25 Fair empl.prac.cas. 1750, 26 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 31,876 Martha Frances Franks, Martha Ann Thweatt, Plaintiffs-Movant v. The Kroger Company

KEITH, Circuit Judge.

This appeal presents a challenge to the district court’s approval of a settlement agreement between the defendant, The Kroger Company, and the class represented by Martha Frances Franks and the other named plaintiffs. For the reasons discussed below, we reverse the district court’s approval of the settlement agreement and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I

In January 1976, the named plaintiffs filed this action in the Western District of Tennessee alleging that the Kroger Company had discriminated against them, on the basis of their sex, in violation of…