Anaheim staffing agency to pay $2.2 million to settle hiring discrimination suit

A former Anaheim-based staffing agency will pay $2.2 million to settle a hiring discrimination lawsuit that alleged it failed to recruit and refer job candidates based on race, sex or disability, federal regulators announced this week.

The 2022 suit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission targeted BaronHR LLC and Radiant Services Corp., a Baron client that operates a commercial laundry facility in the Harbor Gateway near Carson and allegedly exercised the same discriminatory practices.

“Protecting individuals seeking entry-level or temporary jobs from discrimination in recruitment and hiring is a key enforcement priority for the commission as set forth in the EEOC’s most recent strategic enforcement plan,” EEOC General Counsel Karla Gilbride said in announcing the settlement. “Individuals seeking work through staffing agencies fall squarely within the category of vulnerable workers.”

Baron closed in January.

The lawsuit alleged that, since at least 2015, Baron failed to recruit and refer workers for low-skill positions based on their race, including those who are Black, Asian, White and non-Hispanic.

The company — which operated branch offices in California, Nevada, Colorado and Illinois — also allegedly screened out job seekers with disabilities and perceived disabilities by only hiring and referring supposedly physically fit candidates with no history of injury.

Officials with Radiant could not be immediately reached for comment. It was unknown whether the EEOC has reached a settlement with the company.

The lawsuit states a Black woman, who wasn’t identified, applied for work through Baron in May 2013, and regularly inquired about employment opportunities,

The woman visited Baron’s Carson office on March 4, 2015, to inquire about available positions and saw a group of workers training for assignment at Radiant. When she asked if she was eligible, a receptionist told her that the “client does not hire Black workers,” the suit says.

Two other Black women applied for jobs at Baron’s Carson office but also were never hired, according to the complaint. Radiant consistently maintained a largely homogeneous Latino workforce at its Harbor Gateway facility, the EEOC said.

Baron also allegedly acquiesced to Radiant’s discriminatory requests for male and female temporary workers for specific employment opportunities.

Radiant requested male workers for sorting and transporting heavy loads of laundry and female workers for folding and ironing positions, which the lawsuit described as exclusionary and discriminatory.

Baron also used an unlawful qualification standard by recruiting and referring physically fit candidates with no history of injury, which excluded individuals with actual and perceived disabilities, the suit states.

A consent decree settling the suit — approved Monday, April 8, by U.S. District Judge George Wu — prohibits Baron from future discriminatory and hiring practices. The $2.2 million paid by the company will be distributed to those who submitted claims to the EEOC and applied for work but were not hired.

“Hiring discrimination remains a persistent problem in low-skill, low-wage industries,” Anna Park, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Los Angeles district office said in a statement. “Employers need to take their responsibilities seriously to ensure all applicants receive employment opportunities regardless of race, national origin, sex or disability.”

Source: Orange County Register