Discrimination Lawsuit: Immigrants Favored Over Black Workers

A class action suit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (aka Chicago) alleging systematic discrimination by Personnel Staffing Group, a temp agency, the Chicago Tribune reports. The plaintiffs, a group of African American men, allege that PSG improperly favored Hispanics over Black workers.

The plaintiffs allege that this preference was driven by the temp agency’s clients, who routinely demanded Hispanic workers in lieu of Black workers. “An immigrant-dominated workforce, with language barriers and legal status concerns, is less likely to complain about failure to pay overtime, workplace injuries, wage theft or overwork,” their attorney said.

The NYTimes and WaPo also have coverage of this story, but the Chicago Tribune’s coverage is more thorough.

This will be an interesting case to watch as it progresses.

-KitJ