• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Lawsuit Claims Race Bias at Wet Seal Retail Chain

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

Dram

Member
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/business/wet-seal-accused-of-racial-bias-by-3-ex-managers.html?_r=2&ref=business

Three former managers at Wet Seal, a nationwide apparel retailer for young women, filed a federal race discrimination lawsuit on Thursday, asserting that the company had a high-level policy of firing and denying pay increases and promotions to African-American employees because they did not fit its “brand image.”

The lawsuit, filed in Federal District Court in Santa Ana, Calif., includes a copy of a March 2009 e-mail sent by the company’s then senior vice president for store operations to lower-level managers after she had inspected several stores. The email said, “African American dominate — huge issue.”

One plaintiff, Nicole Cogdell, the African-American former manager of a Wet Seal store in King of Prussia, Pa., said the company terminated her the day after that e-mail was sent. She said that she had heard the senior vice president, Barbara Bachman, tell a district manager that she wanted someone with “blond hair and blue eyes.”

The lawsuit seeks back pay, and general and punitive damages. It also seeks class-action status on behalf of more than 250 current and former black managers at Wet Seal, which has more than 550 Wet Seal and Arden B stores across the nation and is based in Foothill Ranch, Calif.

Another plaintiff, Kai Hawkins, the African-American former manager of a store in Cherry Hill, N.J., said her district manager had told her to hire more white employees or face termination. In the lawsuit, Ms. Hawkins said that she had been offended by Ms. Bachman’s e-mail and that she saw many black employees being “terminated despite doing a good job and without any explanation.”

In a statement issued Thursday, Wet Seal said: “Wet Seal is an equal opportunity employer with a very diverse work force and customer base. We deny any and all allegations of race discrimination and will vigorously defend this matter.”

Brad Seligman, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, has also been the plaintiffs’ lead lawyer in the highly publicized sex discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart that sought class-action status on behalf of more than 1.5 million women who are current or former Wal-Mart employees. The Supreme Court ruled that class-action status was inappropriate in that case, saying that there appeared to be no companywide policy promoting discrimination.

But Mr. Seligman, citing the senior vice president’s e-mail, said that the Wet Seal case would more clearly qualify for class-action status.

“This is unlike Wal-Mart,” he said. “We have an explicit corporate policy that’s discriminatory. This is old-school, straight-up discrimination.”

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Inc. is co-counsel for the plaintiffs.

The lawsuit alleges that Ms. Bachman had ordered various managers to “lighten up” the work force in stores with a large white clientele by hiring more whites and had told a regional manager that she must have “lost her mind” to have put a black person in charge of a particular store.

In a federal lawsuit brought in 2003, Abercrombie & Fitch — which at the time regularly used blond, blue-eyed models to appeal to consumers of college age — faced a somewhat similar lawsuit that accused it of discriminating against blacks, Hispanics and Asians. The suit asserted that Abercrombie favored certain colleges, fraternities and sororities for hiring and often relegated nonwhite employees to supply room jobs where customers would not see them.

After a federal judge approved class-action status in that case, Abercrombie agreed to pay more than $40 million to several thousand plaintiffs, hire 25 diversity recruiters and add more blacks, Hispanics and Asians to its marketing materials.

The Wet Seal lawsuit states that after Ms. Cogdell was terminated and complained to the E.E.O.C., Wet Seal offered her another job. But she said she had felt compelled to quit because the company was not addressing what she said were its underlying problems of discrimination.

“I couldn’t work for a company that not only tolerated, but required discrimination,” Ms. Cogdell said in a statement.
Click to expand...
 
G

GDGF

Soothsayer
Had a friend who was offered a management position at Abercrombe but quit after her DM advised her against hiring "ethnic people and overweight people". This was like a decade ago.
 
W

winter

Member
GDGF said:
Had a friend who was offered a management position at Abercrombe but quit after her DM advised her against hiring "ethnic people and overweight people". This was like a decade ago.
Click to expand...

My cousin worked for Abercrombie. She told me they get around laws prohibiting discriminatory hiring practices by giving sales associate the title sales associate/model or something.
 
F

FStop7

Banned
Wet Seal is still around? What about CHESS KING? I need to know where I can stock up on my Z. Cavaricci pants.
 
T

ThisWreckage

Banned
winter said:
My cousin worked for Abercrombie. She told me they get around laws prohibiting discriminatory hiring practices by giving sales associate the title sales associate/model or something.
Click to expand...

Yes, they're clever about it. I mean, this kind of thing is pretty rampant, but most companies aren't as brazen (see: stupid) to put their intentions in an e mail.
 
D

Devolution

Member
Abercrombie, American Eagle, and Hollister seem like they do the same. I know A&F has had official complaints. Not sure about the other two.
 
Y

Yaboosh

Super Sleuth
Hah, holy shit. Talk about blatant.

You know this shit is super common in all the big white people stores like AF, Hollister, shit like that, but damn if you are going to be racist/discriminatory at least use your head in keeping it subtle.
 
D

Devolution

Member
Yaboosh said:
Hah, holy shit. Talk about blatant.

You know this shit is super common in all the big white people stores like AF, Hollister, shit like that, but damn if you are going to be racist/discriminatory at least use your head in keeping it subtle.
Click to expand...

I'd rather they be stupid and blatant so people can take them to court.
 
S

slit

Member
Yaboosh said:
Hah, holy shit. Talk about blatant.

