Ball Corp. Subsidiary to Pay $309K to Settle Allegations of Hiring Discrimination
The US Department of Labor recently announced that Ball Container, LLC, a subsidiary of Ball Corp., entered into a conciliation agreement in which the employer will pay $309,000 in back wages and interest to resolve alleged race-based hiring discrimination at the company’s beverage manufacturing facility in Rome, GA. A routine compliance review by the department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs found that, from February 1, 2020, through January 31, 2021, the employer discriminated against 192 black applicants for production technician positions at the facility. The Department of Labor determined that Ball Container’s actions violated Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.
In addition to paying back wages and interest, Ball Container agreed to provide four job offers to eligible class members when positions became available. Ball Container will also be required to review and revise its hiring process and provide training to all managers, supervisors, and other company officials involved in the hiring process.
“Discrimination is preventable when employers have nondiscriminatory hiring procedures in place and see to it that they are followed,” said Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Acting Director Michele Hodge. “OFCCP will use every action available by law to ensure workers and job seekers are treated fairly, and that everyone has access to good paying jobs.”
“Federal contractors that fail to give equal consideration to all applicants – regardless of gender, race or ethnicity – violate the law,” said Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Acting Southeast Regional Director Diana Sen in Atlanta. “There is no gray area for federal contractors, as regulations require them to ensure equal opportunity for all workers and compliance with federal employment laws.”
Understanding employment discrimination under the law
Federal law has robust protections against discrimination in the workplace. Employees are protected from discrimination by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In addition, federal contractors are held to a higher standard in ensuring that anti-discrimination policies are enforced. In this case, a compliance review uncovered that Ball Corp. denied employment opportunities to a class of 192 black applicants. Since the company was a federal contractor, the compliance review uncovered that they were violating federal law and anti-discrimination policies set up by the Biden administration. This policy is no longer in effect and has been removed from the Department of Labor’s website.
Talk to an Atlanta employment discrimination lawyer today
Have you been discriminated against in the workplace based on your race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity? Then you may be entitled to compensation. Federal law protects employees from employment discrimination, discriminating hiring practices, adverse job consequences, and retaliation for asserting their rights under the Civil Rights Act and other federal legislation. Call The Forsythe Law Firm, LLC to discuss your situation with our trained Atlanta employment lawyers and we can begin discussing your case right away.
Source:
dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ofccp/ofccp20241007
