Abercrombie settles race case for $40 million

 

Tuesday, November 16, 2004 Posted: 6:37 PM EST (2337 GMT)

 

Eddie Gonzalez, one of the plaintiffs, arrives at a news conference Tuesday.

 

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has agreed to pay $40 million to black, Hispanic and Asian employees and job applicants to settle a class-action federal discrimination lawsuit that accused the clothing retailer of promoting whites at the expense of minorities, lawyers said Tuesday.

 

The settlement, approved Tuesday morning by U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston, requires the company to adhere to a consent decree that calls for implementing new policies and programs to promote diversity and prevent discrimination in its workforce. It also must pay about $10 million to monitor compliance and cover attorneys' fees.

 

"We have, and always have had, no tolerance for discrimination," said Mike Jeffries, chairman and chief executive of New Albany, Ohio-based Abercrombie & Fitch Co. The company settled to avoid "long, drawn out" litigation, he said in a release.

 

The lawsuit was filed last June in San Francisco by Hispanic and Asian groups charging that Abercrombie & Fitch, known for its "classic casual American" clothing styles, hires a disproportionately white sales force, puts minorities in less-visible jobs and cultivates a virtually all-white image in its catalogues and elsewhere. A second, similar lawsuit was filed against the company last November in New Jersey.

 

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission joined the private plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which alleged that Abercrombie & Fitch violated portions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lawsuit specifically accused the company of engaging in recruiting and hiring practices that exclude minorities and adopting a virtually all-white marketing campaign.

 

"The retail industry and other industries need to know that businesses cannot discriminate against individuals under the auspice of a marketing strategy or a particular 'look.' Race and sex discrimination in employment are unlawful, and the EEOC will continue to aggressively pursue employers who choose to engage in such practices," said Eric Dreiband, the EEOC's general counsel.

 

The EEOC estimated the settlement would affect more than 10,000 Hispanic, Asian or black men and women.

 

Abercrombie & Fitch said it hired Todd Corley, a diversity consultant, as its newly created vice president of diversity under the consent decree, which also calls for hiring up to 25 diversity recruiters. The company also promised that its marketing materials would reflect diversity.

 

The original lawsuit was brought on behalf of nine young minorities, including students and graduates of Stanford University and the University of California, who were denied jobs or fired based on their race.

 

"This agreement promises to transform this company, whose distinctiveness will no longer stem from an all-white image and workforce," said Thomas A. Saenz, vice president of litigation at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

 

Link

 

Finally, Abercrombie gets what they deserve. Two years, all I saw was white people working there and asked if they sell a black hoodie. Dude said "We don't sell anything black" since then I haven't stepped foot in that store.

It's always nice to walk into that store and see all the employees flock around you because if you aren't white you're gonna steal everything. I hate that store because the clothing sucks, looks like crap, costs a ton, and their "All-American" image is based solely on white = American, everything else =/= American.

Abercrombie sucks. It's expensive and the clothes suck.

 

EDIT: Your avatar and sig rock Rebirth.

Abercrombie sucks. It's expensive and the clothes suck.

 

EDIT: Your avatar and sig rock Rebirth.

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Thanks :thumbup

i dunno about u guys, bu t i dont and never will buy af stuff. i have some hollister and american eagle stuff though. i found out the other day that they are all run by the same company. hollister looks kinda white boy inside and with the workers, but af is the one with all the blonde models and stuff. i dont want to return my ae and hollister stuff, but are they racists too since they are run by abercrombie? im confused

Yah, Hollister is the sister company of Abercrombie.

i dunno about u guys, bu t i dont and never will buy af stuff. i have some hollister and american eagle stuff though. i found out the other day that they are all run by the same company. hollister looks kinda white boy inside and with the workers, but af is the one with all the blonde models and stuff. i dont want to return my ae and hollister stuff, but are they racists too since they are run by abercrombie? im confused

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na, AE isnt owned by abercrombie...they're actually competitors.

 

hollister is owned by A&F, though.

I think the hollister, AE, AF styles are ugly. But that isn't the point.

 

I'm not extremely familiar with the case (ive heard some stuff here and there), but it's pretty immature and scummy (yah, im all about intelligent words today) to racially discriminate in the workplace today.

 

At the same token, part of me thinks AF should be able to hire who they want. I wouldn't expect them to get much federal government protection, support, etc. (kind of like Bob Jones University, and how they couldnt get accredited because they continued to discriminate in admissions).

Just shop at thrift stores doods and save the rest for booze.

Just shop at thrift stores doods and save the rest for booze.

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Some people would rather be tools.

 

*Types this while wearing a Sean John hat and Aeropostale pants*