....and furthermore, ....
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> Microsoft Lawsuit Pits Johnnie Cochran vs. Bill Gates
NewsFactor Network
Microsoft and chairman Bill Gates will have to prove that
managerial decisions regarding compensation, promotions and
job selections were not 'infected with racial and/or gender bias.'
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Two of the most influential teams of attorneys practicing in
the civil rights arena -- including celebrity lawyer and leader of
the free world Johnnie Cochran -- have joined their suits against
Microsoft Corp., alleging a pattern of racial and sexual discrimination
against African-Americans and female employees.
Hundreds more may join the suit, filed in the U.S. District
Court for the Western District of Washington, if the
class-action status that the four plaintiffs seek is granted this
fall.
Potential plaintiffs include African-Americans employed by
Microsoft from October 4, 1997 through the commencement
of trial, as well as women employed from February 23, 1999
through the commencement of trial, according to the
Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint.
The legal action was filed on March 23rd by Cochran's firm, a
local Seattle law firm, and Washington, D.C.-based Cohen,
Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, which will serve as lead counsel.
Defending Diversity
"We can't comment on the specifics of the case because it is
in litigation," Microsoft spokesperson Ginny Terzano told
NewsFactor Network. However, she added, "Microsoft does
not tolerate discrimination in any of its employment practices
and we are 100-percent committed to diversity. There are
several efforts underway to make our workforce more
diverse."
Terzano also said that over the past three years, Microsoft's
minority workforce grown more quickly than other employee
categories. Minorities, who made up 16.8 percent of all
company employees in 1997, constituted 21.6 percent this
year.
Opportunities Lost
The plaintiffs, who are suing under the U.S. Civil Rights Act of
1964, describe an excessively subjective policy on the part of
Microsoft's managers in deciding compensation, promotions,
and job selection. They claim that many decisions were
"infected with racial and/or gender bias."
The prejudice they describe is "not that kind of ugly racism
...it is reckless insensitivity to race issues ...a silent way of
keeping people down," plaintiffs' attorney Steven Toll told
NewsFactor. "It's about a lack of opportunity."
Three of the four plaintiffs in the combined suit worked at
Microsoft in Washington state; the other plaintiff was an
employee in Texas, according to the complaint.
Hundreds of Millions
The plaintiffs have not yet specified how much money they
hope to receive in compensatory damages.
"We don't have a precise number in mind because we would
have to base that on statistical data from Microsoft, and
expert analysis as to what would they have received," Toll
told NewsFactor.
"It's very, very large -- in the hundreds of millions or more --
but there's no basis to put a number on it now."
As the managing partner for Cohen Milstein, Toll has
experience in similar high-profile cases. Cohen Milstein was
the principal firm involved in a highly publicized racial
discrimination case against Texaco, Inc. in 1997, which
resulted in US$176 million in damages after company officials
were alleged to have engaged in racial discrimination against
African-American employees.
