Sheet Metal Workers And EEOC Finalize Settlement Of Claims From 1991 - 2002
CARLSTADT, N.J., April 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Thirty-nine Black and Hispanic sheet metal workers will soon be receiving their portion of a $1,650,000 settlement negotiated between Sheet Metal Workers Local 25, its Joint Apprentice Training Committee (JATC), and the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), and approved today by United States District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan. The settlement resolves claims that minority journeypersons worked fewer hours than White journeypersons during the years 1991-2002.
The settlement stems from litigation which began long before Local 25 was established as an independent entity, separate from Sheet Metal Workers Local 28 in New York City. The Court never held that either Local 25 or its JATC had been guilty of discrimination.
The Settlement Agreement states: "This Consent Order has been entered into solely to resolve this dispute and to avoid the cost of litigation. Defendants do not admit the allegations in this matter and expressly deny that they have violated any Court Orders or Judgments or Title VII or any other statute at any time."
"We are glad that this matter has finally been resolved," said Joseph Demark, Jr., Local 25's President/Business Manager and Co-Chairman of its JATC. "Our Local has worked to eliminate the vestiges of any discrimination that may have existed in the past, and I believe we have been successful in that effort. This settlement will further good relations and fair dealing among all of our members and employers as we continue forward together."
"Our JATC consistently has a higher percentage of minority apprentices graduating into journeyperson status than any other skilled building trade in New Jersey," said Richard Haenssler, President of Haenssler Sheet Metal Works in Newark and Co-Chairman of the JATC. "Our industry is proud of that record. We believe that our industry has been free from systemic discrimination for many years and can now serve as a model for the other building trades to follow. We now have a diverse work force that truly reflects the make up of the communities we live and work in," Haenssler said.
Sheet Metal Workers Local 25 represents over 900 workers in Northern NJ counties of Essex, Passaic, Hudson, Bergen, Morris, Somerset, Sussex and Union.
SOURCE Sheet Metal Workers Local 25
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