The Regents of the University of California (the “Regents”) voted on November 19, 2003 to approve a settlement agreement that would resolve a class action lawsuit charging that thousands of female employees were denied equal pay and promotional opportunities at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (the “Lab”), a national security research facility managed by the Regents for the U.S. Department of Energy. The Regents’ endorsement clears the way for the parties to seek approval of the deal from the Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland, California, where the lawsuit is pending. More than 3,000 female Lab employees are represented by four law firms, including lead counsel The Sturdevant Law Firm in San Francisco and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice (“TLPJ”), a national public interest law firm.

“The proposed settlement is a victory for female employees at one of America's top laboratories and for everyone who cares about equal opportunity in the workplace,” said plaintiffs’ lead counsel James Sturdevant. “This settlement will significantly change the Lab’s compensation and promotion policies so that women who work at the forefront of national security will finally get the pay and promotions they deserve.”

The lawsuit was filed nearly five years ago, on December 23, 1998, charging that female Lab employees in a variety of job categories are paid and promoted less than male employees with comparable education and experience. One of the lawsuit’s main contentions is that the Lab has discriminated against women through a system which bases annual salary adjustments on an employee’s subjectively determined “Relative Value Rank” - a number which supposedly reflects an employee’s “value” to the Lab as compared to other employees. Plaintiffs allege that this system allows gender stereotyping and biases to influence decisions. The lawsuit also alleges that the Lab had documented, but failed to correct, discrimination against women for more than a decade.

“We’ve fought for five long years - some of us even longer - to get the Lab to listen to and address our concerns,” said Shirley Jennings, a representative plaintiff and a computer support associate at the Lab. “I’m proud that our efforts have led to reforms that will help end bias against my female colleagues and me. I think this agreement will go a long way toward shattering the glass ceiling for women at the Lab.”

If the settlement agreement is approved, the Lab will dramatically overhaul its performance management system, including its system of Relative Value Ranking (RVR), and its human resource practices. For example:

• The Lab will eliminate RVR for three groups of administrative and technical employees. Compensation for these employees will instead be based on a system that determines pay primarily based on the employee’s job classification and performance.

• The Lab will issue revised guidelines for the RVR of all remaining employees designed to eliminate subjective biases from decision processes.

• The Lab will conduct annual pay, promotion, and rank equity studies to identify any disparities between male and female employees. If the studies show statistically significant disparities based on gender, the Lab will determine the reason for the disparity and either correct the problem or document the non-discriminatory reasons for the disparity. The studies will be shared with the attorneys for the class, who may use such information to show the Court that the Lab is not complying with the agreement.

• The Lab will develop and implement a written plan to promote equal opportunity for women in obtaining desirable job assignments.

• Lab managers and supervisors will be required to receive training on compliance with the settlement agreement; compliance with federal, state, and Lab prohibitions against discrimination and retaliation; diversity; and recognizing and avoiding the influence of stereotyping in the making of personnel decisions.

• Annual performance evaluations of Lab managers and supervisors will include evaluations of their ranking and performance evaluation skills and compliance with equal employment opportunity laws.

In addition to these major reforms, the Lab will pay $9.7 million in damages to the class members, pay an additional $80,000 to the seven representative plaintiffs, and increase the base salary of all class members by 1%, with the increase totaling about $850,000 in the first year alone. The Lab will also pay plaintiffs’ reasonable attorneys’ fees, with the final figure to be based on actual time worked and expenses incurred.

“This agreement not only compensates victims of past discrimination, it also makes sweeping reforms to help level the playing field for women at the Lab now and in the future,” said TLPJ Staff Attorney Victoria Ni, co-counsel in the case. “The Lab’s recognition that equal work deserves equal pay and equal promotional opportunities is long overdue.”

The plaintiffs filed suit only after trying for more than two decades to persuade the Lab’s management to recognize and correct pervasive and systemic discrimination against women at the Lab.

“Women working at a first-class national laboratory will no longer be treated as second-class citizens,” said The TLPJ Foundation’s President Gary Gwilliam of Oakland’s Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli & Brewer, co-counsel in the case. “The women in this case who fought so long for equal opportunity are real heroes to us all.”

“This settlement will help ensure fair treatment and compensation for all Lab employees,” said plaintiffs’ co-counsel Todd Schneider of San Francisco’s Schneider & Wallace. “The employees, the Lab, and our nation will benefit.”

In addition to Sturdevant, Ni, Gwilliam, and Schneider, the plaintiffs’ legal team includes Mark Johnson and Karen Hindin of The Sturdevant Law Firm; TLPJ Executive Director Arthur H. Bryant; and Guy Wallace of Schneider & Wallace. More information about and key briefs in the Singleton case are posted on TLPJ’s website, www.tlpj.org.