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A $12 million lawsuit filed yesterday against Home Depot alleges racial and gender discrimination and harassment at the home-improvement chain.
Six black women who worked in human resources at various Home Depot stores, mainly on Long Island and in Queens, contend that they were paid thousands of dollars less than their white and black male counterparts. The women claim that managers even went so far as to alter racial classifications in annual federal filings regarding racial diversity, obscuring pay differences. According to the lawsuit, upper management rebuffed complaints about discriminatory and sexually explicit remarks allegedly made by managers.
LaTanya Martin-Avery, a resident of Brooklyn, worked for Home Depot from 2000 through last year and was one of several associate development supervisors who was misclassified as white, the lawsuit states. When she sought a promotion in 2001, her classification was changed back to black, and she was ordered to have her picture taken, actions that would alert hiring managers to her race. She got the job, but complained because her black male and white female counterparts allegedly earned $10,000 more annually, even though they were less educated and experienced.
Other plaintiffs have similar stories-that they were denied advancement and raises because they were black, and in one case, pregnant. Several women mentioned racial slurs and sexually explicit remarks used by management, and one woman was reviewing a report submitted by an employee about a white supervisor''s racist remarks when the supervisor grabbed the report and tore it up.
Atlanta-based Home Depot released a statement that it was unable to respond because it did not yet have a copy of the lawsuit. The company stressed that it is "an equal opportunity employer and has a zero tolerance policy regarding discrimination."
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