A Covington company has agreed to pay $300,000 in back wages and interest to people who, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, were discriminated against because of their race or gender.
A spokesman for Oldcastle Building Envelope, a construction materials company, denied the discrimination allegations and said the company settled to avoid further expenses for an audit that has already lasted several years.
The Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs said the Oldcastle Building Envelope also will provide job opportunities to 49 affected applicants and take steps to ensure its recruitment, record keeping and internal auditing procedures comply with the law.
Liz Scruggs, communications manager for Oldcastle Building Envelope, said the allegations stem from a statistical analysis of applicants over a two-year period for only glass production worker positions.
“OBE disputes OFCCP’s methodology for analyzing the data and denies all allegations of discrimination,” she said.
The company is committed to diversity and inclusion and works to maintain equal opportunity, Scruggs said.
But the Labor Department said the company discriminated in favor of white and male applicants, and against female and African American applicants, when hiring for glass worker production positions.
Oldcastle Building Envelope is a federal contractor. Its Atlanta-based parent company, CRH, is an international supplier of building materials.
“Oldcastle Building Envelope is working cooperatively with the U.S. Department of Labor to resolve this matter and has committed to providing equal employment opportunities,” said Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Southeast Regional Director Samuel Maiden.
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