In January 2012, Matrix, LLC — a Philadelphia cleaning company — agreed to pay $450,000 to 15 former employees to settle a race discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The lawsuit alleged that Matrix told a white supervisor not to hire any more black cleaners to work at a certain site in Pennsylvania. When she hired qualified black workers anyway, she was fired in retaliation for opposing the company’s discrimination. The lawsuit also alleged that Matrix officials told the black cleaners to sit in the back of the cafeteria during break; later banning them from the cafeteria during breaks altogether. Eventually, all the employees at the site were fired and replaced with a non-black cleaning crew.
In addition to the monetary fine, Matrix also must train its managers about racial discrimination and retaliation laws.
These actions violate Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on race. It also makes it unlawful for an employer to retaliate against an employee for opposing discrimination. Race discrimination means treating someone unfairly because he or she is of a certain race or because of a personal characteristic associated with race, such as hair texture, skin color, or facial features.
Title VII prohibits employers from:
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