© 2016 The Texas Lawbook.
By L.M. Sixel of The Houston Chronicle
A local commercial bakery has agreed to pay $1 million to compensate hundreds of unsuccessful job seekers after federal officials accused the company of telling black, white and other applicants that it would not hire them in favor of Hispanics.
Lawler Foods, a Humble firm celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, reached a settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission earlier this month. The agency sued the company in 2014 for race and national origin discrimination.
The agency contended that the company, which specializes in desserts and is perhaps best known for its cheesecake, was able to create a Hispanic-dominated workforce for its production line by relying on Hispanic employees to recruit friends and family, and advertising for Spanish speakers when the company had openings, according to the lawsuit.
In some cases, the lawsuit said, company officials told African-American applicants that the company was not interested in hiring blacks or “people like them”; in another, they told a white candidate he would not be hired because he was not Hispanic.
The case provides a rare glimpse into how hiring discrimination occurs and how pervasive it can be, officials at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said. Employment discrimination is often hidden because most applicants never know why they didn’t get a job.
In this case, however, one hiring manager told EEOC investigators that he “subconsciously rejected” black applicants, preferring Spanish-speaking candidates, according to the lawsuit.
“We thought that was an admission,” said Rudy Sustaita, a senior trial attorney at the agency.
Lawler Foods said in its settlement agreement that it believes it did nothing wrong and that it “fully supports equal opportunities for all employees.”
The company referred requests for comment to its lawyer who did not return phone calls.
For a longer version of this article in the Houston Chronicle, please visit www.houstonchronicle.com/news/Bakery.
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