*Fri Feb 20, 2009
> 11:39pm GMT*
>
> *SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N: Quote,
> Profile, Research) said on Friday it had settled for $17.5 million a
> class action lawsuit in which plaintiffs claimed the retailer had
> discriminated against African Americans seeking jobs as truck drivers.
>
> Wal-Mart denied allegations that it had discriminated "on the basis of
> race in recruitment and hiring for the position of over-the-road truck
> driver in Wal-Mart's private fleet," according to a joint statement.
>
> The settlement is subject to court approval.
>
> The federal case was brought in 2004 by a Mississippi man, Daryal
> Nelson, and aimed at Wal-Mart distribution centers in the states of
> Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Georgia,
> Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia.
>
> It subsequently achieved class action status.
>
> In legal documents, Nelson had claimed that besides a commercial
> drivers' license, a good record and good work history, he was required
> by Wal-Mart to have a good credit rating to qualify for a position as
> a truck driver.
>
> Nelson's lawsuit stated that this unwritten work requirement was
> selectively applied to favor white applicants.
>
> According to the original lawsuit, a human resources director told
> Nelson that he would be hired as a laborer, rather than a truck driver
> because of his "gut feeling" that the applicant had falsified his
> credit and driving records.
>
> After Nelson filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity
> Commission, the agency said there was reasonable cause to believe a
> violation had occurred.
>
> Under terms of the settlement, the world's largest retailer is
> required to establish benchmark hiring goals so that the composition
> of future hires by race is proportionate to the racial makeup of the applicant pool.
>
> It would also have to select a diversity recruiter and enhance its
> recruitment efforts and advertising to African Americans, among other
> prerequisites, under the terms. (Reporting by Alexandria Sage; editing
> by Gunna Dickson, Bernard Orr)