Workplace discrimination can occur in any work environment. According to a lawsuit filed by eight former employees against Saks Fifth Avenue, they claimed that they were discriminated against because of their race and age. In addition, they also claimed that they bumped into the glass ceiling, the metaphorical barrier to advancement that shuts out women and people of color, preventing them from significant promotion, by the department store.
The men claimed that they were assigned to work in the part of the store furthest from street entrances, allowing them minimum visibility to the buying public. One plaintiff reported that a colleague accused him of speaking “ghetto English” to African-American customers. This same colleague remarked that he lacked the look the store encouraged in sales representatives. He described the culture at Saks as a hostile work environment, citing an instance where another sales person began yelling at him while he was seeking to close the deal on an $80,000 item.
Another African-American employee described a meeting with a high-end fashion house, where a director at his own store suggested it was a waste of time talking to him because he was incapable of remembering things. One Hispanic worker stated that managers invented fake complaints by customers against him, one being that he touched one inappropriately in a dressing room.
Set Up for Failure
The older Caucasian workers said they received less help from their managers than younger employees received. Consequently, they felt set up to fail and then fired without cause. Saks has a history of being accused of discrimination. Women over 40 years old claimed they were replaced by younger male staff, and a transgender employee at the store’s Houston location claimed harassment by colleagues asking if she was a prostitute. The Hudson’s Bay Company refused to comment on the litigation, but released a statement that they take all allegations seriously.
An unhealthy and illegal culture of discrimination is alive and well at high-end stores. It is in your best interest to contact an experienced employment discrimination lawyer who will see these same problems of unfairness at stores and other industries and move swiftly to right these wrongs.
Chester County Employment Discrimination Lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. Advocate for Those Treated Unfairly
If you have been treated unjustly on the job, you may have a case for compensation based on unlawful discrimination. We advise you to call the assertive Chester County employment discrimination lawyers at The Gold Law Firm P.C. at 215-569-1999 or contact us online for a free case evaluation. We are in Philadelphia, and proudly serve clients across the region, including Bucks County, Chester County, Delaware County, and Montgomery County.
