SHOPPER'S VINEYARD TO PAY $60,000 TO SETTLE EEOC RACE DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT

Clifton Store Unlawfully Fired Only High-Level African American Manager, EEOC Charged

NEWARK, N.J. – Shopper’s Vineyard, a wine and liquor store  in Clifton, N.J., agreed to pay $60,000 and provide  substantial injunctive relief to settle a race discrimination lawsuit brought  by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency  announced today.

  The EEOC said in its  lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey (Civil Action No.  08-cv-1234 [DMC]), that Bertram Irving of Passaic, N.J., was the only  African American front-line manager at the Clifton store. Shopper’s Vineyard told Irving  in 2006 that he was being laid off because of economic reasons, but according  to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Irving  was actually laid off because of his race.  Shopper’s Vineyard retained white managers with less tenure and  experience and hired many new  employees, including four new white managers, within the year after Irving was laid off, the suit charged. Race discrimination violates Title VII of the  Civil Rights Act of 1964.

  The five-year consent decree  settling the case requires Shopper’s Vineyard to pay $60,000 to Irving and  institute new anti-discrimination policies and procedures. The store will appoint an equal employment  opportunity coordinator to insure compliance with Title VII and other  anti-discrimination statutes; train managers regarding Title VII requirements  on a regular basis; post a notice to employees at the store about the decree;  and provide reports to the EEOC and permit the EEOC to monitor its compliance  with the decree.

“It is important given  today’s economic climate that employers remember that one of the central goals  of Title VII is to prevent racially motivated employment decisions,” said Spencer  H. Lewis, director of the EEOC’s New York District. “When making layoff decisions, employers must  make sure they are complying with laws that prohibit discrimination.”
  Jeffrey Burstein,  the EEOC’s trial attorney who litigated the case, added, “The EEOC is  committed to the elimination of racial discrimination in the workplace, as  evidenced by our vigorous efforts on behalf of thousands of discrimination  victims like this every year.”

The EEOC is the federal  government agency responsible for enforcing federal anti-discrimin­ation laws  in the workplace. Further information  about EEOC is available on the agency’s web site at www.eeoc.gov.