Vanguard Settles Racial Discrimination Case for $300K
January 6, 2009
(PLANSPONSOR.com) – The Vanguard Group has agreed to pay $300,000 in
damages as part of a settlement of a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by the
U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
An EEOC news
release said the suit had accused the suburban Philadelphia investment company of
not hiring an African-American woman for a financial planning manager job at
its Charlotte, North Carolina, facility because of her race(see
EEOC Sues Vanguard for Racial
Discrimination
). The EEOC alleged Vanguard hired a less qualified white applicant even though Barbara
Alexander had 14 years of financial management experience and had an MBA degree in
finance.
According to the announcement, Vanguard, while not admitting fault, also agreed to take a
number of other steps including instituting anti-discrimination training.
“The additional training for company managers and
supervisors provided by the consent decree should benefit all employees at the
company’s Malvern facility,” said Acting Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence of
the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office, in the news release.
Fred Schneyer
editors@plansponsor.com