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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: (202) 693-4661
National plumbing hardware manufacturer Kohler Corp. has agreed to pay
almost $900,000 in back pay to more than 2,000 women who were not hired at its
Kohler, Wisc., plant because of their gender. The settlement signed today with
the U.S. Labor Department resolves discriminatory hiring practices revealed
during a routine compliance review by the department's Office of Federal
Contract Compliance Programs.
"Kohler had an informal practice not to consider women who applied for
jobs unless they were at least 5 feet 4 inches tall," said Secretary of Labor
Alexis M. Herman. "In fact, it was one of several arbitrary requirements that
had nothing to do with job performance and amounted to outright gender
discrimination. Women applying for non-traditional jobs cannot be stopped at
the door just because of their height or their sex or because the company
believes that certain jobs are unsuitable for women."
Kohler has $27 million in contracts to supply back-up and portable
power generators to the General Services Administration and the Federal
Aviation Administration. As a federal contractor it is prohibited from
employment discrimination. The department's contract compliance office enforces
equal opportunity requirements of companies doing business with the federal
government.
The $886,500 in back pay, benefits and interest covers more than 2,000
women who applied at Kohler between Jan. 1, 1994 and Dec. 31, 1995. They were
seeking blue-collar jobs such as machine operators, tub and enamel casters,
brass finishers and assemblers that paid between $8 and $12 an hour plus
benefits. Secretary Herman is particularly interested in assuring fair and
equal opportunity for women in these higher paying, non-traditional blue collar
jobs.
In addition to the back pay, Kohler will offer jobs to the applicants
until 111 have been hired. Kohler will also fund a $108,000 ergonomic study
over the next three years to make jobs safer and eliminate unnecessary barriers
to women and will train management and human resources staff to carry out the
settlement.
"We are very pleased with all of the positives that have resulted from
this case action," said Deputy Assistant Secretary Shirley Wilcher, head of the
OFCCP. "The steps that the Kohler Company has committed to take, not only in
providing financial remedy but in correcting the policies and practices that
gave rise to the problems uncovered here, will bring them into compliance with
all of OFCCP's regulatory requirements," Wilcher added.
OFCCP, part of the Labor Department's Employment Standards
Administration, enforces Executive Order 11246 and other laws that prohibit
employment discrimination by federal contractors. OFCCP monitors federal
contractors to ensure that they provide equal employment opportunity without
regard to race, gender, color, religion, national origin, disability or veteran
status and meet affirmative action requirements.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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