FedEx Ground announced Wednesday it will pay $3 million to settle a Labor
Department dispute over hiring practices in 25 markets around the country.
The ground parcel delivery unit of Memphis-based FedEx Corp. said it
admitted no wrongdoing but agreed to a settlement "to put these matters behind
us."
The allegations involved part-time package handlers and spanned several
years dating to 2004.
They were based on "computer statistical analysis rather than on
individual complaints or investigations," such as Equal Employment
Opportunity, FedEx Ground spokesman Patrick Fitzgerald said.
"FedEx Ground has signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor
settling a multi-year disagreement over hiring practices in certain locations
in an effort to put these matters behind us," he said.
"While we admitted no wrongdoing and believe the DOL's position was not
supported by the law, we agreed to pay $3 million to avoid what would have
been certainly a prolonged and much more expensive resolution process. We have
and will continue to review and enhance our hiring practices to promote FedEx
Ground's commitment to diversity and equal employment opportunity."
The FedEx announcement appeared timed to come out ahead of a company
earnings release Thursday morning and a scheduled press call later Thursday by
Secretary of Labor Hilda A. Solis and Patricia A. Shiu, director of the
department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
The department notified media Wednesday it would announce settlement of
"a significant case involving systemic hiring discrimination."
A Labor Department spokesman didn't respond to an e-mail from The
Commercial Appeal asking for confirmation that the case involved FedEx Ground.
But according to a story posted late Wednesday by the New York Times, the
company agreed to make "wide-ranging changes to correct any discriminatory
hiring practices." It also agreed to extend job offers to 1,703 people who the
Labor Department said were rejected for jobs as part-time package handlers.
The Times, briefed in advance by the Obama administration on the
agreement, quoted Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis saying, in a statement: "When
you do business with the government, we expect you to do the right thing. That
includes giving all Americans an equal shot at a good job. It's about more
than just the law -- diversity is smart for business."
FedEx Corp. told The Commercial Appeal that more than 40 percent of its total FedEx U.S.
workforce and 27 percent of its management team are minorities.
The company has received numerous honors for its diversity, including
Champion of Diversity Award from the New York Urban League, Black Enterprise
magazine's top 40 companies for diversity and Minority Engineer magazine's top
50 employers.
