The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has reached an agreement with Lund Boat Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brunswick Corp., that settles allegations of hiring discrimination. In a consent judgment approved by the department's Office of Administrative Law Judges, Brunswick Corp. and Lund Boat Co. have agreed to pay $295,000 in back wages and interest to 185 female job applicants who were rejected for entry-level positions at Lund's boat manufacturing plant in New York Mills, Minn.
OFCCP investigators based in Chicago conducted a review of Lund Boat Co.'s New York Mills facility beginning in September 2007. Based on the findings, the agency determined Lund had failed to ensure that qualified female job applicants received equal consideration for employment without regard to their gender as required by Executive Order 11246. The department filed an administrative complaint with its Office of Administrative Law Judges on Nov. 30, 2011, alleging that Lund officials had systematically discriminated against female job applicants in 2006 and 2007.
In addition to the financial remedies, the agreement requires Brunswick Corp. and Lund Boat Co. to extend job offers to at least 27 women in the original class as general laborer positions open. Seven class members already have been hired. The companies also have agreed to maintain and retain required employment records, undertake extensive self-monitoring measures to ensure that all hiring practices fully comply with the law and submit detailed progress reports to OFCCP for the next two years.
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