Supermarket Settles $33M Suit

Supermarket chain Winn-Dixie announced a $33 million settlement in a class-action race and sex discrimination lawsuit Friday, the same day the suit was filed.

The proposed settlement will be paid out over seven years to current and former employees and will establish programs to increase opportunities available to women and blacks.

Thirteen current and former employees filed the lawsuit in federal court; the settlement must first be approved by the U.S. District Court in Jacksonville.

The settlement, which covers all Winn-Dixie stores, could apply to more than 50,000 black or female employees who have worked for the chain anytime since 1993.

The company employs about 130,000 full-time and part-time associates at its 1,200 stores in 14 states.

The settlement would divide $120,000 among the 13 named plaintiffs and would pay $13 million to other employees who file verified discrimination claims.

An additional $11 million is to be paid as incentive bonuses to employees covered by the lawsuit who succeed in management jobs, plus $1 million in "diversity awards" to supervisors who help woman and minorities advance to management. $4 million will be used for extra training and administrative expenses to implement the settlement.

The settlement comes two years after Publix Super Markets settled a sex discrimination lawsuit for $81.5 million. In March, a racial discrimination lawsuit against Publix received class-action status.