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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2018
SLS HOTEL TO PAY $2.5 MILLION TO SETTLE EEOC RACE,
COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN LAWSUIT
Hotel Fired Employees Based on Race, Color, and
National Origin, Federal Agency Charged
MIAMI – The SLS Hotel, operated by
hotel, restaurant and nightlife company called “sbe”, will pay $2.5 million and
provide other relief to settle the discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced
today.
According to the
EEOC’s lawsuit, black Haitian dishwashers were wrongfully terminated on the
basis of their race, color, and national origin and were replaced by a staffing
agency workforce of mostly light-skinned Hispanics. The terminated
dishwashers worked in the kitchens of The Bazaar by José Andrés, Katsuya, and
the Hyde Beach—all restaurant venues located at SLS Hotel, in South Beach.
The dishwashers
testified that their supervising chefs referred to them as “slaves” and
reprimanded them for speaking Creole, even amongst themselves, while Hispanic
employees were allowed to speak Spanish.
The testimony also revealed that
the black Haitian dishwashers complained to human resources about
discrimination and about having a “racist” supervisor but, instead of
addressing these complaints, the SLS Hotel fired the entire dishwashing
department made up primarily of black Haitians, without providing them an
opportunity to apply to the staffing agency before their termination.
Such alleged conduct violates Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits discrimination on the basis
of race, color, and/or national origin. The EEOC filed suit against SLS Hotel
South Beach (Case No.1:17-cv-21446) in U.S. District Court for the Southern
District of Florida, Miami Division after first attempting to reach a
pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
The $2.5 million settlement amount
will be awarded to 17 black Haitian dishwashers, 15 of which are represented by
The Alderman Firm. The SLS Hotel also agreed to provide equitable relief
over a three-year period that includes comprehensive training for human
resources officials, management personnel, and hourly employees across six of
sbe’s South Florida hotels: SLS Hotel South Beach, Shore Club, SLS
Brickell, Delano, The Raleigh, and SLS Lux Miami. Further, an independent
consent decree monitor will attend all required training sessions and provide
comprehensive reports to the EEOC. The EEOC will also receive comprehensive
data on any terminations, layoffs, or involuntary separations that may occur
over the three-year period across the six sbe hotels in the Miami region.
The EEOC Miami District Office Regional Attorney Robert E. Weisberg said, Employers cannot use outsourcing as a proxy for discriminatory practices. The EEOC will continue to fight to prevent these discriminatory employment practices, especially against vulnerable workers."
Michael
Farrell, district director for the EEOC’s Miami District Office, added, “EEOC
will continue to protect workers in the hospitality industry, including the
black Haitian community that makes up a significant part of the South Florida
workforce.”
The EEOC’s Miami District Office
has investigators who speak English, Spanish, and Creole and processes
discrimination charges, administrative enforcement and conducting agency
litigation in Florida, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin
Islands.
The EEOC advances opportunity in
the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.
More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.
Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email
updates.
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