US Labor Department files complaint against Brunswick Corp. and Lund Boat Co. for sex discrimination at Minnesota manufacturing plant

News Release
OFCCP News Release: [12/01/2011]
Contact Name: Scott Allen or Rhonda Burke

More than 200 women applicants affected; complaint seeks back wages, job opportunities

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is suing federal contractor Brunswick Corp. and Lund Boat Co., a wholly-owned subsidiary. In an administrative complaint filed today with the department's Office of Administrative Law Judges, OFCCP asserts that the companies systematically discriminated against more than 200 women who applied for entry-level positions at Lund's boat manufacturing plant in New York Mills, Minn.
"Representatives from Lund have argued that women were less likely to be hired than men because of a preference for workers with manufacturing experience," said Solicitor of Labor M. Patricia Smith. "However, OFCCP's investigation found that even women with this type of experience were less likely to be hired than men without it. That's not fair. It's not right. And it's against the law."
Under Executive Order 11246, federal contractors are required to ensure that qualified job applicants receive equal consideration for employment without regard to their sex. OFCCP's complaint requests that Lund and Brunswick provide financial remedies — including lost wages, interest and benefits — to the women affected by the discriminatory practices. Furthermore, the agency asks that job offers be extended to at least 27 women in the original group of applicants. Finally, the suit asks that the companies be prohibited from extending or modifying current government contracts and from entering into future contracts until they have remedied these violations.
"Brunswick's Chairman and CEO, Dustan McCoy, has stated a commitment to acting ethically," said OFCCP Director Patricia A. Shiu. "By his own words, 'Acting ethically simply means that we do what is right in all situations.' So, we ask him now to do what is right for the women who sought a fair shot at employment with his company and for the taxpayers who deserve to know that their money is never used to discriminate."
Based in Lake Forest, Ill., Brunswick is a leading provider of marine, athletic and recreational products. Lund serves as the corporation's boat manufacturing division. In the past two years alone, Brunswick held federal contracts totaling almost $23 million with agencies including the U.S. Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, among others.
In addition to Executive Order 11246, OFCCP enforces Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. As amended, these three laws require those who do business with the federal government, both contractors and subcontractors, follow the fair and reasonable standard that they not discriminate in employment on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. For general information, call OFCCP's toll-free helpline at 1-800-397-6251 or visit its website at http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/.

OFCCP v. Lund Boat Co. and Brunswick Corp.Case Number: 2012-OFC-00002

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/ofccp/OFCCP20111625.htm

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/.

Answering the Illegal Question

The Chronicle of Higher Education
February 24, 2011

By Julianna Baggott

I'm lucky in that I work in a department that is kid-friendly, at a university that's making a concerted effort to support women on the faculty and families (including with a new parental-leave policy).
As a novelist whose personal bio exists on the back of every one of my books, I don't have the luxury of pretending not to have kids. At my job interviews at the Modern Language Association convention a few years ago, it was obvious to anyone who knew my work and could count on their fingers that I was immensely pregnant with my fourth child. In academe that is much like growing a fourth head—though growing a fourth head would be more attractive because academics prize the mind over the body.

Full Story: http://chronicle.com/article/Answering-the-Illegal-Question/126504/?sid=ja&utm_source=ja&utm_medium=en

Les Schwab Tire Centers Agrees To Pay $2,000,000 To Settle Hiring Discrimination Case Involving Females

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
PRESS RELEASE
3-11-10

SEATTLE -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has resolved its gender-based hiring class lawsuit against Les Schwab Tire Centers of Washington, et al., and Les Schwab Tire Warehouse, Inc. for $2,000,000 and other corrective measures.
The EEOC's suit (Case No. 06-045-RSM) in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (Seattle) claimed that Les Schwab had failed to hire qualified women for Sales & Service (tire changing) jobs at its stores in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Utah starting in 2004.
"While the parties have engaged in extensive litigation the past four years, we are pleased to work with Les Schwab to bring this case to a resolution and to start a new era of cooperation," EEOC Regional Attorney William Tamayo said. "This resolution allows Les Schwab and the women who the EEOC represents to move forward."
Mike Baldonado, EEOC San Francisco District Director, whose responsibility includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, stated, "The EEOC will continue to investigate employers and industries that have put women in certain types of jobs, and men in others. We hope Les Schwab becomes a model employer of women in the male-dominated tire industry."
In addition to the monetary amount, Les Schwab agrees to maintain its anti-discrimination policies and procedures and anti-discrimination training for all its managers, assistant managers and employees about Title VII and sex-based discrimination. The company will also provide periodic reports to the EEOC on its compliance with the terms of the consent decree.
According to the company’s web site, www.lesschwab.com, there are over 400 Les Schwab Tire Centers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Utah and Nevada. The company is based in Bend, Oregon.
The EEOC enforces the nation's laws in the private and federal sectors prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, pregnancy, religion, national origin, age and disability. San Francisco District's jurisdiction includes Northern California, Northern Nevada, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.