Construction contractor sued for hiring discrimination
Louisiana construction corporation Bertucci Contracting owes a lot of people an apology. The Department of Labor recently took the contracting firm to court for being racially discriminative in its employee recruiting and hiring practices. Bertucci ultimately agreed to settle in May.
The DOL accused Bertucci of discriminating against African American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American workers when hiring for its labor and deckhand positions between 2009 and 2011. In doing so, the business violated the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' (OFCCP) Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating against current or potential employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
"Our job - and the job of taxpayer-funded construction contractors like Bertucci - is to make sure the doors of opportunity are open for all workers who want to be a part of rebuilding and fortifying their communities," OFCCP director Patricia Shiu said. Shiu added that after hardships like Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill and the recession, providing these opportunities in Louisiana is more important than ever.
The suit's settlement agreement orders Bertucci to pay $70,000 in back wages to the 14 people that were affected by its discrimination, in addition to offering six of them employment when positions become available.
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