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Les Schwab Settles $2 Million Sex Discrimination Suit
By Sarah Pierce
Les Schwab Tire Centers has agreed to pay $2 million to settle claims it refused to hire qualified women who applied for jobs changing tires. Les Schwab is one of the largest tire and automotive businesses in the West.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Les Schwab denied sales and service jobs to more than 200 women in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Utah between 2004 and 2007. “Some women never got interviewed, while in other cases, men with no relevant experience were hired,” said an attorney for the EEOC. He cited the examples of a woman who had worked at a Wal-Mart tire center and another who had been an Army helicopter mechanic.
Les Schwab disputed the allegations and even succeeded at having some of the claims dismissed, including the claims that it failed to promote women to management and failed to provide them with training. Although not admitting guilt, the company has agreed to continue anti-discrimination training and to hire a proportionate amount of women for vacant jobs.
The settlement will be distributed among the more than 200 women who were denied jobs.
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Updated March 26th, 2010
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