You know this shit is super common in all the big white people stores like AF, Hollister, shit like that, but damn if you are going to be racist/discriminatory at least use your head in keeping it subtle.
Click to expand...

Somebody should open a chain and call it Big White People's Store.
 
C

cutmeamango

Banned
One plaintiff, Nicole Cogdell, the African-American former manager of a Wet Seal store in King of Prussia , Pa., said the company terminated her the day after that e-mail was sent. She said that she had heard the senior vice president, Barbara Bachman, tell a district manager that she wanted someone with “blond hair and blue eyes.”
Click to expand...

Makes sense to me.
 
oxrock

oxrock

Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
I don't see what rich racist white people would have against black people serving them. They can pretend it's plantation days again.
 
W

winter

Member
CrazyDogg77 said:
All the big "white people stores" do stuff like this. Apparently some people just can't buy stuff from black people.
Click to expand...

I don't think the issue is that white customers don't want to buy merchandise from black people. I've noticed that when white people see primarily black staff working at a new store, the perception is that the store sells "black clothes." When H&M opened up years ago in my area, it was primarily staffed by black people. Even though the store originated in sweden--the whitest of white countries, I had family and friends (white) that identified the clothing as being "black" and they felt like H&M was somewhere that wasn't culturally acceptably for them to shop at.

I'm not defending the store's strategy by any means, but I swear this is a real phenomenon, stupid or not.
 
A

Alucrid

Banned
winter said:
I don't think the issue is that white customers don't want to buy merchandise from black people. I've noticed that when white people see primarily black staff working at a new store, the perception is that the store sells "black clothes." When H&M opened up years ago in my area, it was primarily staffed by black people. Even though the store originated in sweden--the whitest of white countries, I had family and friends (white) that identified the clothing as being "black" and they felt like H&M was somewhere that wasn't culturally acceptably for them to shop at.

I'm not defending the store's strategy by any means, but I swear this is a real phenomenon, stupid or not.
Click to expand...

I would love to dig into their minds to find out what fits the description of "black clothes."
 
Smiles and Cries

Smiles and Cries

Member
oxrock said:
I'm certainly not advocating racism or this "whitening up the place" policy". Just curious why their clientele would be upset.
Click to expand...

the store seems more like a skinny people store than it should be about race
bad move by the company regardless to be so blatant there is no excuse
 
oxrock

oxrock

Gravity is a myth, the Earth SUCKS!
Smiles and Cries said:
the store seems more like a skinny people store than it should be about race
bad move by the company regardless to be so blatant there is no excuse
Click to expand...

Well with a name like wet seal I can't help but imagine it's a store mostly frequented by spoiled white brat tweens spending republican daddy's money. I don't know why, I've never even heard of the store until today but that's just the random mental image that comes up.
 
A

AlexMogil

Member
Never heard of the place. It sounded like a truck liner installation company or a basement repair chain.



Edit: I just checked the site: There's black people in the images, what's the problem? See? See? We're hip! Hello, it's a regular Bennetton, right? Hello? Where y'all goin?
 
D

DUFFMCWALIN

Member
oxrock said:
I don't see what rich racist white people would have against black people serving them. They can pretend it's plantation days again.
Click to expand...

Oh fuck I shouldn't be laughing. I get what you mean though. Don't try to understand racism its a dark hole of hate and fear.
 
T

tenchir

Member
Not defending their behavior, but I can understand why it exist. Store's atmosphere really help sell products and the Apple Store is the biggest example of it. A store that sells clothing that identifies to rich white people would have trouble selling their products if it is staff by fat obese minority,
 
N

neojubei

Will drop pants for Sony.
winter said:
I don't think the issue is that white customers don't want to buy merchandise from black people. I've noticed that when white people see primarily black staff working at a new store, the perception is that the store sells "black clothes." When H&M opened up years ago in my area, it was primarily staffed by black people. Even though the store originated in sweden--the whitest of white countries, I had family and friends (white) that identified the clothing as being "black" and they felt like H&M was somewhere that wasn't culturally acceptably for them to shop at.

I'm not defending the store's strategy by any means, but I swear this is a real phenomenon, stupid or not.
Click to expand...

Funny you bring up H&M. Once I was in new jersey visiting my friends and god daughter and we were in the mall waiting outside h&m for another friend to leave. Just then 3 girls walked by H&M and stopped in front one girl asked if they want to go inside and the other girl said no that's where black people shop. I swear I never knew people thought H&M was some "black clothing store " especially with having clothes in small sizes.
 
S

Slayven

Member
tenchir said:
Not defending their behavior, but I can understand why it exist. Store's atmosphere really help sell products and the Apple Store is the biggest example of it. A store that sells clothing that identifies to rich white people would have trouble selling their products if it is staff by fat obese minority,
Click to expand...

Where did it mention them being fat? Freudian slip?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Pokémon Go creator Niantic accused of ‘systemic sexual bias’ in lawsuit
2
65
3K
MrA replied
Activision Blizzard Receives Another Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
News 2
56
4K
Topher replied
Judge says gender discrimination suit against PlayStation is light on facts
2
52
4K
nush replied
Update: PlayStation Responds To New Allegations Of Sexism And Misconduct In Lawsuit Filing (Gameinformer)
Opinion News
1
963
mansoor1980 replied
[Axios] Former PlayStation worker sues gaming giant, alleges gender discrimination
6 7 8 9 10
456
26K
Notabueno replied
Top Bottom