Les Schwab Tire Centers To Pay $2 Million to Settle Hiring Bias Case

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it has resolved its gender-based hiring class lawsuit against Les Schwab Tire Centers of Washington, et al., and Les Schwab Tire Warehouse Inc. for $2 million and other corrective measures.

The EEOC’s suit (Case No. 06-045-RSM) in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (Seattle) claimed that Les Schwab had failed to hire qualified women for Sales & Service (tire changing) jobs at its stores in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Utah starting in 2004.

“While the parties have engaged in extensive litigation the past four years, we are pleased to work with Les Schwab to bring this case to a resolution and to start a new era of cooperation,” EEOC Regional Attorney William Tamayo said. “This resolution allows Les Schwab and the women who the EEOC represents to move forward.”

Mike Baldonado, EEOC San Francisco District Director, whose responsibility includes Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, stated, “The EEOC will continue to investigate employers and industries that have put women in certain types of jobs, and men in others. We hope Les Schwab becomes a model employer of women in the male-dominated tire industry.”

In addition to the monetary amount, Les Schwab agrees to maintain its anti-discrimination policies and procedures and anti-discrimination training for all its managers, assistant managers and employees about Title VII and sex-based discrimination. The company will also provide periodic reports to the EEOC on its compliance with the terms of the consent decree.

According to the company’s web site, www.lesschwab.com, there are more than 400 Les Schwab Tire Centers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, Utah and Nevada. The company is based in Bend, Oregon.

The EEOC enforces the nation’s laws in the private and federal sectors prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, sex, pregnancy, religion, national origin, age and disability. San Francisco District’s jurisdiction includes Northern California, Northern Nevada, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington.