Abercrombie "image" discrimination case settles for big bucks; another class action victory for plaintiff’s attorneys
There is now an UPDATED edition of this posting, which outlines some of the terms of the settlement, and how much the class counsel was awarded. Click here to go to that updated posting (by Michael)!
I (George) heard attorney Brad Seligman on an ABA teleconference seminar about the Wal-Mart class action a few months ago.
He’s obviously got a strategy of going for deep pocket corporate targets with massive class actions. He says he wants to further the cause of civil rights. I’d suggest he wants to enrich himself and his buddies. Truth is, it’s nice to be able to achieve both objectives (or at least convince yourself you’re doing good while enriching yourself).
In any event, today he’s quoted in a story on a massive settlement in another class action (he’s apparently not directly involved in it) — the Abercrombie & Fitch “image” case.
law.com (The Recorder) reports: “Abercrombie Agrees to Settle Discrimination Suits for Nearly $50 Million” (by Justin Scheck)
Abercrombie & Fitch has agreed to settle a trio of employment discrimination suits for nearly $50 million, the firm disclosed Tuesday in SEC filings. . .
[T]he suits accus[ed] the Ohio-based retailer of favoring white men in its branding and hiring.
The details of the proposed settlement, which is expected to include injunctive relief, remain confidential for the moment. . . pending review by Judge Susan Illston in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California . . .
Attorneys representing individual plaintiffs, advocacy groups and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Abercrombie in San Francisco federal court last year, alleging the company discriminates against ethnic minorities and women by encouraging its roughly 700 stores to hire an overwhelmingly white male sales force, dubbed “brand representatives.” . .
The complaint [in the race case] names 16 plaintiffs, most of them college students, who say they were fired or not hired due to their race.
I fail to see how a termination claim could fit within the theory of “image” discrimination. These employees were black when they were hired, weren’t they? What happened thereafter? Did they insist on ironing their clothes? (One time I went into an Abercrombie store just to see what it was all about and was shocked at all the expensive cotton shirts and pants that were displayed in the condition you would expect if you left them in the dryer overnight!) Did they grow undesirably long facial hair (more than the 5-day stubble that’s perfect for the “look”)?
“It’s the new face of discrimination,” said Brad Seligman, the executive director of the Impact Fund in Berkeley and lead attorney in several class actions.
He said that in the past, employment discrimination suits generally focused on age or gender or race. The Abercrombie litigation, though, looked at the company’s entire branding practice. “It was almost image discrimination. Abercrombie & Fitch had an image of what they wanted their sales force to look like, and it was kind of preppy, white and male.”
That’s BS–all that’s illegal is the white male part. Nothing new about that!
the whole point is that a & f wanted their stores to look a particular way – which was white and which is illegal. this was non traditional civil rights claim of discrimination, but it was discrimination nonetheless. and btw, if you actually know the case, those employees of color who weren’t terminated were still made to work in the stock rooms ONLY. not a classic termination case -but that is still discrimination.
Hello, I work with the team of civil rights organizations and law firms that brought the landmark civil rights class action against Abercrombie & Fitch for employment discrimination. The lawsuit alleges that Abercrombie discriminated against African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and women who: 1) applied for employment (or attempted to do so but were discouraged), or 2) were employed at an Abercrombie store (including abercrombie kids and Hollister stores) at any time between February 24, 1999 and November 16, 2004.
People fitting this description may be eligible to receive compensation from the $40 million fund. To participate, people must obtain a Claim Form through the Claims website at http://www.abercrombieclaims.com or through the Claims Administrator, at (866) 854-4175 (toll free). Claim Forms must be postmarked by March 25, 2005. Thanks!