Sunoco pays $5.4 million to settle race discrimination suit

Sunoco Inc. has agreed to pay $5.4 million to settle a 3-year-old class-action suit on behalf of about 200 African American professionals in the region who contended they hit a "glass ceiling" blocking promotion because of race. The settlement between the petroleum refiner-marketer and a legal team representing DeWayne Ketchum and five other named plaintiffs had a fairness hearing today before U.S. District Judge Clifford Scott Green. Green held the agreement for review; there were no objections and the judge's approval is expected. "We are pleased that this has gotten the issue addressed," said Ketchum after the two-hour hearing. "We are still hopeful that Sunoco will adopt additional policies that will level the playing field for everyone." Sunoco spokesman Gerald Davis said company officials "strongly believe that we did not discriminate and that there was no merit in this lawsuit. We thought it was in the best interests of our company and employees to settle this case." Ketchum, now retired, had an undergraduate degree in physics and a master's in business administration when he joined Sunoco in 1972. He said he worked for more than 30 years in accounting and financial jobs but was regularly passed over for promotions into upper-level management jobs in favor of less-qualified whites. Sunoco denied any wrongdoing in the agreement. Under the settlement, Sunoco will pay within 10 days after the judge signs the agreement. Of the total, $3.6 million will go to the 200 class members: current and former African American white-collar workers at Sunoco's Center City headquarters, its refineries in Philadelphia and Marcus Hook and its Frankford Chemical Plant from Jan. 1, 1996, to Sept. 22. [more] and [more]