WARNING: LANGUAGE
The EEOC filed suit against Bass Pro Outdoor World two days ago in federal court in Houston, Texas (Added Texas in case anyone thought Houston, Mississippi.). The EEOC accused Bass Pro of discriminating against blacks in its hiring practices in several states and retaliating against employees who resisted the alleged discrimination. The government also accused Bass Pro of destroying records relating to the investigation.
The federal government made the following accusations:
"Defendant has engaged in a pattern or practice of unlawfully failing to hire qualified Black applicants for hourly and salaried positions at its retail stores nationwide. An illustrative example of this corporate practice occurred around summer 2006, when a recently hired Bass Pro Human Resources Manager interviewed a qualified Black applicant for a position at a Bass Pro store in Louisiana. An Assistant General Manager -- who had participated in that store’s hiring decisions for years -- told the Human Resources Manager that the candidate “really doesn’t fit our profile.” When the Human Resources Manager asked for an explanation why the qualified Black applicant would not be hired, the Assistant General Manager replied “we don’t hire xxxxxx.”
Ouch. Feel sorry for Bass Pro in court if that is true as they will get torched. There is more:
*In 2005, the Store General Manager of a Bass Pro store in the greater Houston area told the Human Resources Manager that “it was getting a little dark in here you need to hire some white people.”
*Several times in late 2008, a department “Lead” in a Bass Pro store in Indiana was seen discarding employment applications after he decided that the name on the application “sounded like a ‘nigger name.’” This Lead employee opined that “xxxxx steal and did not make good employees.”
*Defendant has engaged in a pattern or practice of unlawfully failing to hire Hispanic applicants for hourly and salaried positions at its retail stores nationwide. As an example, in addition to directing a Human Resources Manager to “hire some white people,” the General Manager of a store in the greater Houston area would, on a daily basis, use the words “wetback,” “Pedro,” and “Mexican” to refer to people of Hispanic origin. At a store in Indiana, a Lead employee who screened applications stated that “Hispanics should be shot at the border by the border patrol.”
*a managerial employee at an Alabama store complained to a Regional Human Resources Manager that the store General Manager was discriminating against female employees. The store General Manager was informed about the complaint, and told his subordinate that she “better not complain about him again.” Later, the managerial employee met with the store General Manager to voice her concerns about retaliation by the store General Manager. Shortly after the meeting had concluded, the employee was fired by the store Human Resources Manager, who advised that the General Manager had ordered her termination.
The government asks for an injunction against such behavior, an order to make the victims whole, and damages of the compensatory and punitive type. EEOC press release. Needless to say Bass Pro vigorously in a press release of its own. It accused the government of bias:
""This investigation and the EEOC's conduct demonstrate a troubling tendency by the EEOC to stereotype those who love outdoor sports and support conservation as people who unlawfully discriminate or oppose equal opportunity for all," Bass Pro's Vice President for Human Resources Mike Rowland said in the statement.
"For example, EEOC staff investigators have suggested on several occasions that because Bass Pro sponsors a NASCAR race team the company is more likely to discriminate against minorities," the statement said." Article
Friday, September 23, 2011
EEOC sues Bass Pro for racial discrimination.
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11 comments:
Haven't seen one like this since Coca Cola in 2000. In that case a high school graduate who's background was security guard applied for a VP Marketing job - needless to say no discrimination based on race and Coke settled. Way different than this, but something to be learned in how to deal with EEOC. This is going to be interesting.
People applying for positions they don't remotely qualify for has nothing to do with the lawsuit being discussed here. I don't recall having seen a black employee at the Pearl store, although there may be several. Perhaps they're in the front counter customer area. If only half of these allegations are true, somebody is in deep shit, heads will roll and big time checks are going to be written.
PS: Every EEOC employee I've ever come in contact with is lower than a snake's belly; however, the allegations contained in the charge related to this article stand alone, if corroborated.
(1) Who knows how the facts will pan out.
(2) That said, when there are allegations of specific racist statements and acts, retorting with "y'all just hate us 'cause we support NASCAR" is pretty damn weak. Say "none of our employees said any such things," or do your own investigation, or shut up.
Shadow, as of late, you have been way off base. The suit referred to in the initial comment was an EEOC investigation regarding race and hiring. In their case they are a "Southern" company and must be "guilty" by association. Regardless if the claims were baseless, they were "enough" for the EEOC to step in; in the case of the allegations here, they are pretty bombastic claims. The point is how a company best deals with "racial discrimination" within a corporate environment.
I'm with Anderson here, NASCAR is pretty weak excuse. How about they show where "we conduct so many race sensitivity trainings or pay consultants who are experts on diversity" although the latter is a pretty lame attempt.
I haven't seen the EEOC suing the NFL, NBA, City of Jackson, Black Entertainment Television, or a million other black dominated organizations for not hiring as many white people??
Clearly another attempt at "Jackpot Justice" and the government giving "Whitey" the finger.
Silly rabbit...only rednecks shop at Bass Pro!
I wonder how many white people work the local african hair braiding salon? hmmmm...do I smell a law suit?
If bass pro sells cane poles, sun hats and five gallon buckets, they aren't discriminating against anyone. This lawsuit is simply a cultural misunderstanding between the EEOC and regular Mississippians.
Anon 2:45. Please point to which of my comments were 'off base'. Clearly the EEOC is always anxious to don a pointy, black cap and go on a witch hunt. It seems this time they have a relatively simple case to prove, if, as I said, these comments allegedly made by management can be corroborated. If that's off-base, you have no knowledge of the EEOC or its process of granting right to sue. You may not know it, but the EEOC will salivate simply at a charging party's claim that 'my employer used the N word on multiple occasions' or 'they didn't hire me because I'm black and John Q. Manager said that on 7/3/2010.
Being a 'Southern Company' or 'NASCAR affiliated' has nothing to do with the charge, its handling or its eventual outcome.
Shadow. That was my point and thank you for arriving at a conclusion clearly embodied in my initial comment. Your retort was sophomoric at best and tried to draw a conclusion that, embodied in your comment, was way off!
Once again, I'll invite you to point out (specifically if you don't mind) which of my remarks was off base, or attempted to draw a conclusion that was 'way off'. Calling me sophomoric or otherwise generally lobbing a hollow, roundhouse insult does nothing to advance the discussion.
I truthfully and honestly stated that the EEOC investigators are lower than snakes' bellies, will jump at any chance to crucify an employer and, at least in this case, if the charges are corroborated, will have smooth sailing. Is there something about that which you can't get a grip on or do you just enjoy childish insults?
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