9A
STRICTLY BUSINESS/The Charlotte Post
Thursday, January 16,1997
Morgan Stanley faces lawsuit
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK - Morgan
Stanley and Co. is facing a
$30 million lawsuit from two
black employees who say that
white workers traded a “vile,
racist E-mail” over the Wall
Street firm's in-house comput
er message system. The Daily
News S£ud Monday.
Yolanda Owens and Edward
Hutton, both analysts at the
company, also charge that the
firm's hiring and promotion
practices discriminate against
minorities, who they claim
make up only 1 percent of
company employees.
Morgan Stanley denies any
wrongdoing, company lawyer
Stephen Feingold told the
newspaper. The white employ
ees who distributed the racist
message in the company's
computers were suspended
vidthout pay, even though all
have returned to work, and
some have been promoted.
The author of the racist mes
sage was not an employee of
the firm, Feingold said. The
message, titled “News from
the Orient,” was sent Oct. 4,
1995.
The note consisted of a list of
jokes focusing on an “easy
homework assignment” for
“an 18-year-old ninth grader
who is becoming increasingly
disillusioned with the public
school system,” the report
said.
The student, portrayed as an
African American, completes
the assignment by using com
mon words improperly.
A white analyst used a black
employee’s password to enter
and distribute the jokes to
other whites, the suit alleges.,
But a black employee received
a message by mistake and
notified other black employees
at the firm,'the report said.
Plaintiffs seek an
average of $63,000
from Texaco suit
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Owens and Hutton filed the
suit in Manhattan Federal
Court on Dec. 27.
Ad puts Denny’s in better light
Continued from page 6A
include minorities in its com
mercials.
Reiman said the provision
was included “to make it clear
African Americans are desired
customers at Denn3f’s.”
In the early 1990s, Denny’s
was the target of widespread
complaints from black and
Hispanic customers who said
they were not served as
promptly as whites or were
discriminated against in other
ways.
Among those who sued was
a group of black Secret Service
agents who said they were
denied service at a Denn/s in
Annapolis, Md., in April 1993.
The chain’s parent, Flagstar
Cos. Inc. of Spartanburg, S.C.,
agreed to the settlement of
racial discrimination charges.
It also agreed to offer more
business opportunities and
training for minorities.
The first graduate of a new
program to enable minorities
to own Denny’s franchises
took control of his own store
last summer.
The campaign developed by
the agency Lowe &
Partners/SMS is a marked
change from the Denny’s c£un-
pEugn from a different agency
earlier in the decade featuring
the elderly Corlick sisters.
The running gag was that one
sister habitually confused the
chain's name.
More recently, Denny’s had
been running ads that pitched
its prices or specific menu
items but focused on products
not customers.
In one of the new ads, the
dry-witted Denny’s emissary
finds a pair of well-dressed
investors who have spent
nearly $15 for breakfast at a
posh restaurant. He takes
them to Denny’s where they
could have gotten more for
about $3 each.
“Question: Do you actually
make money on your invest
ments,” the Denny’s man asks
the businessmen but gets no
reply.
In another commercial, the
Denny’s man shows two cable
TV installers that Denny’s
also caters to their schedules.
In the third ad, he takes two
clothing saleswomen to
Denny’s where the food is
always in fashion.
Dermis isn’t saying what it
plans to spend on the cam
paign, although industry
sources expect it could reach
$30 million to $40 million.
While those who sued
Denny’s wiU be monitoring its
compliance with the settle
ment for several more years,
Reiman said the chain has
aggressively responded “by
admitting essentially they
messed up and taking steps to
make the place better.”
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - The 1,377 minority employees who settled
their race discrimination lawsuit with Texaco would each get an
average of $63,000 imder a distribution plan they’ve proposed in fed
eral court.
The employees sued Texaco in 1994, claiming the company reserved
the best promotions and biggest raises for whites and subjected
blacks to harassment.
Texaco settled the case in November for $176 million after several
executives were caught on tape behttling black employees and sug
gesting the destruction of papers relevant to the lawsuit.
Of the $176 miUion, $26 miUion wiU go to pay raises for current
minority employees and $35 miUion wiU go to a task force on sensitiv
ity and training.
Attorneys for the workers, in papers filed FViday, proposed spUtting
the remaining $115 miUion three ways, including nearly $29 miUion
for their fees and expenses.
More than $60 miUion would be divided based on seniority, and
close to $3 miUion would be distributed to every black person who
worked for the company between March 1991 and November 1996,
with no one getting less than $2,000.
The remaining $23 million would be divided based on expert testi
mony on what each employee would have been paid if Texaco had not
discriminated.
Court approval of the civU settlement is expected by next month.
Members of the class-action lawsuit have imtil Feb. 20 to opt out of
the settlement. They then would get no money from the settlement
but would be fi-ee to pursue their own lawsuits.
King works part
of publishing deal
Taxpayer protection is a reality
Continued from page 6A
Continued from page 6A
Interest charges
For any IRS notice issued
after Dec. 31, 1996, the IRS wUl
give taxpayers who fail to pay
their full tax bill a slight
reprieve from interest charges.
