EEOC ANNOUNCES INTERVENTION IN TEXACO, INC. LAWSUIT

Washington -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today filed a motion to intervene in the private employment discrimination lawsuit pending against TEXACO, Inc. The Commission's action is based on its investigative finding of class-wide racial discrimination against African Americans in the area of promotion.

In reaching its decision to intervene at this time, EEOC Chairman Gilbert Casellas said, "The Commission collectively agreed that because active settlement discussions are ongoing in this case, it is more appropriate and productive for the agency to be involved earlier in the settlement process rather than later. Intervention will enable the Commission to assist in the resolution of all outstanding issues, including the class claims, prior to the required submission of the settlement agreement to the court for its final approval."

"It is the Commission's responsibility to ensure that the public's interest in the resolution of these claims is represented in the terms of the final settlement," Casellas went on to say. "The EEOC applauds the enormous progress made by the private plaintiffs and TEXACO, which resulted in the historic proposal announced last Friday. The monetary terms that have been announced appear to be adequate. The EEOC's objective in intervening in this litigation is to secure clear, fair, and enforceable standards which will produce the structural changes needed to provide real, long term relief at TEXACO."

The EEOC has been actively involved in this case for the past year and a half. It is the Commission's finding of a clear pattern and practice of discrimination against an entire class of African American employees that serves as a principal basis for the proposed settlement.

EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Equal Pay Act; sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991; Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments; and prohibitions against discrimination affecting individuals with disabilities in the federal government.