EEOC v. Zenith Insurance Co.

No. CV 05-7134 PA (Ex) (C.D. Cal. Jan. 24, 2006)

The Los Angeles District Office alleged in this Title VII case that defendant, a property insurer that conducts business throughout the U.S., failed to hire charging party and other black applicants into mailroom positions at its Woodland Hills, California office because of their race. Defendant advertised for a mailroom clerk in September 2001, listing 6 months of mailroom experience as the minimum requirement. Charging party, who had the requisite experience and a degree in graphic arts, applied and was rejected. Defendant readvertised the position in November 2001 and hired a white applicant with no mailroom experience. Although claiming no recollection of why charging party was rejected, defendant said that it might have been because he was overqualified. However, defendant hired a number of whites with AA or BA degrees for mailroom clerk positions. Defendant rejected a number of other qualified black applicants for mailroom positions, while hiring white candidates. The parties resolved the case through a 3-year consent decree providing $180,000 in compensatory damages to be distributed to charging party and other claimants at EEOC's discretion. The decree requires defendant to make good faith efforts to obtain a hiring rate of at least 18.3% African Americans in clerical positions at the Woodland Hills facility for each year of the decree. Defendant will report semiannually on its recruitment and hiring efforts, and annually on applicants and hires, by race, for the preceding 6-month period.

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