Fifteen minority workers filed a $7.4 billion race discrimination lawsuit this week against General Motors Corp. (GM), the world's largest automaker. The complaint alleges GM failed to stop employees from discriminating against minority workers at its truck assembly plant and truck engineering and development center in Pontiac, Michigan.

The plaintiffs allege white employees left discriminatory items at their workstations, including nooses. According to the suit, a white employee threatened several African-American workers, stating he was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. GM denies the allegations. Plaintiff attorneys may seek class-action status in the case, a move that could involve hundreds of GM's minority employees.