A class action has been filed against petroleum company Sunoco, Inc. on behalf of current and former salaried non-union professional African American employees employed within the Philadelphia area at any time during the period from January 1, 1996, to the present, in violation of Title VII of the federal 1964 Civil Rights Act. The action seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, and a court order barring racial discrimination and retaliation by Sunoco, requiring the company to adopt policies and practices that ensure equal treatment of all black employees and applicants, and requiring it to eliminate opportunities for managers to discriminate on the basis of race.

The action was filed by seven current and former African American Sunoco employees, all of whom allege that Sunoco's advancement and promotion practices resulted in fewer opportunities for African Americans when compared with their white counterparts. The trial court granted class certification on July 11, 2003, finding that the statistical evidence of discrimination presented by the plaintiffs' expert, Dr. Janice F. Madden, provided a sufficient basis for the certification request.