with about 158,000 employees. Legal experts have said Boeing faced punitive damages and back pay of perhaps as much as a billion dollars if it lost the case in court. “The parties, through their attorneys, have made considerable progress toward resolution of the case,” the joint statement said. “The monetary issues have been resolved. For the next 45 days, the parties will attempt to agree on all other issues. If those efforts are successful, an overall agreement will be presented to the court for its consideration and approval.” If an agreement is not approved, the trial will be scheduled on the unresolved issues, the statement said. The parties agreed not to make any further comment about the suit for now. Various documents in the case name more than 30 women who claim various forms of discrimination. Other women named in the suit could not be reached last night for comment. More : seattlepi.nwsource.co |