- 3 - On April 29, 1985, the District Court ruled in the liability phase that State Farm was liable under Title VII for classwide discrimination on the basis of sex. Specifically, it ruled that women who attempted to become trainee agents were "lied to, misinformed, and discouraged in their efforts to obtain the entry level sales position." The court found State Farm liable with respect to "all female applicants and deterred applicants who, at any time since July 5, 1974, have been, are, or will be denied recruitment, selection and/or hire as trainee agents by defendant companies within the State of California." On May 1, 1987, Donna Fredrickson (petitioner) applied to become a State Farm trainee agent. State Farm rejected her application and appointed a male applicant. Petitioner subsequently joined the class action suit against State Farm. The parties to the class action subsequently reached an agreement in a consent decree as to the remedy phase of the litigation. The consent decree provided for individual hearings to determine each claimant's entitlement to damages and the amount of such damages. Petitioner ultimately prevailed in her claim against State Farm. In February of 1992, petitioner and State Farm entered into a settlement agreement entitled "Settlement Agreement and General Release". That agreement provided in relevant part: The approximate full value of [petitioner's] claim under the Consent Decree damage formula as of February 1, 1992, is $173,057.00, which represents back pay as aPage: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011