The parties have reached a tentative $2.3 million settlement in a class action filed against automobile parts manufacturer TRW Automotive U.S., LLC, on behalf of certain current and former African American employees at TRW's plant in Portland, Michigan, or its Lafayette or Lebanon, Indiana, facilities who allege that the company discriminated against them in promotions, compensation, training, and other employment practices in violation of federal civil rights laws between January 1, 1995, and July 23, 2003. Eligible claimants should contact the class attorneys as soon as possible regarding the settlement.

The action alleged that TRW discriminated against those African American employees and subjected them to a hostile environment at their workplaces. Under the terms of the settlement, TRW will pay 15 named plaintiffs in the case a total of $450,000, and establish a class fund of $1.35 million. Eligible employees--estimated to number about 200--will receive up to $90,000 each, depending on the merit of their claims, which are to be determined by a special master selected by the parties.

In addition to the monetary portion of the settlement, TRW has agreed to spend $500,000 over the next three years to improve its diversity and equal employment opportunity training program at its Lebanon facility, provide an annual report on race-based harassment or discrimination complaints to the plaintiffs' counsel for three years, issue a specific anti-harassment policy, and post salaried job openings. TRW has also agreed to propose to the United Auto Workers union that a panel be created to evaluate race-based complaints and that a holiday be established in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.