Western Auto suit wins $6.8-million

A comment during a hearing in 1998 finally pays off for workers who learned of racial discrimination throughout the auto parts chain.
 
By William R. Levesque
Times Staff Writer

As Pinellas attorney Wil Florin questioned Western Auto Supply's regional vice president about a gender discrimination lawsuit, the lawyer stumbled on something that stunned him.

The executive told Florin in a matter-of-fact aside that the auto parts retailer placed minority employees in stores in minority neighborhoods.

"You shop where you're comfortable," Western Auto vice president Don Lochard told the attorney in 1998. "From a business standpoint it's a no-brainer."

That "no-brainer' led to a class-action racial discrimination lawsuit that was settled this month for about $6.8-million by retail giant Advance Auto Parts, which acquired Western Auto in 1998.

Up to 5,000 black employees who worked for Western auto from 1994 to 1998 in 590 stores nationally will receive checks within weeks. The checks will range from $150 to $4,500, depending on how long an employee worked at the auto-supply chain.

So far, only about half the employees eligible to get a check have responded to mailings, Florin said. If the employees don't respond their part of the settlement will go to employees who have, increasing their cut.

It all began with Lockard's words at a deposition for an unrelated gender discrimination suit that has since been settled for an undisclosed sum.

"I remember thinking at the time, "He just bought his company a major lawsuit," said Florin, a partner in the Palm Harbor law firm Florin Roebig & Walker, which filed the suit. "There was absolutely no way the company could run away from those words."

As part of the settlement agreement, there is no admission of wrongdoing, which the company has always denied.

Indeed, Western Auto no longer exists as a corporate entity. And Florin said no allegations of discrimination have been leveled against Advance Auto. Officials of the company based in Roanoke, VA., did not return calls seeking comment Thursday.

Florin's firm initially filed the lawsuit in 1998 for three black employees who formerly worked at a St. Petersburg Western Auto store at 180 34th St. N.

Florin said the three employees, Briget Drayton, Wanda Mitchell and Anthony Rich, would not comment.

The original suit accused Western Auto of paying black workers less and steering them into jobs and stores that made promotion less likely.

Unequal pay allegations were later cut from the suit by appeals court.

The suit, originally filed in Pinellas-Pasco circuit court but later transferred to federal court in Tampa said none of the Western Auto's top 85 executives were black and that fewer than 2 percent of 60 store managers were black in 1998, when the suite was filed.

"There have historically been two separate work forces at Western Auto," the suit says. "One work force, which is primarily white male, enjoys preferential treatment, better job opportunities, a swift path to advancement and dominates all management positions."

"The other work force, which is a primarily female and minority work force, has held a disproportionate share of the lowest level positions, such as cashier and stocker, is denied equal terms and conditions of employment and, with few exceptions, has not been allowed to advance."

A federal judge approved the settlement in August and it was finalized on Sept. 4 after the court received no objections from those who had joined in the class-action.

Florin sent to the judge on Thursday a request for approval to disburse funds.

"They did everything they could to distance themselves from Lockard's words," Florin said. "They said it was just him opinion, not company policy. They said he was just referring to stores in Kansas City."

Lockard, who was in charge of Western Auto stores throughout the Southeast and other parts of the nation, told Florin in sworn testimony, "Blacks in black areas and Caucasians in Caucasians areas. From a sales standpoint, it is the smart thing to do and the right thing to do to match the store staff with your customer base."

In an age when executives are well prepped for testimony, accompanied by high-priced attorneys, Florin still is astonished at the executive's mistake.

"It's not like I snuck up on him on the street with a tape recorder", Florin said.