Closed Case
Gender Discrimination in Employment
Settled in 1986 for $8 million and Injunctive Relief

Three years after launching the race discrimination class action against Burlington Northern, Paul Sprenger filed a gender discrimination class action against the railroad and the same 18 unions. The named plaintiffs ranged from Margaret Holden, the highest ranking female executive at the company, to poorly-compensated laborers.

This case consumed extraordinary trial time. After a five week evidentiary hearing, the Court approved a class encompassing 7,800 women. It then embarked on five months of trial, which was concluded by a settlement that expanded the class to 13,700 members. Under the settlement, Burlington Northern agreed to a payment of about $8 million and extensive injunctive relief, including the hiring of women into all jobs, including traditionally male jobs such as locomotive engineers, with retroactive seniority. Paul Sprenger acted as lead counsel for the class and the EEOC, which had intervened as a plaintiff in 1984.

The case established several legal landmarks, including detailed standards to evaluate the fairness and adequacy of class settlements as well as viability of representation of potential conflicting classes (race and gender) and management plaintiffs and subordinate plaintiffs in the same class.

Reported decision:       665 F. Supp. 1398 (D. Minn. 1987)