- Archives

Printer agrees to pay $15 Million to 600 Black Workers

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. ended a protracted and bitter court fight Wednesday when it agreed to pay $15 million to settle race-discrimination claims linked to the commercial-printing giant's 1994 closure of a South Side plant. The high-profile case, which included disturbing accusations that nooses and Ku Klux Klan costumes were used to intimidate workers, attracted national attention when the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in earlier this year to resolve a dispute over the statute of limitations for the federal Civil Rights Act. Despite the complexity of the legal issues, the claims of the roughly 600 African-American employees were simple: Donnelley, they alleged, had systematically discriminated against black workers through its hiring practices, in the workplace, and even in the way it handled the shutdown of its historic Lakeside Press facility. In settling the case known as Edith Jones vs. R.R. Donnelley, the Chicago printer admitted no wrongdoing. The company has maintained throughout the legal fight that the workers' claims are without merit. Donnelley said in a statement that it is "very pleased" to put the litigation behind it and is "committed to providing a work environment in which everyone is treated with dignity and respect." With Wednesday's settlement, Donnelley has paid a total of $36 million since early 2003 to settle race-discrimination claims born of the Lakeside shutdown.