EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION: Colorado-based Company Charged with Discriminating Minority Job Applicants

September 5, 2011

Washington DC - The US Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) has filed a complaint with the Office of Administrative Law Judges against Leprino Foods Company, a Colorado-based cheese producer and the nation’s largest producer of mozzarella cheese, for discriminating against qualified African-American, Asian and Hispanic applicants for on-call laborer positions in its Lemoore West facility.

The administrative complaint is seeking back wages for at least 270 class members as well as job offer to the 17 original applicants.

The OFCCP has also asked for the cancellation of Leprino’s federal contract and that the company be debarred from entering into future contracts with government until the violations are addressed and resolved and the discriminatory practices have been corrected.

During review, the OFCCP found that only 49 percent of qualified minority applicants passed the exam, compared to only 72 percent of non-minority applicants. On-call laborers perform varied entry-level tasks, which include inspecting products, monitoring equipment and maintaining sanitation at the facility.