Judge encourages Coca-Cola to maintain commitment to diversity

<p>A federal judge Friday encouraged The Coca-Cola Co. to maintain its commitment to diversity in the workplace after receiving the final report from a task force born from a $200 million discrimination settlement by the world's largest beverage maker.</p><p>"I challenge you to keep this ... as a critical part of the manifesto," U.S. District Judge Richard Story told Coca-Cola executives.</p><p>The comment came during a hearing at which the task force chaired by former Labor Secretary Alexis Herman issued its fifth and final report stemming from the settlements reached between 2000 and 2002.</p><p>The report said the Atlanta-based company has made significant progress toward more equal opportunities in the workplace for minorities and women. But, the report said, to be sustainable "the many improvements in personnel practices that have begun to take root must become embedded in the company's culture."</p><p>Coca-Cola Chief Executive Neville Isdell, who had asked the task force to extend its duties for the fifth year, told the judge that the company knows it has more to do.</p><p>"We shouldn't leave this courtroom today and say that there is anything behind us," Isdell said.</p><p>At the same time, even plaintiff's lawyer Cyrus Mehri agreed that the company has made progress in diversifying its workforce and showing that its actions were "not just a symbolic commitment, but a genuine commitment."</p><p>The report released Friday said the company has successfully diversified its candidate and interview pools for open positions. The task force also said that the gap that existed between black employees' and all other employees' perception of the diversity climate has narrowed significantly from prior years, with blacks rating the company nearly as favorably as whites, Hispanics and Asian Americans.</p><p>The report said that the diversity among Coca-Cola's elected and appointed officers has increased from 16 percent female and 8 percent minority in 2000 to 27 percent female and 21 percent minority this year. It said there have also been marked improvements in female and minority hiring for middle management and senior management positions.</p><p>Coca-Cola agreed to the diversity task force after reaching the hefty racial and gender discrimination settlements. The committee represented both the plaintiffs and the company and was made up of two business executives, two lawyers and a trio of former civil rights officials.</p><p>The original suit was filed in 1999 on behalf of current and former employees. The main settlement applied to about 2,200 salaried black employees who worked for Coke between April 22, 1995, and June 14, 2000. Some plaintiffs opted out and sought their own settlements with Coke.</p><p>Coca-Cola shares fell 26 cents to close at $46.57 in trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.</p><p>___</p><p>On the Net:</p><p>HASH(0x1cdd200)</p>