THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 2, 1995 TAG: 9506020528
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KERRY DeROCHI, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 49 lines
A federal judge has opened the door for black shipyard workers to pursue a race discrimination lawsuit against the Navy, but not without recommending that the claim be severely limited in scope.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Tommy E. Miller ruled recently that portions of the workers' $58 million claim should proceed to trial, including allegations that the Norfolk Naval Shipyard forced African Americans into low-level jobs because of their race.
In a 33-page opinion released last week, Miller recommended that the majority of the remaining claims be dismissed because of procedural errors and a lack of supporting evidence.
The ruling, while striking down seven of the lawsuit's 10 allegations, was seen as a victory by attorneys representing the shipyard workers.
``I was hoping, obviously, we would win everything,'' said Thomas F. Hennessy, an attorney in Chesapeake. ``But the important thing is to get the case to trial. That is going to happen now.''
Miller's recommendations will be sent to a federal judge for a final decision.
The ruling is the first in what is expected to be a long and tedious court battle, pitting 30 shipyard workers against their employer and their union.
The suit, which was filed last October, names Navy Secretary John Dalton and the Tidewater Virginia Federal Employees Metal Trade Council.
The suit alleges that the shipyard routinely denied training to the black employees of Shop 71 and blocked them from lucrative overtime assignments that were often given to whites.
The workers, lead by Earl C. Walton, contend the union contributed to the discrimination by failing to stop it.
Attorneys representing the Navy and the union appeared at a March 3 hearing to contest the allegations.
They asked Miller to dismiss the entire complaint because, they claimed, there was no evidence and the workers had failed to file reports with the yard's Equal Employment Opportunity office in a timely manner.
KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT RACE DISCRIMINATION NORFOLK NAVAL SHIPYARD by CNB