Seattle ? Dealing a victory to the Boeing Co., a federal jury decided Wednesday that the airplane maker had not discriminated against black employees in promotions, as plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit contended.

The lawsuit returned to federal court earlier this month after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a high-profile settlement brokered by the Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1999.

In that settlement, Boeing agreed to pay $7.3 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of 15,000 black employees. As part of the deal, valued at $15 million, the company admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to make several changes in promotion and hiring practices and in monitoring federal anti-discrimination laws.

The appeals court threw out the settlement in April 2003, agreeing with a minority of the class members that the payout was inadequate and attorneys were being paid too much.

U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman presided over the new trial.

Pechman reduced the size of the class in the racial discrimination case to about 4,200 salaried employees. She also appointed new lawyers to represent the plaintiffs.

Employees excluded from the class – hourly workers and employees at facilities acquired by Boeing through mergers – filed a separate class-action suit this year in Chicago, where Boeing’s corporate headquarters are located.

In a statement Boeing released Wednesday, the company said it felt strongly that its promotion processes are fair.

“We are very pleased that the jury agreed. Having said that, the verdict for the company does not mean these employees were wrong to express their concerns. If our employees have concerns, we hope they will bring them forward to us, and that will help us be the best we can be,” said the statement, e-mailed by company spokesman Peter Conte.

Conte noted that the court proceedings are not yet complete: the judge must still rule on whether company policies may have unintentionally allowed for discrimination. Pechman’s courtroom deputy clerk, Eileen Scollard, said she expected that decision to be made during the first or second week of January.