Federal authorities recently announced a number of steps to be taken by management of the BCI Coca-Cola Bottling Co. plant on the eastern edge of Downtown as part of a settlement on findings of discrimination against African Americans in recent hiring practices.
The settlement follows the U.S. Department of Labor's allegations that representatives of BCI Coca-Cola Bottling discriminated against African-American applicants for entry-level merchandiser positions in 2006. Merchandisers work with retail outlets to maintain displays and stock inventory as part of efforts to maximize product sales.
Regulators determined that the facility's selection process disproportionately rejected African-American applicants. BCI Coca-Cola Bottling has agreed to pay $49,376, a sum to be shared among 26 former applicants. BCI Coca-Cola Bottling also will hire seven of the previously rejected African-American applicants as merchandisers, according to officials of the Department of Labor.
BCI Coca-Cola — which has contracts as a vendor for several federal agencies — also agreed to immediately cease any discriminatory practices, and to undertake self-monitoring measures to ensure that all hiring practices fully comply with the law, according to federal officials.
"This settlement demonstrates the Labor Department's determination to prevent workplace discrimination by federal contractors," said William D. Smitherman of the federal agency's San Francisco office. "With Coca-Cola's co-operation during the review, we were able to achieve a common goal of compliance."
Sam Hassan is a writer for the L.A. Garment & Citizen.
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
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