Why Didn't We Settle This?

The DOT Settlement.

Eleven black employees and former employees of the Alabama Department of Transportation spoke out Tuesday against a proposed $8.4 million settlement that would go to white employees affected by a racial discrimination case against the department. The blacks said it would be wrong to reward whites who they said benefitted from biased hiring and promotion practices. But whites who intervened in the 1985 lawsuit do not oppose a $65.1 million settlement for blacks.

Gov. Don Siegelman agreed to the settlement for blacks in December and the settlement for whites in April. Several hundred people, mostly black, attended hearings Tuesday on the fairness of the two settlements at the Davis Theatre for the Performing Arts in Montgomery.

"I expect to at least get $20,000," said Karen Carr Jennings of Montgomery, an engineering assistant with DOT for the past seven years. Jennings, who is black, said she was unfairly passed over for promotions to civil engineer more than once. "My application was in first before some of the people who were hired off the street," said Jennings, who attended the hearing at the Davis Theatre.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said he would take testimony over the next two weeks before ruling on the settlements. The white employees allege DOT's failure to hire and promote according to a 1994 consent decree stalled careers and caused them to be underpaid.

But Larry McAdams, a black DOT employee, said whites don't deserve any money. "I've always been told that because I'm black, 'You want something for nothing,'¥" McAdams said. "Now I'm looking at them wanting something for nothing."

Ray Fitzpatrick, an attorney who represents the whites, said they don't deny there has been discrimination at DOT and don't oppose the $65.1 million settlement for blacks. But he said whites have been hurt, too.

"The few people who objected need to realize everyone is entitled to fair compensation for their work," Fitzpatrick said. The settlement for whites was the subject of a Tuesday afternoon hearing. On Tuesday morning, little opposition surfaced at a hearing on the settlement for blacks.

Trent Deason of Millbrook, a white civil engineer with DOT, was the only audience member who signed up to speak. Deason told the court many employees who suffered because of the case are being left out of the settlement. He said many employees were not kept informed about the case. He said the best outcome would be "to get it settled, move forward and begin hiring qualified people to fill these positions, regardless of race."

Former DOT employee Cecil Parker of Hanceville, one of the original plaintiffs in the case, said the plaintiffs didn't speak out Tuesday because they are generally happy with the proposed settlement.

"The people understood the settlement and they knew the settlement was good," Parker said. Robert Wiggins, a Birmingham attorney who represents the plaintiffs, said the settlement was "fair, equitable and reasonable." Of the $65.1 million, $40 million is set aside to compensate up to 2,300 employees for discrimination in promotions. Another $15 million will go to job applicants for discrimination in hiring, a group that could include up to 29,000 people.

Wiggins said more than 800 have opted out of the settlement, with most of those in the job applicant group. Wiggins said he hoped that those in the job applicant group could receive notification of how much back pay they'll receive in the next 60 days. Lisa Borden, a Birmingham attorney who represents DOT, said the agency agreed with both settlements, partly because they provide "a certainty of resolution in a reasonable period of time."

The settlement with the blacks also includes a delay in giving tests that will be used in awarding promotions. The tests were developed as a result of the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs say white employees would have an unfair advantage on the tests if given now because whites have been allowed to perform the jobs for which they are being tested. Clark disagreed, saying it was time to use the tests and that a delay would last at least 18 months. "We believe the delay hurts the black and white employees of this department," Clark said.

The state is paying weekly fines for its failure to be in compliance with a 1994 consent decree in the case. The fines now total about $4.2 million. The state also has paid $24.1 million in legal fees in the case since October 1996.