EEOC: Company agrees to pay $1.7 million to resolve series of discrimination lawsuits

Company to pay $1.7 million to settle EEOC suits

LOS ANGELES — The largest employer of garment manufacturers in Saipan will pay $1.7 million to settle a series of discrimination lawsuits filed in U.S. federal court.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday that L&T Group of Companies, Ltd., also will be under a three-year consent decree requiring the company and its affiliates to provide better training and hiring practices.

The federal agency, which filed the lawsuits in Los Angeles, said the allegations included firing pregnant employees and replacing them with women who weren’t, and discriminating against workers who weren’t Chinese, forcing them to work and eat in segregated areas.

In a statement, L&T general counsel Steven Pixley said the company denied the EEOC’s allegations and did not admit any wrongdoing under the terms of the settlement.