Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Newsroom
  3. EEOC Sues Resource Employment Solutions for Race and National Origin Discrimination
Press Release 10-01-2014

EEOC Sues Resource Employment Solutions for Race and National Origin Discrimination

Staffing Agency Placed Hispanic Workers in Preference to African-American Employees, Then Retaliated Against an Employee Who Complained of Discrimination

OXFORD, Miss. - Resource Employment Solutions, LLC, a temporary staffing agency headquartered in Orlando, Fla., violated federal law by failing to place a class of workers into shipping positions because of their race, black, and national origin, American, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed Sept. 30.

The EEOC's suit alleges that Resource Employment Solutions failed to place a class of workers into shipping positions at a FedEx SmartPost location in Southaven, Miss., because of their race, African-American, and national origin, American. Instead, Resource Employment Solutions preferred to place Hispanic workers into jobs, the EEOC said. The EEOC also charged that the company refused to place an employee into a position and denied her a promotion in retaliation for her complaint. Further, the EEOC said, Resource Employment Solutions failed to make and preserve records relevant to the determination of whether unlawful employment practices have been or are being committed.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects employees against discriminatory practices based on race or national origin, and also protects employees from retaliation. The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No. 3:14-cv-00217) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, Oxford Division after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process. The EEOC's suit seeks monetary relief in the form of back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages, as well as an injunction against future discrimination.

"Federal law prohibits any hiring practices that prefer one group of employees over another based on race or national origin," said Katharine W. Kores, district director of the EEOC's Memphis District Office, which has jurisdiction over Arkansas, Tennessee and portions of Mississippi. "The EEOC will continue to work to establish fairness in the hiring process and eradicate patterns of discrimination in the workplace."

Delner Franklin-Thomas district director of the EEOC's Birmingham District Office, which has jurisdiction over Alabama, portions of Mississippi, and Florida, noted, "This litigation places Mississippi employers on notice that hiring based on race preference is not acceptable."

Resource Employment Solutions, LLC is a Florida company with more than 200 regional and branch offices throughout the United States and abroad. Resource Employment Solutions provides short and long temporary staffing services, as well as recruiting services for permanent placement.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the EEOC is available on its web site at www.eeoc.gov.