Eight Employment Agencies To End Discriminatory Practicesg

Attorney General Spitzer said today that eight employment agencies based in New York City have agreed to stop screening candidates for domestic positions based on race.

"A fundamental principle of our society is that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to get a job," Spitzer said. "It is totally unfair, illegal and outrageous in this day and age to disqualify a job applicant based on race or ethnic ancestry."

"These consent decrees will help ensure that referrals for domestic positions and hiring decisions are made as a result of skills, experience and integrity, not a person's race or ethnic background," he said.

Spitzer's office began an investigation in December 2004 after receiving information that race and ancestry discrimination were pervasive within the domestic employment agency industry. Staffers in the Attorney General's Civil Rights Bureau and Investigations Bureau contacted various employment agencies, posing as prospective employers or job applicants.

The investigation revealed that the agencies routinely solicited racial preferences from the prospective employers and then, based on that information, refused to refer people for certain jobs. Some of the agencies openly noted "No Blacks," "No Islanders" and "Prefers Europeans" in their internal records, which were then used to restrict eligibility for certain jobs.

The investigation found that even those agencies that earned their fee from prospective employees as opposed to employers, disqualified their own clients on discriminatory grounds.

After the Attorney General's office contacted the agencies to inform them that these practices violated federal, state and local civil rights laws, eight firms agreed to reform their practices. These firms agreed to the entry of consent decrees in federal court, requiring them to:

• Cease inquiring about or recording the race and ancestry of job applicants;
• Stop soliciting race and ancestry qualifications from prospective employers and cease making job referrals based on race or ancestry;
• Advise prospective employers that they will not honor any requests that an applicant be or not be of a certain race or ancestry; and
• Provide training and information to staff about the anti-discrimination laws and the obligations of employment agencies.

The firms also agreed to pay a total of $118,000 in costs and penalties for civil rights violations.

The eight settling agencies are: International Domestic Agency; Best Domestic Placement Service; First Resources Agency; The Help Company; Selma Services; Soraya Services; Permay Cleaners; and the Ultimate Employment Agency.

The Attorney General thanked the agencies for working with his office to resolve the matter.

Two agencies contacted by the Attorney General's office have refused to sign consent decrees, even after being confronted with the evidence amassed during the investigation. The Attorney General has filed civil rights lawsuits in federal court against these agencies. They are the Pavilion Agency, Inc. and the Quality Domestic Help Agency, located in Manhattan and Staten Island respectively.

An investigation is continuing. The Attorney General urged employment agencies to examine their policies and practices to ensure that they fully comply with civil rights laws.

This case was handled by Assistant Attorneys General Michael Barbosa, Anne Pearson and Hilary B. Klein under the supervision of Bureau Chief Dennis D. Parker and Deputy Bureau Chief Natalie R. Williams of the Attorney General's Civil Rights Bureau.