N.D. Illinois Certifies Class of 230 Workers in Nike Discrimination Case

In Smith v. Nike Retail Serv., Inc., --- F.R.D. ----, 2006 WL 715788 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 22, 2006), Judge Milton Shadur of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois certified the following overall class and component subclasses in litigation against a Nike retail store in Chicago alleging violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 and 42 U.S.C. 1981:

In the ensuing listing the overall class is referred to first, with the subclasses following thereafter . . . :

1. “Hostile Work Environment,” comprising all African-Americans employed by Nike Chicago at any time between December 17, 1999 and the present (P. Mem.24). . . .

2. “Job Segregation/Wage Disparity” (“Job Segregation”), comprising all current and former African-American Nike Chicago employees during the period between December 17, 1999 and the present who were assigned to lower paid positions in the stockroom or as cashiers because of their race (P. Mem.24). . . .

3. “Promotion,” comprising all current and former African-American Nike Chicago employees during the period between December 17, 1999 and the present who “were denied promotions or deprived of the ability to pursue promotions because of their race” (P. Mem.24). . . .

4. “Discipline,” comprising all current and former African-American Nike Chicago employees during the period between December 17, 1999 and the present who “suffered from racially-biased application workplace rules and regulations, including but not limited to, time and attendance, employee discount, employee checkouts, suspensions, and terminations” (P. Mem.24-25). . . .

5. “Benefits,” comprising all current and former African-American part-time Nike Chicago employees during the period between December 17, 1999 and the present who applied for, requested and/or were entitled to benefits but were denied those benefits because of their race (P. Mem.25). . . .

BNA's report on the case can be found here.