Central Parking System of Louisiana Inc. settles hiring
and pay discrimination case with US Department of Labor

Company will pay $275,000 in back wages and interest to 195 female and black applicants

NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs announced today that Central Parking System of Louisiana Inc. has agreed to pay $275,000 in back wages and interest to settle allegations of placement and hiring discrimination affecting 104 women and 91 African Americans who were rejected as valets at the company's New Orleans location.

"I am pleased with this settlement, which reflects a mutual commitment between the department and Central Parking to ensure that all workers have a fair shot at competing for good jobs," said OFCCP Southwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Director Melissa L. Speer. "Outdated notions about race and gender don't belong in any workplace, even when those workplaces are parking garages."

An OFCCP investigation found that qualified African Americans, who applied for jobs as valets between 2007 and 2009, were hired at a significantly lower rate than similarly situated applicants of other races. Simultaneously, qualified women who applied for these positions were steered into cashier positions, which do not earn tips, leading to lower earnings compared with men hired into the valet positions. These hiring and placement practices violate Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors such as Central Parking from discriminating in employment based on race and gender.

Under the terms of its conciliation agreement with OFCCP, the company will pay $100,000 in back wages and interest to the female class members and $175,000 to the affected African American applicants. Central Parking has agreed to place 65 of the women and hire 27 of the African Americans into valet positions, with retroactive seniority and benefits for the new hires, as positions become available. The company will undertake extensive self-monitoring measures to ensure that its personnel practices, including record keeping, comply with the law.

Central Parking provides parking services and facilities for numerous federal agencies. During the two-year period reviewed in this investigation, the company received more than $3.2 million in federal contracts. In October 2012, Chicago-based Standard Parking Corp. purchased the company.

In addition to Executive Order 11246, OFCCP enforces Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act of 1974. These three laws require that those who do business with the federal government, both contractors and subcontractors, must follow the fair and reasonable standard that they not discriminate in employment on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. For more information, visit http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/.