The Washington, D.C., law firm that helped obtain multimillion-dollar race discrimination settlements from Coca-Cola, Winn-Dixie and Norfolk Southern now has Kroger Co. in its cross-hairs.

        In a lawsuit expected to be filed today in federal court in Louisville, the firm Gordon, Silberman, Wiggins & Childs asserts that Kroger — the nation's biggest supermarket chain — routinely subjected black employees to “discriminatory selection and promotion procedures.”

OTHER CASES

Defendants and outcomes of previous race discrimination lawsuits filed or joined by the law firm Gordon, Silberman, Wiggins & Childs:     Coca-Cola: $192.5 million settlement     Winn Dixie: $33 million settlement     Norfolk Southern: $28 million settlement     Cooker Restaurants: $1.35 million settlement     Harris Teeter: Settlement pending     Merck & Co.: In litigation     Boeing: In litigation     Amtrak: In litigation     Cracker Barrel: In litigation     Toshiba America: In litigation     Delta Air Lines: In litigation

        The class-action lawsuit seeks to represent all African-Americans currently or previously employed since October 1998 by Kroger, whose headquarters is in Cincinnati. Whether class status is granted will be up to the judge assigned to the case.

        Kroger officials said Wednesday that they wern't aware of the race discrimination claim. The company did not respond to allegations in the law firm's pre-filing news release, but reiterated a pledge from its personnel policy.

        “Workplace diversity is the top non-financial priority at Kroger,” the company said in a statement sent by fax. “We're committed to the hiring, retention, training and advancement of minorities and women within the company, and we have a broad set of programs in place to carry out this commitment.”

        After its last head count Feb. 3, the company had 312,000 full- and part-time employees, of whom 26 percent are minorities.

        Of the 17 senior executives named in Kroger's latest annual report, 16 are white. Blacks occupy three of the 17 seats in Kroger's boardroom.

        The company is one of the nation's 100 best corporate citizens, according to a ranking by Business Ethics magazine. Companies are ranked, among other things, by their treatment of customers, the community and employees. One item on the scorecard is workforce diversity.

        Kroger, which owns 2,392 supermarkets, 788 convenience stores, 420 jewelry stores and 41 food-processing plants, has made the list two years running. This year, it placed 57th.

        But the lead lawyer in the race discrimination suit against Kroger, David Sanford of Washington, said Kroger's practices paint a picture of a less enlightened company. The lawsuit accuses Kroger of “precluding, delaying and discouraging” African-Americans from full-time jobs and management.

        “Kroger authorizes and/or ratifies egregious discriminatory practices against its African-American employees,” Mr. Sanford said. “Kroger routinely promotes whites while ignoring the qualifications of its African-American employees.”

        The lawsuit cites the experience of Cary Waymon Owsley, a black employee in Lexington. It said Mr. Owsley developed a computerized training program for the territory in which his store was located. But when a computer training job was created, Mr. Owsley was not told of the job, and it was given to a white man who, the lawsuit said, needed Mr. Owlsley's help in carrying out his new duties.

        Another episode cited by the lawsuit involves Vincent Mangruem, a black employee of a Kroger store in Huntsville, Ala.

        Mr. Mangruem alleges that he was demoted and named in a bogus sexual harassment complaint for his criticism of what he considered unfair treatment because of his race. The lawsuit said the sex case was dropped, but also said Mr. Mangruem was ostracized by a white manager who called him a troublemaker and said, “That's the way blacks are.”

        The lawsuit represents five plaintiffs in all, two from Kentucky, two from Alabama and one from Tennessee. Mr. Sanford said the five accounts just scratch the surface.

        “We have investigated the case in conjunction with the NAACP branch offices in different states and have spoken with many current and former Kroger employees in many more states who tell very similar stories,” Mr. Sanford said. “This is not a problem isolated to the few stores discussed in the complaint.”

        The lawsuit seeks changes in Kroger's employment and compensation policies, as well as pay due the plaintiffs.

        Mr. Sanford's firm has initiated or joined race discrimination lawsuits against a number of Fortune 500 companies.

        It was a party to the $192.5 million race bias payout by Coca-Cola to black employees. It negotiated a $33 million race discrimination settlement payout by Winn-Dixie, the Jacksonville, Fla., supermarket chain, and a $28 million payout by Norfolk Southern.

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