OFCCP Settles with Aramark to Resolve Findings of Gender and Race Discrimination
United States Department of Labor sent this bulletin at 11/23/2015 12:12 PM EST
In a settlement with OFCCP, Aramark Educational Services LLC
will pay $165,000 to 335 male and African-American
applicants to remedy hiring discrimination for food service positions at its
Lubbock, TX location. Aramark has also agreed to extend 53 job offers to
original applicants as positions become available. For information, check out
the press release available online.
U.S. Department of Labor | Nov. 23, 2015
Aramark Educational Services LLC in Lubbock, Texas, settles
charges of gender and race discrimination with US Labor Department 335 class
members to receive $165K in back wages, interest, benefits
DALLAS – Following
an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs, Aramark Education Services LLC has entered into a
conciliation agreement to resolve claims of systemic hiring discrimination.
OFCCP found that the contractor discriminated against 335 male and
African-American applicants for food service worker positions with Aramark, a
federal contractor in Lubbock.
“There are no such things as ‘women’s work’ and ‘men’s
work.’ There is only work, and federal contractors are well aware of their
obligation to provide equal opportunities to all employees and job applicants,”
said OFCCP Director Patricia Shiu. “This settlement is a reminder that it is up
to the employee or job applicant to decide which positions to pursue, whatever
their reasons. A contractor may only evaluate whether or not an individual has
the ability to do the job.”
The agreement concludes an
investigation from Aug. 16, 2008 through Aug. 16, 2010, by OFCCP that Aramark failed
to comply with Executive Order 11246, which prohibits race and sex
discrimination by federal contractors that do business with the government. Under
the agreement, Aramark will pay $165,000 in back wages, interest, and benefits
to the affected class members. The company, while not admitting liability, will
also make 53 job offers to original applicants as positions become available.
Finally, the company will review and revise its selection process and provide
better training to its hiring managers to eliminate practices that result in
gender and race stereotyping.
Headquartered in Philadelphia, Aramark
and its subsidiaries received more than $36 million in federal contracts during
the course of the OFCCP investigation, to provide its services and products to
multiple federal departments and agencies including the Department of the Army,
Department of the Air Force, Department of the Navy, Department of Veterans
Affairs and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
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 make it illegal for contractors and subcontractors
doing business with the federal government to discriminate in employment on the
basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity,
national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. For more information,
please call OFCCP's toll-free helpline at 800-397-6251 or visit http://www.dol.gov/ofccp .
OFCCP recently launched the Class Member Locator (CML). The purpose of
the CML is to identify applicants and/or workers who have been impacted by
OFCCP's compliance evaluations and complaint investigations and who may be
entitled to a portion of monetary relief and/or consideration for job placement.
If you think you may be a class member who applied between 2008 and 2010, the
period of the investigation, please visit our website at: http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/CML/index.htm , where you can also find information about other recent OFCCP
settlements.