By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Thursday the results of an employment discrimination lawsuits against three Buffalo area companies.
The companies involved are SPS Temporaries, Jamestown Container and Whiting Door. EEOC attorney Bob Rose says the cases involved several categories of discrimination.
"Most of those had to do with discrimination against African Americans, women, older workers and individuals who didn't speak English as their first language and those who had disabilities," Rose said.
Rose says one of the cases involved an area woman who was a full time employee of SPS.
"She went on pregnancy and they wouldn't take her back when she returned. They told her the job was no longer available," Rose said. "However, at the same time, we learned they were advertising for her position in a local newspaper."
Rose says he believes the case against the temp agency is very prevalent and that similar cases have been field in the past few years. He says the EEOC will continue to monitor the industry for potential discrimination. But the companies have agreed to pay a total of $580,000.
Jamestown Container has four Western New York locations including Buffalo and Lockport. SPS operates six Buffalo area offices, and Whiting Door is located in Akron.