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,”…
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