EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION: DOL, Federal Contractor Agree to $600,000 Settlement of Hiring Discrimination Case

October 20, 2011

Washington DC - The US Department of Labor and federal contractor Caviness Beef Packers Ltd have agreed to a $600,000 settlement resolving the agency’s findings that the company had discriminated against 746 job applicants on the bases of race and gender, a statement released by the agency’s website said.

The statement said the job applicants were rejected and denied positions at the company’s two meat processing plants in Texas, the Palo Duro Meat Processing Inc. in Amarillo and the Caviness Packing Co. in Hereford.

Under the agreement, the company will pay $600, 000 to the job applicants involved, including back wages and interest, and offer at least 81 positions to some of the applications. Additionally, the company has also agreed to revise its hiring selection process to avoid future violations of its equal employment opportunity obligations.

The company’s violations were revealed when the DOL conducted review of the two plants and found that the company had violated Executive Order 11246 when it failed to meet its obligations as federal contractor to ensure that qualified job applicants receive equal consideration for employment without regard to their sex, race, color, religion or national origin.