Nucor Berkeley to Challenge Resurrected Class Action Lawsuit
08/19/2009 - Nucor Berkeley is facing the reversal of a class action discrimination lawsuit involving seven former employees that had been denied for class certification in 2007.
Nucor Berkeley is facing the reversal of a class action discrimination lawsuit involving seven former employees. The case, originally filed in 2003, has been under the jurisdiction of A United States District Judge in Charleston, S.C., since 2004, holding numerous hearings on the allegations raised by the seven plaintiffs. The District Judge determined in 2007 that the allegations were not sufficient to merit class action status and ordered that the Plaintiffs' motion for class certification be denied. Plaintiffs later appealed that decision to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In a 2-1 split decision, a three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals recently overturned the District Judge's decision denying class action status. The panel's written opinion focused on inflammatory allegations including the playing of inappropriate materials over a plant-wide radio system, allegations of racial slurs by plant supervisors, and allegations of the sale of confederate flags at the company store — claims that Nucor says are unsupported by the evidence before the court. Some of the other allegations are based on uncorroborated statements of individual employees that were not reported to Nucor until the lawsuit was a filed.
"At Nucor Steel Berkeley and Nucor Corp., we pride ourselves in being Equal Opportunity employers, and we acknowledge our employees as the key to our success as a company,” states Giff Daughtridge, Vice President and General Manager of Nucor Steel Berkeley, a division of Nucor Corp. “We at Nucor strive to keep all of our employees satisfied, successful, and proud to be part of the Nucor team without regard to race, gender, national origin, religion, or any other protected category
"At Nucor Steel Berkeley and Nucor Corp., we pride ourselves in being Equal Opportunity employers, and we acknowledge our employees as the key to our success as a company,” states Giff Daughtridge, Vice President and General Manager of Nucor Steel Berkeley, a division of Nucor Corp. “We at Nucor strive to keep all of our employees satisfied, successful, and proud to be part of the Nucor team without regard to race, gender, national origin, religion, or any other protected category
In a press release, Nucor stated its strong belief in the appellate process established by this country’s legal system, and said that it intends to fight the unsupported claims. Nucor also said it is planning to ask the full Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals this week to re-hear this case and re-examine both the sound ruling of the District Judge and the compelling analysis of the dissenting appellate judge who believed that the District Judge's ruling should be upheld.
Nucor said it would continue to vigorously defend the case through the court process, noting it confidence that once the voluminous record in this case is reviewed in full, it will be vindicated.
"We will continue to support the great people who make up the Nucor team,” added Daughtridge. “We will ensure that their livelihoods are not affected by the efforts of outside attorneys to score an economic victory based solely on uncorroborated allegations.”
