EEOC Seeks to Join Bias Suits Against Lockheed

NEW YORK — The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is seeking to join two private lawsuits on behalf of hundreds of black workers who accuse Lockheed Martin Corp., the largest U.S. defense contractor, of racial bias.

The agency has asked a federal judge to allow it to become a party to the two suits, which seek class-action status. The complaints, filed by attorneys Johnnie Cochran Jr. and Josie Alexander, allege that Lockheed harassed black workers, denied them promotions and retaliated after they complained.

The EEOC’s request is unusual because of the timing, a commission lawyer said. The judge presiding over the suit must approve the request before the EEOC may help represent the workers.

Cochran called the EEOC’s effort to intervene “extremely significant,” because the government agency, which enforces federal laws barring job discrimination, brings with it “considerable resources” in litigating large class-action lawsuits.

Bethesda, Md.-based Lockheed denied the allegations and said it believes the EEOC acted before investigating the cases or evaluating the evidence. Company spokesman Sam Grizzle said the EEOC should not “automatically assume a management decision made by a white manager about a black employee is discriminatory.”

Should a judgment be entered against the company, Lockheed could be barred temporarily from receiving new contracts from the Air Force, its largest military customer.

The private suits, filed in May in federal court in Atlanta, allege that black workers found hangman’s nooses, Ku Klux Klan materials and notes reading “Back to Africa” at their work stations. The suits also say employees were called “boy” and other derogatory terms.

The suits stem from accusations of bias at the defense giant’s suburban Atlanta military aircraft factory, but they also allege discrimination throughout the company. As many as 800 employees at the Marietta, Ga., plant alone may be covered by the suits.

The EEOC initially elected not to participate in the cases. But the commission said its New York and Atlanta offices came to conclude that the EEOC could better protect the “public interest” after investigating the facts further.

EEOC attorney Katherine Bissell said Tuesday that the discrimination continued even after the lawsuits were filed.

Alexander, an Atlanta plaintiffs’ lawyer, did not return telephone calls. The suits, one by hourly workers and the other by salaried workers, seek unspecified damages.

Lockheed Martin shares rose 2 cents to $33.72 on the New York Stock Exchange.