WHITE PLAINS, New York (AP) -- A proposed settlement calls for Texaco to pay $200,000 to each of the two plaintiffs who initiated a race discrimination suit against the company.

The proposal, mailed out on Friday, also offers $100,000 to each of the four people who joined the lawsuit later. The rest of the nearly 1,340 former and current black employees would receive an average of $60,000, depending on seniority.

The proposed settlement gives affected employees until March 4 to opt out if they wish to sue separately. A hearing for final approval is set for March 18.

The employees sued Texaco in 1994, claiming the oil company reserved the best promotions and biggest raises for whites and subjected blacks to harassment.

Texaco settled the case in November for $176 million after several executives were caught on tape belittling black employees and suggesting the destruction of papers relevant to the lawsuit.

Of the $176 million, Texaco is paying $26 million in salary increases to current black employees and $35 million for a five-year task force to determine and oversee changes in the company's personnel policies.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs also are seeking nearly $29 million for their fees and expenses, leaving the plaintiffs to split $86 million.

The company fired one executive and punished three others, including David Keough, was the chief financial officer of Texaco subsidiary Heddington Insurance in Bermuda. One of the executives has been charged with obstructing justice and apparently is cooperating with federal prosecutors.