On March 6, 2002, a federal court "approved a $1,245,000 settlement of a class action race discrimination lawsuit brought by EEOC and private counsel against McKesson Water Products Company and Groupe Danone…The EEOC initiated an investigation of McKesson in 1998 when Steven Crutchfield and several other African-American employees filed charges of discrimination with the Commission alleging that they had suffered racial discrimination at the drinking water processing and delivery company.

Specifically, they charged that McKesson had paid African-American drivers less and increased their compensation at a slower rate than white drivers. They claimed that McKesson assigned African-American drivers to routes in low-income neighborhoods, which were often less profitable than routes in affluent communities. Because pay and promotion were tied to the profitability of the routes, the African-American drivers received lower compensation and fewer promotions than those assigned to the affluent areas."