Family Dollar to Pay $25,000 for Racial Discrimination

Family Dollar Stores of Arkansas Inc. has agreed to pay $25,000 and provide other relief as a result of a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The agency announced the terms of a three-year consent decree Wednesday.

The EEOC charged that Family Dollar refused to promote a black employee to various store manager positions in the Little Rock area because of her race. The agency filed the suit after an attempt at a voluntary settlement failed, according to a press release from the agency.

Under the terms of the agreement, Family Dollar is forbidden to deny promotions to black employees because of their race.

It also requires the company to provide equal employment opportunity training on race and retaliation discrimination to all district managers and store managers in its districts 66 and 310 in Arkansas; to post an equal employment opportunity notice; and to provide reports to the EEOC regarding any complaints of failure to promote based on race.

"Race discrimination continues to be a persistent problem in the workplace," said Faye A. Williams, regional attorney for the EEOC's Memphis district office, in a news release. "Employees should be promoted based on their abilities and not their race. We hope that the training and reporting required in the decree resolving the case will ensure that when promotional opportunities arise, race will not be a factor."

Family Dollar operates a chain of more than 6,500 discount stores in Arkansas and 43 other states. It is a Fortune 500 company based in Matthews, N.C.

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