N.C. graphics firm settles EEOC charges of reverse discrimination
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In a reverse discrimination case, a printing and graphics communications firm has reached a $334,000 settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of a lawsuit in which it was charged with giving preference to Hispanic temporary workers.
According to a Monday EEOC statement, Durham, N.C.-based PBM Graphics Inc., which routinely used temporary workers for its production needs, had developed a “core” group of temporary workers since at least January 2003 who worked in light bindery production jobs.
These workers were told to come to work unless otherwise notified, while other temporary workers worked only on an “as needed” basis. The EEOC charged that the 50 to 75 members of this core group were disproportionately Hispanic, “to the exclusion of similarly qualified non-Latino temporary workers.”
The lawsuit, which charged the company with violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, also said PBM assigned a disproportionately greater number of work hours to Hispanic temporary workers than to similarly qualified non-Latino temporary workers.
“We hope this lawsuit reminds employers that they cannot discriminate on the basis of national origin, regardless of the national origin of the perpetrators, victims or beneficiaries of the discrimination,” said Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte, N.C., district office, which includes the EEOC’s Raleigh, N.C., area office, where the charge was filed.
A PBM spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
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