A Chicago-based manufacturer contracted to provide material to a federal international aid agency has agreed to pay a financial settlement in a hiring-discrimination case while also denying the allegations, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced last week.
The DOL entered into a conciliation agreement with Midwest Canvas Corp., which will pay more than $230,000 to resolve allegations it engaged in discriminatory hiring practices between 2018 and 2019, the DOL announced Sept. 21. Despite the agreement, "(t)he company admits no liability and denies ... allegations," the DOL reports in the announcement.
"A compliance evaluation by the DOL's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) alleged that from March 30, 2018 through Sept. 30, 2019," the DOL states in the report, "the company discriminated against Black, Asian and white applicants for laborer positions." The discriminatory actions are a violation 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 report states.
Midwest Canvas will pay $230,204 in back pay and interest to the applicants involved in the case, and will offer employment to 41 of the affected applicants, the DOL reports.
The manufacturer makes plastic sheeting, pool covers, tarps and other such items, at its facilities in Illinois, New York, Texas and Utah. Midwest Canvas was also federally contracted to provide plastic sheeting to the U.S. Agency for International Aid, according to the DOL.
Carmen Navarro, Chicago regional director of the OFCCP, said the agreement with Midwest Canvas "will ensure that the issues identified in this compliance evaluation are resolved and that the company puts into place procedures to ensure future compliance."
“The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs takes seriously the legal and contractual obligation of federal contractors to provide equal employment opportunities for all qualified job applicants regardless of race,” Navarro said in the DOL report.
