Settlement in Gulf Spill Cleanup Dispute During the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, I walked along mucky beaches in Louisiana watching cleanup and rescue crews scrape down the sand and hunt for oil-soaked wildlife. The crews" effectiveness was questioned at the time, but from a logistical standpoint the vast deployment seemed impressive. Now it turns out there were other wrinkles. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and BP, which had leased the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and led the organization of the cleanup, have announced a voluntary resolution of a government investigation into whether certain contractors discriminated against women in hiring for the cleanup. While the allegations were neither proven nor disproven, the commission said, BP and its contractors will pay up to $5.4 million to a "yet-to-be determined class of women in the gulf region who applied for jobs" to avoid prolonged litigation. The resolution, the details of which remain confidential, covers women from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida who can prove their claims, the release said. "Undistributed money from the settlement fund will be donated to a gulf-area charity that benefits women in the workplace," it said.