GRIFFIN PIPE PRODUCTS TO PAY $100,000, and IMPLEMENT REVAMPED PROMOTION PROCEDURES

Settlement Benefits African-Americans Denied Promotion to Salaried Positions

CAMDEN, N.J. - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced the resolution of its employment discrimination lawsuit against Griffin Pipe Products Company, a subsidiary of Amstead Industries, Inc., which charged the company with failing to promote Frank Loftin of Willingboro and a class of African-American employees to supervisory positions because of their race as well as failing to make information about these positions available prior to promoting white employees in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. (Title VII).

The initial suit, filed on September 27, 2001, alleged that Loftin and other senior black employees had been seeking promotion to supervisory and other management positions for years to no avail. A pattern was alleged in which, even though such black employees were often the most senior workers in their departments and had years of successful performance of their jobs, they were bypassed in favor of whites.

Title VII makes it illegal to deny a person an employment opportunity because of his or her race, color, sex, religion or national origin. This includes the opportunity to have equal access to information about job vacancies as well as equal opportunity to be considered and selected for open jobs regardless of race. While Griffin Pipe denies that any violation of Title VII occurred, it has agreed to provide a total of $100,000 to Mr. Loftin and a group of African-American employees. The company's workforce at its Florence facility will be trained in the employer's responsibilities under Title VII. Finally, the decree provides for a job analysis of each salaried position at the facility involving the supervision of union workers. The job analysis will identify those job qualifications necessary to successful performance of the job. Assessment of job candidates will be based upon these qualifications by means of interview questions or written submissions keyed to actual job behaviors. Interviewers will be trained in the proper use of and scoring of answers to these questions. All union workers will be fully informed of the new assessment method.

"The Commission hails the willingness of all persons involved in this matter to work thoroughly to craft a resolution to this lawsuit," said EEOC Regional Attorney Jacqueline McNair. "We are confident that the carefully thought out restructuring of the

company's promotion process provided for in the decree will enable Griffin Pipe to meet its promise of offering truly equal opportunity to be promoted to salaried positions at the facility."

The decree settling the litigation [Case No. 01-cv-4545(JBS)] has been entered with the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey before Judge Jerome B. Simandle. The EEOC filed the suit after exhausting its conciliation efforts to reach a voluntary settlement.

In addition to Title VII, the EEOC enforces Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act which prohibits discrimination based on disability; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Equal Pay Act, which calls for equal pay for equal work; prohibitions against discrimination affecting individuals with disabilities in the federal government; and sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Further information about the Commission is available on its Web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/.