Bank Ordered to Pay $2.18 Million in Racial Discrimination Complaint
Bank of America Corp was ordered to pay $2.18 million to more than 1,100 black job applicants over racial discrimination in hiring.
The suit ruled that the bank’s practices kept qualified candidates from getting jobs.
The decision by Linda Chapman, an administrative law judge at the U.S. Labor Department, awards back pay and interest to former candidates for teller and entry-level administrative and clerical positions in the bank’s hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. Chapman concluded that Bank of America’s “unfair and inconsistent selection criteria” led to the rejection of qualified black job candidates, the Labor Department said. About $1.22 million would go to 113 people who were rejected for jobs between 2002 and 2005, and another $964,000 to 1,034 people who were rejected in 1993.
The Labor Department filed its first complaint regarding black workers against Bank of America in 1997.
In a separate case, the bank reached a $160 million settlement with hundreds of black Merrill Lynch & Co. brokers who alleged racial bias in pay and promotion.
Discrimination is very hard to prove in a court of law. Kudos to those willing to take it a step further and stand up for their rights.
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