Target Agrees to Settlement

Milwaukee Target Corp. agreed to pay more than $500,000 to four management applicants who claimed they were victims of racial discrimination, as part of a settlement of a 6-year-old lawsuit.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa signed a consent decree Monday ending the lawsuit in which the federal agency accused the retailer of violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by not hiring the four in its district including Milwaukee and Madison, and not keeping documents as required under the law.

Target also agreed to revise its policies for retaining documents, to provide supervisors with training on employment discrimination and record-keeping, to report on its hiring decisions and to post a notice about the decree for employees in its stores and offices in the affected district.

Target issued a statement saying it decided to settle the case because all claims of discrimination had been dismissed except for those of the four applicants who contended they were denied interviews because of their race.

"We do not believe that any member of Target engaged in discrimination," the statement said. "Target prohibits and does not tolerate discrimination based upon race or any other characteristic protected by law."

Randa had dismissed the case, but the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago reversed his decision in 2006 and ruled that it should go to trial.