Company Sued For Race Discrimination

The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) filed a federal lawsuit against a flooring company claiming that the North Carolina based business discriminated against blacks and Hispanics by paying them less than their white counterparts.  According to the EEOC Press Release found at http://www.eeoc.gov/press/9-15-09.html , the company allegedly discriminated against a black employee and other black and Hispanic employees when it paid them lower wages than white coworkers who performed the same jobs.  As stated in the Press Release, the discriminatory wage payments have occurred since at least March 2006.  Race discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and, in this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including race related pay or wage discrimination.  An EEOC trial attorney quoted in the Press Release stated that “Under Title VII it is unlawful for an employer to determine employees’ pay based on their race, national origin or other protected class status; therefore, black and Hispanic employees doing the same or similar work should not be paid less than whites.”  Further information about the EEOC is available in the federal agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov .