Leggett & Platt, Inc. will pay $407,402 in back wages and interest to resolve alleged hiring discrimination at a production facility in High Point, North Carolina, according to a July 30 announcement from the U.S. Department of Labor.
During a routine compliance review, the agency’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs determined the company’s hiring practices discriminated against 308 Black, Hispanic and White applicants for production associate positions between November 2018 and November 2020. Since 2018, the company has held more than $3 million in federal contracts.
The review found violations of Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin. The company, a federal contractor that produces bedding components and home and work furniture, entered into a conciliation agreement to resolve the claims.
Specifically, OFCCP found “statistically significant differences” in the hiring rates for Black, Hispanic and White applicants who applied for production associate positions, as compared to Asian applicants, which resulted in a “shortfall” of 26 Black hires, four Hispanic hires and five White hires, according to the conciliation agreement.
In addition to paying back wages, the agreement requires Leggett & Platt to provide 30 job offers to eligible class members as positions become available. The company has also agreed to review and revise its hiring process and ensure hiring policies and procedures are free from discrimination.
Hiring bias persists in the job application process, particularly when it comes to race, according to a National Bureau of Economic Research study. A more formalized hiring process can help, the report found, as well as centralized HR, which can reduce implicit bias observed among individual hiring managers and local locations.
More widely, bias in hiring and performance evaluations can derail corporate goals around productivity, finances and DEI, according to a report from The Conference Board and Equality Action Center. Employers, it suggested, can address workplace discrimination by using metrics, teaching the workforce what bias looks like and addressing bias within business systems.