Eastman Kodak Class Action Settlement Of Race Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit

Class Action Settlement Announced In Race Discrimination Class Action Lawsuit Against Eastman Kodak.

A class action settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit against Eastman Kodak Compan (“Eastman Kodak” or “Kodak” or “Defendant”) pending in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York (styled Courtney Davis v. Eastman Kodak Company, Case No. 6:04-cv-06098-JWF) alleging, among other things, that Kodak engaged in an ongoing pattern and practice of racial discrimination against its African American employees, including (i) discrimination in compensation, (ii) discrimination in promotions, (iii) discrimination in wage classifications and job assignments, (iv) harassment or hostile work environment, and (v) retaliation, purportedly in violation of (1) Title VII of The Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., (2) The Civil Rights Act of 1866, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, and (3) The New York Human Rights Law, 15 N.Y. Executive Law §§ 291 et seq., according to the Eastman Kodak race discrimination class action lawsuit settlement final approval order.

The Eastman Kodak class action settlement also reportedly resolves race discrimination claims made in a related case, Alston, et al. v. Eastman Kodak Company, Civil Action No. 07-cv-6512,  also pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York.

The Eastman Kodak race discrimination class action lawsuit settlement reportedly provides for the payment of $21,376,500.00 (the “Settlement Fund”) to be distributed to 3008 Kodak settlement Class Members who did not timely opt-out of participating in the Kodak class action Settlement, after payment of, among other things, attorneys’ fees and expenses, costs of settlement administration, service payments to class representatives and certain other individuals, and certain expert fees.

According to the Eastman Kodak class action settlement agreement, the amount of $9,655,500.00 will reportedly be paid to the Kodak Class members as follows:

a. Category A: for each Class member who signed a release of claims in connection with Kodak’s TAP program, he/she shall each receive $1,000.00. There are reportedly 1180 Settlement Class Members in this category. The total amount allocated for this group is a reported $1,180,000.00.
b. Category B: for each Class member who executed an ADR release but not a TAP release, he/she shall each receive $2,250.00. There are reportedly 79 Class Members in this category. The total amount allocated for this group is a reported $177,750.00.
c. Category C: for each Class member who did not execute either a TAP or ADR release, and who worked at least six months or more for Kodak, he/she shall each receive a minimum of $3,000.00 plus an amount proportionate to the number of weeks he/she worked for Kodak as reflected in Kodak’s electronic records provided in this litigation. For each Class member who did not execute either a TAP or ADR release, and who worked less than six months or more for Kodak, he/she shall each receive $1,000.00. There are reportedly 1762 Class members in Category C. The total amount allocated for this group is a reported $8,297,750.00.

Eastman Kodak has also reportedly agreed to provide certain non-monetary relief as part of the class action settlement, including, among other things, the following: 

• Kodak will maintain and enforce non-discrimination and anti retaliation policies designed to assure equal employment opportunity for its employees;
• Kodak will enforce a policy of not knowingly maintaining or enacting any policy or practice that has the purpose or effect of unlawfully discriminating against any Settlement Class Member or other African American employee on the basis of race;
• Kodak will not retaliate against any Settlement Class Member or other African American employee because he or she: (1) complained of or opposed discrimination on the basis of race at Kodak; (2) testified, furnished information or participated in any investigation, proceeding, or hearing, whether in connection with the class action lawsuit or any other complaint of racial discrimination at Kodak that may be asserted in the future; or (3) sought and/or received monetary and/or non-monetary relief pursuant to the Settlement;
• Kodak will retain an Industrial Psychologist to assist it in reviewing, enhancing, developing, and/or recommending policies and practices designed to reinforce Kodak’s equal opportunity employment policies and practices with regard to compensation, performance evaluations, promotions, and job assignments;
• Kodak will retain two Labor Economists/Statisticians to study existing disparate impact analyses of practices relating to annual evaluations, pay and promotion decisions and to make recommendations to improve those analyses;
• Kodak will develop further enhancements to its existing equal opportunity and diversity training, which may include conducting new training sessions designed to further enhance the effectiveness of Kodak’s training programs.
• Kodak will maintain and enforce equal opportunity complaint procedures for violations of those policies, and shall enhance its existing equal opportunity training to place even greater emphasis on its complaint procedures and every employee’s obligation to identify potential violations of Kodak’s EOE policies by utilizing the complaint procedures;
• Kodak will develop a database or spreadsheet to track all complaints of discrimination at Kodak and the resolution/status of such complaints; and
• Kodak will provide to each of its current employees in the United States a written communication that reflects the Company’s commitment to diversity, and equal employment opportunity.

For more information on the Eastman Kodak Racial Discrimination class action lawsuit settlement, visit the Kodak class action settlement website:

www.kodakdiscrimination.com

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