El Dorado Furniture Corporation, which operates19 retail stores across the state including Fort Myers and Naples, agreed to pay $1.3 million to a class of white, black and other non-Hispanic job applicants to resolve a federal hiring discrimination investigation.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation found reasonable cause that the company engaged in a companywide practice of favoring Hispanic applicants for all positions and violated federal law by failing to hire a class of black, white, and other non-Hispanic applicants from November 2022 through February 2026.
“Ensuring all applicants get a fair chance at being hired regardless of their race or national origin is critical to the mission of the EEOC,” said Kristen Foslid, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Miami District. “We commend El Dorado for its cooperation and for undertaking significant measures to ensure that all hiring decisions going forward are based on qualifications — not race or national origin.”
The discriminatory hiring practices found by the EEOC’s investigation violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race and national origin.
EEOC Miami District Director Evangeline Hawthorne said, “Every applicant deserves to be considered on their merits, without race or national origin being a factor. This agreement helps reinforce that principle and supports fair, merit-based hiring.”
Following the EEOC’s investigation, the parties engaged in the federal agency’s pre-litigation conciliation process. In addition to paying monetary damages for a class of non-Hispanic applicants, El Dorado agreed to revise its hiring policies and guidelines; maintain anti-discrimination policies; train all employees involved in recruiting or hiring on discrimination annually; and provide other non-monetary relief to prevent discriminatory hiring from occurring in the future.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
