Ford Settles Discrimination Suits

Ford Motor Co. has agreed to pay $3.8 million in one of the largest discrimination settlements with the U.S. Labor Department.

According to the consent decree with the Labor Department, Ford must compensate women and minority applicants for lost wages for entry-level assembly positions at company plants in Louisville, Ky.; Wayne and Sterling Heights, Mich.; Sandusky, Ohio; Kansas City and St. Louis, Mo.; and Norfolk, Va.

The company also must hire 100 women and minorities from previous applicants for assembly jobs at the plants.

Labor officials said the agreement also ensured that Ford would hire more women and minorities at all its facilities because Ford agreed to employ them in proportion to the percentage that apply.

The settlement closes 10 discrimination cases involving Ford that federal officials started at various plants and facilities from 1989 to 1998. It should be noted that Ford did not admit to any discrimination in the settlement. The company said it wanted to avoid the costs and uncertainties of litigation.

School Improvements Lie with Teachers

For U.S. schools to improve standards and performance, teachers must be better paid and work year round, according to Education Secretary Richard Riley.

"We have an old agrarian schedule, an outdated factory model and an antiquated wage system," Riley said during his annual address on the state of American education. He said he wasn't proposing year-round schools for all children. He said school schedules were better left to local school boards.

Riley released a 29-point report card on education showing improvements in reading, math and science scores, technology and opportunities for disabled students. But the report card also showed a worsening of student college debt, the gap in Internet access between poor and wealthy schools and drug use.

To read a copy of Education Secretary Riley's state of education address, visit the Department of Education Web site.

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