Lowe's Companies, Inc. Sued for Race Discrimination

http://www.eeoc.gov/press/3-24-04.html

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 24, 2004 CONTACT: Katharine W. Kores, Regional Attorney (901) 544-1051 Faye Williams, Supervisory Trial Attorney (901) 544-0088 Deidre Smith Senior Trial Attorney (901) 544-0140 TTY: (901) 544-0112

LOWE'S COMPANIES, INC. SUED FOR RACE DISCRIMINATION
EEOC Litigation Says Home Improvement Giant Rejected Qualified Black Job Applicants MEMPHIS, Tenn.-- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced the filing of a race discrimination lawsuit under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act against Lowe's Companies, Inc., doing business as Lowe's Home Center's Inc. The suit charges the world's second largest home improvement retailer with failing to hire a class of qualified African American applicants due to their race at its Reload Distribution Center in Vonore, Tenn. The EEOC's lawsuit, Civil Action No. 3-04-CV-133, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, Knoxville Division, charges that Curtis Carter, Tiffany Carter, and a class of African Americans, all qualified applicants, were denied positions in Lowe's Reload Distribution Center between 2002 and 2003 because of their race. The EEOC filed suit after exhausting its conciliation efforts to reach a voluntary pre-litigation settlement. The lawsuit asks the court to order the company to provide back pay, interest on back pay, compensatory damages for emotional and psychological harm, and punitive damages. Katharine Kores, Regional Attorney for the EEOC's Memphis District Office, said, "Hiring decisions based on race are clearly illegal. One of the important reasons for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was to eradicate this type of discrimination. Unfortunately, as we approach the 40th