Lawsuit alleges Wal-Mart biased against Black truckers
A federal lawsuit alleges Wal-Mart Stores Inc. discriminates against blacks seeking truck-driving jobs, a contention the world's largest retailer denies. The suit, filed Wednesday by Daryal T. Nelson of Coldwater, Miss., in U.S. District Court in Little Rock, alleges Wal-Mart rejects and discourages black applicants for truck-driving jobs at the chain's distribution centers in 12 Southern states. The states are Arkansas,Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Nelson, who is seeking class-action status for his lawsuit, contends that, in May 2002, after he applied many times for a truck-driver position with the company, he was promised a job at a distribution center in Searcy. But when he reported to an area director, as instructed by the company, the director told him he could work as a laborer, the suit said. Nelson said the area director used "racial stereotyping" in expressing "a gut feeling" that Nelson had falsified his credit rating and driving record. Nelson filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. An EEOC document attached to the complaint found "reasonable cause" to believe the 22-year, truck-driving veteran was discriminated against. [more 
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