Judge Again Tells Coke to Provide Hiring Data

Coca-Cola Co. must turn over key employment and hiring data to plaintiffs in a racial discrimination lawsuit, a federal judge has ordered for the second time. The world’s largest soft drink company has not complied with a year-old court order to provide the data to plaintiffs, U.S. Magistrate Judge Clay Scofield found. The plaintiffs allege that Coca-Cola withheld pay raises and promotions of minority employees. The company now has until June 9 to comply with the order and may face penalties for the delay, Scofield ruled. Coca-Cola, which has fought the discovery process throughout the lawsuit, was ordered by Scofield on June 4, 1999, to furnish the plaintiffs with the human resources data by July 1, 1999. A federal judge also rejected the company’s bid to halt discovery last year. In a separate ruling by another federal judge, Coca-Cola will get two more weeks to prepare for a motion by its adversaries asking the judge to expand the case to cover all former and current black employees. U.S. District Judge Richard Story granted a court-appointed mediator’s request to extend until June 14 the deadline for plaintiffs to file their motion for class certification, plaintiffs’ lawyer Jeff Bramlett said. Shares of Atlanta-based Coca-Cola fell 69 cents to close at $53.88 on the New York Stock Exchange.