PALMETTO, Fla. – A subsidiary of one of the nation’s largest food service distributors has entered into a conciliation agreement with the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs and will pay $133,625 in back wages and interest to resolve alleged hiring discrimination by Sysco West Coast Florida Inc. at its Palmetto facility against 95 female applicants for outbound selector positions.
The routine compliance review of Sysco West Coast Florida Inc. by OFCCP alleged that from Jan. 1, 2018, through Dec. 31, 2019, the employer’s hiring practices violated Executive Order 11246 and discriminated against the affected women applicants. Federal law prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity or national origin.
As part of its early resolution conciliation agreement, the federal contractor also agreed to take steps to make sure its selection process, personnel practices and hiring policies are free from discrimination, and that its recordkeeping methods comply with federal law. The employer will also offer jobs to nine affected female applicants as positions become available.
“Federal contractors like Sysco West Coast Florida are required to make certain its employment practices comply with all federal law, including those that seek to eliminate gender-based barriers to equal employment,” said Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Southeast Acting Regional Director Diana Sen.
Sysco Corp. has contracts to provide food service distribution to the departments of Interior, Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs. Since 2019, it has held more than $102 million in federal contracts. The company employs about 72,000 people worldwide.
