Chevron Settles Bias Suit Filed by Female Employees

Chevron Corp. on Wednesday agreed to pay $7.42 million to settle a sex-discrimination class action brought by nearly 800 current and former female employees at one of its subsidiaries.

The amount could rise or fall depending on how many women choose to take their cases to arbitration.

The suit claimed the San Francisco-based oil company discriminated against the women in promotions, job assignments and salaries at its Chevron Information Technology Co. unit, which is based in San Ramon, Calif.

The case was to go to trial before San Francisco Superior Court Judge John Munter on an undetermined date.

Chevron will pay $7.42 million to the 777 plaintiffs if they agree to go through an expedited claims procedure, according to a statement issued by both sides.

However, the women will have the option of having their wage claims decided by a neutral arbitrator, in which case the company could wind up paying more or less than that amount, the statement said. Company executives and plaintiffs’ attorneys declined to comment on the settlement, which still requires the approval of Munter.

Chevron has also agreed to make one-time payments of $5,000, $20,000 or $50,000 to women who can prove they suffered emotional distress because of the discrimination they suffered. The size of the payments will depend on the severity of the injury they can prove.

Under the agreement, Chevron will pay no more than $1 million in $5,000 payments. While there is no cap on the $20,000 and $50,000 payments, the women will have to submit more evidence, such as medical documentation, to prove their claims.

Chevron shares rose $1 to close at $65.375 on the New York Stock Exchange.