Filed Date: Feb. 9, 1998
Closed Date: 2001
Clearinghouse coding complete
On February 9, 1998, a group of black former employees of defendants filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Western Division against Ingersoll under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq. The plaintiffs, represented by private counsel, asked the court for monetary and injunctive relief, claiming class-wide discrimination in promotions, compensation, and hiring. Specifically, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendants had engaged in the following employment practices that resulted in unlawful race discrimination: (1) failure to post or disclose job promotions and job openings; (2) use of word-of-mouth hiring and nepotism in a predominantly white work force; (3) race-coding of applications; and (4) use of a subjective decisionmaking process by a predominantly white supervisory staff in hiring applicants, promoting employees and assigning wages.
On August 23, 1999, the Court (Judge Philip G. Reinhard) partially granted the plaintiffs' motion for class certification. The Court certified the class with regard to the hiring process, but refused to certify the compensation class and the promotion class on the ground that these claims were highly individualized and there were not enough similar situated plaintiffs.
On January 4, 2000, the Court (Judge Reinhard) granted the defendants' motion for partial summary judgment on the ground that the plaintiffs could not use the single employer theory as the defendants were separate corporate entities. After that, the parties engaged in multiple discovery disputes. On July 13, 2001, the parties reached a settlement, and the Court dismissed the case. The details of the settlement agreement are unavailable.
Summary Authors
Kunyi Zhang (11/5/2010)
EEOC v. Ingersoll International, Inc., Northern District of Illinois (1999)
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5251335/parties/jefferson-v-ingersoll-intl-inc/
Allison, Robert D. (Illinois)
Bradtke, James G. (Illinois)
Elkin, Laurie S (Illinois)
Babbitt, Ellen M (Illinois)
Brock, Amy Pope (Wisconsin)
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5251335/jefferson-v-ingersoll-intl-inc/
Last updated March 19, 2025, 8:51 a.m.
State / Territory: Illinois
Case Type(s):
Special Collection(s):
Private Employment Class Actions
Key Dates
Filing Date: Feb. 9, 1998
Closing Date: 2001
Case Ongoing: No
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
Plaintiffs are current or former black employees of, or black applicants for employment at one of the defendants.
Plaintiff Type(s):
Public Interest Lawyer: No
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: Yes
Class Action Outcome: Granted
Defendants
Ingersoll International Inc, Private Entity/Person
Ingersoll Milling Machine Company, Private Entity/Person
Brian Howard, Private Entity/Person
Ingersoll Cutting Tool Company, Private Entity/Person
Ingersoll Maschinen, Private Entity/Person
Werkzeuge GmbH, Private Entity/Person
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Title VII (including PDA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e
Available Documents:
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff
Nature of Relief:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Amount Defendant Pays: Unknown
Issues
General/Misc.:
Discrimination Area:
Discrimination Basis:
Affected Race(s):
EEOC-centric: