WHAT DID THE COMPLAINANTS ACTUALLY HAVE ON TEXACO?
There were four broad points working in the plaintiffs’s favor — these might constitute a profile for most large racial discrimination lawsuits. There is a fifth point – a smoldering gun – which is every plaintiffs’ dream, but which is rarely actually found: (1) Strength of numbers, both in the 1400 + plaintiffs certified for the class, and in the loud, frequent, and very public statements from the NAACP throughout the litigation. (2) An intrusive, burdensome, and constitutionally dubious government requirement that Texaco collect and record data on the race of its employees, and that it submit those racial records to the government. According to press coverage of the case: “Two years of [intensive examination of Texaco’s government-required racial records] — including retaining the services of high level expert statistical analysts — revealed that African-Americans were significantly under-represented in high level management jobs and Caucasian employees were promoted more frequent
