Atonio

Salmon cannery workers appeal from the district court’s judgment dismissing with prejudice their claims of racial discrimination in employment. The defendants are three former employers. We ordered supplemental briefing on the question whether Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, Pub.L. No. 102-166, 105 Stat. 1071, 1071-81 (codified in scattered sections of 42 U.S.C.A.), applies to this case. We conclude that one of the provisions of the Act validly exempts this case from the Act’s substantive provisions. Applying the earlier law, as well as the prior mandates of the Supreme Court and this court, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

I

This case has a long and complex history, of which only a small portion is relevant to this appeal. In 1974, nonwhite cannery workers brought an action in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington to challenge employment policies and conditions at several canneries located in remote areas of Alaska. The complaint included claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e-2000e-17 (1988 & Supp. Ill 1991).

The workers sought relief on their Title VII claims…