Apprentice settles for $34,500 in racial discrimination claim
A New Jersey apprenticeship school has settled a claim of racial discrimination for $34,500.
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) of Sheet Metal Workers Local 25 allegedly dismissed a black apprentice two weeks before he was to graduate from the program.
The JATC has denied it discriminated against the apprentice, its attorney Bennet D. Zurofsky said in an email. The organization voluntarily entered into a consent decree, Zurofsky added.
The apprentice had completed all the requirements to that point and was nearing the end of the eight-term program when he would be promoted to journeyman status, the EEOC said.
The man had previously complained about inadequate training from “biased contractors,” the EEOC said in a release.
Read more at New Jersey Ledger
In addition to the monetary settlement, the JATC was asked to make marginal improvements to how trainees are evaluated and to keep apprentices up to date on their progress.
The EEOC plans to monitor the school’s compliance with the court orders.
Local 25 is based in Carlstadt. It represents workers in Essex, Bergen, Passaic, Hudson Union, Morris, Somerset and Sussex counties.
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