ThyssenKrupp to settle sex discrimination case with US Labor Department

mmdnewswire.com
US Labor Department Release Number: 11-0903-ATL

ThyssenKrupp to pay more than $288,000 to rejected female job applicants at Tennessee facility to settle sex discrimination case with US Labor Department

Agreement includes back wages, interest and job offers

MIDDLETON, Tenn. (MMD Newswire) June 17, 2011 -- ThyssenKrupp Elevator Manufacturing Inc. has agreed to pay a total of $288,333 to 248 female job applicants who were systematically rejected for assembler/packer and utility positions at the company's facility in Middleton from January to December 2005, following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. In addition to the financial remedy, TKE will extend 23 job offers to affected women as positions become available.
TKE is a subsidiary of ThyssenKrupp AG, a global conglomerate based in Germany and one of the world's leading producers of elevators. TKE currently holds a $15.1 million contract to provide elevator and escalator maintenance to the General Services Administration, the U.S. federal government agency that manages most federal buildings.
During a scheduled compliance review, OFCCP determined that TKE had violated Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors and subcontractors from discriminating on the basis of sex.
"This agreement sends a powerful message that the U.S. government will not tolerate discrimination," said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu. "A global company like ThyssenKrupp should know better than to underestimate the power of America's working women. When the doors of opportunity are fully open to us, there isn't a job that we can't do."
Under the terms of the agreement, in addition to paying wages and interest to affected female applicants who return timely notifications, ThyssenKrupp agreed to undertake extensive self-monitoring and corrective measures to ensure that all employment practices fully comply with the law, and to immediately correct any discriminatory practices. The company will contact the rejected applicants and make payments directly to them using address information supplied on the job applications.
In addition to Executive Order 11246, OFCCP's legal authority exists under Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Act of 1974. Those who do business with the federal government, both contractors and subcontractors, are held to the fair and reasonable standard that they do not discriminate in employment on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. For general information, call OFCCP's toll-free helpline at 800-397-6251 or visit http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/.