Nike and plaintiffs in a sweeping sex discrimination lawsuit have been unable to finalize a class settlement and have asked a judge to step back in.
The lawsuit, filed in August 2018, described Nike as a place where “women are devalued and demeaned” and systematically underpaid or passed over for promotions, allegations that the company has consistently disputed. The settlement could include hundreds of women who previously worked at the footwear company.
The two sides reached a tentative settlement in February, less than a month before a scheduled trial.
The parties late Wednesday said in a status report that they’re at an impasse in talks to finalize the class portion of the settlement.
Plaintiffs contend a proposed class settlement has not been reached, according to the four-page filing.
Nike disagreed and said while the two sides haven’t finalized “all of the details of a long-form, written settlement agreement,” they have reached an agreement on the “putative class claims.”
“Nike intends to move to enforce that agreement so that participating individuals can receive the benefits of that settlement,” the company said in an emailed statement to The Oregonian/OregonLive.
The parties asked the court for a hearing to be held during the last week of September to help resolve the dispute.
Lawyers for plaintiffs did not immediately return a message.
The parties initially had an April deadline to update the judge on efforts to finalize the settlement, but have previously asked for three extensions.
While the class settlement hasn’t been resolved, the parties already reached separate settlements with the four remaining named plaintiffs, according to a joint February filing. Terms of those settlements have not been made public.
The parties also resolved Nike’s motion for attorney’s fees.
Nike had sought nearly $800,000 in attorney fees from Markowitz Herbold, the lead law firm for plaintiffs, related to the disclosure of some of the lawsuit’s records to a reporter for The Oregonian/OregonLive, a matter that went all the way to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
No terms of the proposed class have been made public. Before a judge rejected an earlier effort to make the lawsuit a class action, plaintiffs’ lawyers had tried to get a class of more than 5,000 women who had worked at Nike certified.
At a February hearing, a plaintiffs’ lawyer said it will take significant time to finish the class settlement, which will require notifying the class, a hearing, and obtaining the court’s approval.
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