Seven employees brought the suit against the utility and its parent, Southern Co., almost two years ago. They alleged that Georgia Power tolerated racially hostile workplace conditions, including the display of at least 13 hangman's nooses at company facilities.
In October, U.S. District Court Judge Orinda Evans denied a petition to expand the list of plaintiffs to cover all 2,100 black employees of Southern Co.
Evans said she was not convinced that discriminatory employment, personnel and human resources policies alleged by the seven amounted to a legitimate class-action claim.
On Monday, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.
``We've said from the beginning that this case should be handled on an individual basis,'' Georgia Power spokesman John Sell said.
Michael Terry, an attorney for the seven workers, said the ruling was a procedural setback and that the plaintiffs' legal team had not decided whether to appeal to the full 11th Circuit court.
A separate lawsuit was filed last month against the company in Fulton County State Court on behalf of four workers who alleged racial harassment.
The lawsuit suit names Georgia Power Co., General Insulation Inc. and Zachry Construction Co. as defendants. Alabama-based General Insulation is a division of Zachry Construction Co., which is based in San Antonio, Tex.
Georgia Power is a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Co, which is also the parent of Alabama Power, Gulf Power, Mississippi Power and Savannah Electric.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/3/197201