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Benefits December 16, 2009
Albertsons to Pay $8.9M for Discrimination
December 16, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Albertsons, LLC, a national grocery chain, will pay $8.9 million to settle three employment discrimination lawsuits filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
The EEOC charged Albertsons with race, color, and
national origin discrimination and retaliation at its Aurora, Colorado
distribution center. The monetary relief will be distributed among 168
former and current employees.
According to the announcement, the first case, filed
in 2006, alleged a pattern or practice of workplace harassment and
discrimination based on race, color and national origin. The EEOC
said minority employees were subjected to offensive epithets, as well
as graffiti that included swastikas, lynching drawings, and white supremacist
and anti-immigrant statements. According to the EEOC, managers were
aware of, and even participated in, the harassment and discrimination.
The second lawsuit was filed in 2008 and alleged a
pattern or practice of retaliation. The EEOC said dozens of employees
complained about the discriminatory treatment and harassment and were
subsequently given the harder job assignments, passed over for promotion,
and even fired as retaliation.
The third case, also filed in 2008, alleged race
discrimination on behalf of a single African American employee at the
distribution center who was terminated.
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