Staffing Company Alleged To Have Violated Virtually Every Employment Discrimination Law

The “N-word” again.

It’s been some time since we’ve seen that is an employment discrimination lawsuit.

And alleged violations of Title VII, the ADA, the ADEA … discrimination on the basis of sex, race, age, and disability.

Wow! All from one employer! What were they thinking? (No, don’t tell me).

The EEOC has alleged in a newly-filed suit that a Buffalo staffing company violated each of these laws and discriminated against each of these protected classes.  The complaint alleges that the staffing company “either refused to hire highly qualified Black applicants or placed them in the lowest paying, least desirable jobs.”

Moreover, it was alleged that the owner “regularly referred to Black applicants as ‘n—-rs,’ instructed her staff to comply with clients’ race and sex preferences, placed employees in positions based on race and sex, and rejected pregnant applicants. … applicants over the age of 50, applicants with disabilities, and those whom the company deemed disabled were routinely rejected … applicants were improperly asked for their dates of birth and about injuries and medical conditions … applicants considered too old and those who revealed health issues, such as cancer, blindness, or back injuries [were rejected].”

Late edition:  The Buffalo News reported yesterday that the staffing company owner said that the complaint was “meritless and disturbing” but “no surprise.”   Her attorney said that it was an “example of government abuse.”

If the allegations are true, however, this employer is a one-person throw-back to a prior era – as the EEOC regional attorney for EEOC’s New York District Office noted: this “conduct hearkens back to a time over half a century ago, before the passage of federal laws that make this type of discriminatory hiring illegal. The EEOC is sending a clear message with this lawsuit: those days are over.”

Takeaway

Are these days really over?