Of course, Sodexho admitted no wrongdoing...

Quote of note:

"As the numbers of middle-class African Americans has grown, it has created a critical mass of people who are savvy. When they see blockage of upward mobility, there is more and more of a reaction to that," said Bart Landry, professor of sociology at the University of Maryland and author of "The New Black Middle Class." "It is extremely frustrating for them having done everything society says to get the credentials and education and not see the rewards."

$80 Million Settles Race-Bias Case
Black Managers Said Sodexho Wouldn't Promote Them
By Annys Shin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, April 28, 2005; A01

Sodexho Inc., the Gaithersburg-based food and facilities-management company, agreed Wednesday to pay $80 million to settle a lawsuit that claimed it systematically denied promotions to 3,400 black mid-level managers.

The company also agreed to widespread training and a more structured hiring process for its 106,000 employees throughout the country, in an effort to promote more minorities into higher corporate jobs. A panel appointed by the plaintiffs and the company will monitor Sodexho's compliance.

Sodexho officials said they have already implemented many of the remedies included in the settlement, such as tying bonuses for top executives to the company's progress toward workforce diversity goals.

"In some cases we will continue what we started and in some cases we will be expanding what we are doing," said Leslie Aun, a company spokeswoman.

Sodexho admitted no wrongdoing but plaintiffs said settlement of the case, which was to go to trial next week, vindicates their contention that the company regularly overlooked qualified blacks for corporate promotions. The thousands of members of the certified class will receive as much as to $60,000 each, based on their length of service, while 10 named plaintiffs who brought the case in 2001 will receive an additional $120,000 each.