Black, disabled and pregnant applicants were rejected at NY staffing company, feds say
A New York staffing company accused of discriminating against Black, disabled and pregnant applicants will pay $500,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to an Oct. 3 release.
The lawsuit alleges that Staffing Solutions of WNY Inc. in Buffalo accepted and placed employees on the basis of their race, sex and age in violation of the Civil Rights Act, in addition to other federal laws, according to the release.
The firm declined to hire highly qualified Black applicants or hired them for the “lowest paying, least desirable jobs,” the EEOC said. In addition, applicants over 50 were often rejected, and applicants, after being improperly asked questions about medical conditions, were rejected if deemed disabled by the company, according to the release. Pregnant applicants were also purportedly turned away.
When an office manager brought forward a complaint about prejudicial hiring practices, she was allegedly warned she could be fired, the EEOC said.
“The EEOC’s Buffalo Local Office will continue to be vigilant in its efforts to identify employers who discriminate on the basis of race, sex, age or disability and to ensure that such unlawful conduct stops,” Timothy Riera, the acting director of the EEOC’s New York district, stated in the release.
Staffing Solutions could not immediately be reached for comment from McClatchy News. Their website says they’ve “built a strong reputation in Western New York as a company that provides recruiting for professional, clerical and light industrial positions,” and adds that they “conduct a thorough screening of candidates to match the right people with the most ideal positions.”
A majority of American employees have said they’ve witnessed or been subject to discrimination based on age, race, gender or sexual orientation, according to a 2019 Glassdoor survey.
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