John Wieland settles EEOC race and sex discrimination lawsuit

By Péralte C. Paul

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta home builder John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods Inc. will pay $378,500 and hire at least 10 blacks and women in management positions over the next six years to settle a race and sex discrimination lawsuit filed last year by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

In the lawsuit, Wieland was accused of discriminating against black sales agents by purposely steering them to specific housing subdivisions based on the the race of the surrounding community.

Those black sales agents earned less than their white counterparts who were assigned to to higher-priced subdivisions, the lawsuit charged.

The $378,500 settlement will go to five black sales agents and a white human resources representative at Wieland whom the EEOC said was "forced to participate in the alleged discriminatory assignment practices."

“The job assignment issue first arose about six years ago and has been the subject of a number of lawsuits over the years," Robert Dawkins, regional attorney for the EEOC's Atlanta District office, said in a statement. "This resolution provides relief to the last remaining victims of that alleged practice.”

In an e-mail statement, John Wieland said his company did not do any of those things. "Consistent with our past statements, we deny that we ever engaged in the practices alleged by the EEOC in this suit," Wieland said. "Before and since, our company has maintained a commitment to equal opportunity and will continue to do so. This settlement allows us to resolve all issues with the EEOC, avoid the cost of further litigation, and return our focus to the business of building quality homes."

As part of the settlement, the company also agreed to develop non-discriminatory hiring practices, including targeted recruitment and advertising and training in equal employment opportunity management practices.