Fri 09|03|10

Gerber hit with fine for unfair hiring practices in Fort Smith

Submitted by The City Wire staff on Tue, 08/18/2009 - 12:03pm.

Gerber Products Co. has agreed to pay $900,000 to 1,912 minorities and females for hiring discrimination, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Labor.

The company is also obligated under the agreement to hire 61 entry-level jobs to minorities and women, of which 11 have been hired, according to the statement.

The DOL statement explained that during a scheduled compliance evaluation of Gerber’s Fort Smith plant, federal investigators found a hiring disparity caused in part by “inconsistent selection procedures for entry-level positions.” The investigators also alleged that Gerber’s pre-employment tests “negatively impacted minority applicants and determined that there was insufficient evidence of validity to support Gerber's use of the test.”

“Under the terms of the conciliation agreement, Gerber will not only pay 1,912 minority and female applicants $900,000 in back pay and interest, but will provide 61 entry-level positions, 11 of whom have already been hired,” noted the DOL statement. “The company has also agreed to undertake extensive self-monitoring measures to ensure that all hiring practices fully comply with the law and immediately correct any discriminatory practice.”

Gerber recently announced it may add a cereal manufacturing line to its Fort Smith plant. The $65 million investment in Gerber’s 900,000-square-foot plant might result in 37 new full-time jobs. Gerber employs between 600-650 at its Fort Smith operation.

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The OFCCP refers to a

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 08/24/2009 - 6:35am.

The OFCCP refers to a minority as a non-majority person. Haha... Crazy isn't it? That's a code word for caucasian. And the system is inherently flawed as Alan Bakke tried to point out oh so many years ago.

Minority now out number the majority but not any one group is now a majority minority. It's been estimated that the Hispanic group will surpass the majority by 2025 but that statistic was offered around 1990 and is clearly out of date.

What is a minority?

Submitted by STEPcoach on Sun, 08/23/2009 - 9:24am.

Hey! isn't it sort of racist to label someone a "minority" just because of their skin color or their heritage?

Anyway, let's see if this stupid, discriminatory law stays in effect for the next couple of decades until the whites/Europeans become minorities.

Bet it doesn't!

where have all the flowers gone?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 08/19/2009 - 5:54am.

when will they ever learn?

Dept of Labor's insult to minorities

Submitted by RobertM on Tue, 08/18/2009 - 10:36pm.

This amazes me. Gerber Products used the Adult Education Center’s Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) as a pre-employment test. I am familiar with this test. As the name says, it tests just very basic education and workplace literacy. It tests below the GED level.

This judgment was made because, apparently, testing applicants’ education level before hiring discriminates against minorities. I would think that every minority person with a high school education would be offended at DOL's insinuation that they cannot pass a basic education test.

Big business target

Submitted by craig on Wed, 08/19/2009 - 12:05am.

What's surprising in our employment climate for big business in the last 40 years? An American company can't hire the best person for the job without passing the government minority test. You wonder why workers in Detroit were/are making around $35 an hour plus paid lifetime health care and a pension for "assembly line work". I wonder how they've gone bankrupt. So who wouldn't vote against having such a job?

But let's be real. Each "applicant" gets roughly $300 and the lawyers who filed and won the case get around $300,000. It was a pre-employment test so individuals didn't have to work a day except to fill out the application and maybe an interview, a great days pay. But they were denied their right of employment... you know that right guaranteed under some law that "every" American deserves a job reguardless of qualification. I think it's in that amendment next to the one where every American can have government paid health care.

It was the lawyers who did all the work. But you're used to it by now... you know the movies and TV. Their bean counters went up against Gerber's bean counters and the prolonged lawsuit forecast was.... more beans.

Instead of worrying, I think I'll text my friends, watch some more TV, play a video game and facebook my dog's birthday. Really, I don't have a dog so you can't believe what you read on the internet.