Company discriminated against nearly 100 Black applicants, feds say. Now it’ll pay up
A multinational company agreed to pay $100,000 after federal officials say its Virginia plant discriminated against 98 Black applicants.
The Daikin Industries Ltd. location in Verona reached a conciliation agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor, federal officials announced in a news release Oct. 12. During a routine compliance review, federal officials found the company discriminated against Black applicants for assembly line positions in 2020, according to the release.
Officials “identified a statistically significant disparity, (equivalent to a shortfall of five (5)), not otherwise explained, in the hiring of Black Line Assembler applicants on the basis of their race,” according to the conciliation agreement obtained by McClatchy News.
As part of the agreement, Daikin is expected to make “bona fide full-time job offers” to at least three original eligible applicants when vacancies open up, until three applicants have been chosen or the list of applicants is exhausted.
Officials said the company, based in Japan with U.S. headquarters in Minneapolis, violated an executive order that prohibits federal contractors from employment discrimination. Daiken has contracts with the General Services Administration to provide air conditioning and related services to federal agencies, according to the release.
As part of the agreement, Daikin denied any violation of the executive order but agreed to the terms reached with labor officials.
McClatchy News could not immediately reach Daikin Industries on Oct. 13.
The company agreed to evaluate its employment selection procedures to prevent discrimination. Daikin is also expected to end any selection procedures, including pre-selection tests, that resulted in the discrimination against Black applicants.
Federal officials also faulted the company for failing to evaluate its hiring process to determine if there were race-based disparities, according to the agreement.
Each applicant is eligible to receive about $1,000, according to the agreement.
Verona is about 150 miles southwest of Washington, D.C.
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