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Consolidated Freightways has agreed to a $2.75 million settlement in a racial harassment lawsuit involving 12 dockworkers at its Kansas City facility. The workers are unlikely to receive anything close to that payout, though, because the company is in liquidation under a bankruptcy filing. It was never about getting money, said Grover Spearman, one of the 12 black workers involved in the case. We just wanted them to stop. We just wanted them to learn to treat people with respect. The lawsuit, filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, accused the company of allowing multiple instances of physical assault, racial slurs and the display of racially charged nooses and graffiti in the work environment. The agency said management did nothing to stop the harassment and wrongly retaliated against at least one of the employees for complaining. Most of the 11 men and one woman named in the case were long-term Consolidated employees. It's unbelievable what they endured for a long time, said Gregory Stillman, who said was he was the newest and possibly youngest employee among the complainants. EEOC district director Lynn Bruner said that the commission's investigation validated the complaints and that the company did nothing to stop the harassment. Efforts to resolve the case through conciliation were unsuccessful. Michael Blumenthal, attorney for Consolidated Freightways, said that the company denied the allegations of race discrimination but that settling the case made financial sense. The total cash payout will probably be less than what Consolidated would have spent to defend the case in federal court, Blumenthal said.[more]