From the time the notice is
issued, the taxpayer will have
21 calendar days - up from 10
calendar days - to pay off the
bill without incurring interest
charges, provided the tax UabUi-
ty is under $100,000. In addi
tion, IRS, authority to abate
interest is expanded to apply to
interest resulting from “unrea
sonable” errors or delays caused
by IRS employees performing
“managerial” or “ministerial”
duties.
required that the government
prove its position was substan
tially justified before taxpayers
would be precluded fix)m recov
ering such fees. Be aware that
for tax purposes, “attorney fees”
also refers to the fees of any
individuals authorized to prac
tice before the IRS, such as
CPAs and enrolled agents. If
you win a case against the IRS,
you may now recoup additionEd
restitution. That’s because the
new law increased from
$100,000 to $1 miUion the “actu
al, direct economic” damages
recoverable by taxpayers victim
ized by “reckless” IRS coUection
action.
eEisier for married individuals to
switch their filing status as of
July 31 of last year. They can
now switch from filing sepEu^te-
ly to filing jointly, even if they
CEumot pay the joint habUity in
fuU.
significant hEU'dship because of
IRS actions.
Money Management is a week
ly column on personal finance
prepared and distributed by the
N. C. Association of Certified
Public Accountants.
Warner Books also intends to reissue King’s published books
worldwide. They wUl be releEised as a boxed set through the Book-of-
the-Month Club under terms of the deal.
The King Center has tried for years to enhance the future value of
its assets, which include King's writings and personal papers. 'The
publishing deal will provide the center with a much-needed new
source of revenue.-
Neither the King family nor Time Warner would reyeEd the finan
cial value of the deal, but it is believed to be worth millions over the
years.
Mail procedures
Spousal rules
Litigation, associated costs
The new bUl wUl give taxpay
ers a better chance of recovering
attorneys fees in the event of a
tax controversy. That’s because
the burden of proof is shifted to
the government. It’s now
Don’t know why your ex
spouse is being questioned by
the IRS? Under the new rules, if
you've filed a joint retimn with
your spouse and are now sepa
rated or divorced, you can con
tact the IRS to find out why the
IRS is trying to collect taxes
from your former spouse. The
rule went into effect July 30,
1996. Also, Congress made it
Another beneficial tax law
change is the recognition of pri
vate mailing services to meet
the “timely-mailing-as-timely-
fihng rule.” In the past, only the
U.S. Postal Service was recog
nized. New rules now recognize
other private mail carriers, as
long Eis they meet certain crite
ria. The IRS win designate the
private services that qualify for
purposes of this rule.
Taxpayer advocate
TELxpayers who need help in
resolving problems with the IRS
can do so through the Taxpayer
Advocate. The Taxpayer
Advocate reports directly to the
IRS Commissioner and has
expanded authority to assist
taxpayers who may be suffering
King had economic philosophy
Continued from page 6A
Full employment
Should the federal government
help secure full employment?
King’s economic agenda includ
ed issues where he thought the
government could help. There
were three areEis he felt the gov
ernment should address, poli
tics, full employment and the
guaranteed income.
When it came to politics Dr.
King was most concerned with
educating blacks about what
could be done through the politi
cal process. He encouraged
blacks to vote, run for public
office and to use political power
to pEiss anti-discrimination legis
lation. He also thought it was
government’s role to create full
emplo3mient. King felt that new
forms of work which enhance
the social good would have to be
devised for those for whom tradi-
tionEd jobs were not avEulable.
But the most radical pEirt of his
economic agenda dealt with the
guaranteed income.
The guaranteed income
Although he perfected the poli
cy of nonviolent protest, Martin
Luther King, Jr. was always
considered to have radical ideEis
that changed society. His eco
nomic agenda was no different.
Dr. King embraced a guaranteed
income policy. He beheved that
people should be made con
sumers by one method or anoth
er: give them a job or give them
some money. He felt that a per
son’s income should not be
allowed to fall below a certain
level.
Obviously, this was radical
thinking 25 years ago. But back
then it was thought that a guar
anteed mcome for aU Americans
could have been accomplished
for $20 bUhon, about what it cost
to place a man on the moon and
well below the $35 biUion price
tag for the Vietnam War. Martin
Luther King Jr. was a man of
peace and a man of vision.
Charles Ross is the host of the
nationally syndicated radio pro
gram, “Your Personal Finance”
and author of Your
CommonSense Guide to
Personal Financial Planning.
Business Briefs
SCOPIE
Continued from page 6A
five-year growth plans for each of those markets.
• Valerie Woodard has been named to the N.C.
State Board of Barber Examiners by Gov. Jim Hunt.
The board adopts Emd enforces SEUiitary regulations
at barber schools and shops and certifies all appH-
cants as registered barbers. The governor appoints
all five members for three-year terms.
WoodwEurd is the public member of the boEad Emd
the deputy chief investigator for the Public
Defender’s Office in Charlotte. She is a member of
the NationEil Defender Investigator Association and
the Onyx Optimist Club.
Continued from page 6A
Woodard
located at 200 N. College St.
SCORE is sponsored by the
U.S. Small Business
Administration. Its members
are volunteers who- provide
small business assistance in the
form of one-on-one, team and
workshop counseling. Score has
13,000 members nationwide.
For moe information, call
workshop chairman Dick O'
Brien at 344-6576.
Nominate Your Favorite Teacher/Professor/Administrator!
Who Qualifies: An individual who has touched your life, made an
impact on the direction your career has taken, or someone who has
enhanced the destiny of your life.
Think of someone who has gone above and beyond the obligation of
the classroom time and assisted you academically or socially.
Then, simply complete the form below, and return to:
Cljarlotte
P.O. Box 30144, Charlotte, NC 28230
Attention: Fran Farrer or Fax (704)342-2160
By January 31st 1997
Name of Nominee
Street Address
City
State
Zip
Phone
Day
Evening
School University
Nominated by.
Phone Day,
.Evening-
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