Albertsons, LLC, a national grocery chain, will pay $8.9
million and furnish other relief to settle three employment
discrimination lawsuits filed by the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC
had charged Albertsons with race, color, and national origin
discrimination and retaliation at its Aurora, Colo., distribution
center. The monetary relief will be distributed among 168 former and
current employees.
All three of the EEOC’s cases stemmed from incidents at the Aurora
distribution center, which is being closed for unrelated reasons. The
first case, EEOC v. Albertsons LLC, Civil Action No.
06-cv-01273, was filed in 2006 and alleged a pattern or practice of
workplace harassment and discrimination based on race, color and
national origin. According to the lawsuit, minority employees were
repeatedly subjected to derogatory comments and graffiti. Blacks were
termed “n-----s” and Hispanics termed “s---s,” among other offensive
epithets.
The EEOC said the offensive graffiti included racial and ethnic
slurs, depictions of lynchings, swastikas, and white supremacist and
anti-immigrant statements. The graffiti in a commonly used men’s room
was so offensive that several employees would relieve themselves
outside the building or go home at lunchtime rather than use the
restroom. Some of this graffiti remained for years until the restroom
was remodeled in 2005.
The EEOC also charged that minority employees were given harder
work assignments and were more frequently and severely disciplined than
their white co-workers. According to the EEOC, managers were aware
of, and even participated in, the harassment and discrimination.
The second lawsuit, EEOC v. Albertsons LLC, Civil Action
No. 08-cv-00640, was filed in 2008 and alleged a pattern or practice
of retaliation. The EEOC alleged that dozens of employees complained
about the discriminatory treatment and harassment and were
subsequently given the harder job assignments, were passed over for
promotion and even fired as retaliation.
The third case, EEOC v. Albertsons LLC, Civil Action No.
08-cv-02424, was also filed in 2008 and alleged race discrimination on
behalf of a single African American employee at the distribution
center who was terminated.
EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru said, “Employers simply
cannot overlook or tolerate this kind of outrageous discrimination and
retaliation. The EEOC certainly won’t. We will aggressively pursue
employers who violate the laws we enforce. And we’ll insist on
substantial and meaningful relief for the victims before settling
these cases.”
Besides the monetary relief, Albertsons agreed to submit to four
years of court-ordered monitoring, and to institute an extensive
training program to ensure that management is aware of and will comply
with equal employment opportunity laws in the future.