A U.S. District Court judge last week granted class action status to a lawsuit alleging that the Chicago-based Boeing Co. discriminated against employees of Asian and Middle Eastern descent.

The suit, originally filed by nine employees in 1999, now covers about 1,500 engineers working in the Seattle area whose ethnic background is from Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.

The employees allege that Boeing overlooked the South Asian and Middle Eastern employees when awarding raises and promotions. Managers also abused the in-house retention ratings used to determine who is most valuable to the company, lowering the rankings to make them targets during lay-offs, the employees argue.

Harish Bharti, the Seattle attorney representing the plaintiffs, said the recent ruling is a major victory for his clients.

"From my point of view, once you have the class certified, it's like having a federal judge put a stamp on the problem,' he said. 'It's recognition that this is a class-wide problem throughout Washington.'

Boeing, the world's largest plane maker, declined to discuss the lawsuit, but a spokesman said, 'Boeing is committed to a work environment where every employee feels respected and is recognized for their contributions."

"We strongly disagree with this procedural decision and we are considering our options," said Ken Mercer, a Boeing spokesman.

The lawsuit was filed the same year Boeing settled a dispute with minorities and women employees who said they were overlooked for raises. The company denied any wrongdoing, but paid $19 million to settle the case.

Bharti could not specify the punitive damages his clients would seek, but said that the lawsuit is about more than money.

'With a class action lawsuit as a vehicle we will force Boeing to make drastic changes in their policy and procedures,' he said. 'This is a very significant victory for all Asian Americans in the class.'

The three-year battle against Boeing hasn't been an easy one. Many employees were afraid to join Bharti's original clients because of cultural factors, he said.

'These people are not familiar with the legal system. They are reluctant to complain, culturally. They are afraid of the system,' he said. 'My advice was this is a land of laws and opportunity. The law works here and they should not be afraid of it.'

Americans are notorious for being litigious, but Asian Americans, especially recent immigrants, traditionally shy away from the legal process, said Margaret Fung of the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

'Understandably, there are potential consequences to being involved in a large suit like this one,' she said. 'As a general matter it's always a big burden to place on individuals.

'Our experience is that the longer Asian Americans have been part of American society, the better they understand that if they don't speak up they'll continue to face discrimination,' she said.