Target is being sued by three former employees who said a managers’ memorandum they stumbled upon was racist and that the treatment they received by bosses was discriminatory.
The memo, distributed among managers, was actually aimed at reminding store leaders of the need to be sensitive to stereotyping, the Daily Mail reported. It was headlined “Organization Effectiveness, Employee and Labor Relations Multi-Cultural Tips,” and included these suggestions, the Daily Mail reported: “Not everyone eats tacos and burritos.” “Not everyone dances to salsa.” “Not everyone wears a sombrero.”
The memo also included guidance based on ethnicity, with a reference to Mexicans — “lower education level, some may be undocumented” — and to Cubans, as “political refugees, legal status, higher education level,” the Daily Mail reported.
The three ex-employees — Robert Gonzalez, Bulmaro Fabian and Pedro Garcia-Ayala — also say their supervisors were all white who commonly used racial slurs, including the term “wetback,” when referring to Hispanic workers, court documents filed in California indicated, the Daily Mail reported.
Mr. Gonzalez said when he reported the incidents to Human Resources, the company retaliated and fired them, the Daily Mail reported.
Target, meanwhile, had this to say: “It is never Target’s intent to offend our team members or guests, and we apologize. The content of the document referenced is not representative of who Target is. This document, which was used during conversations at one distribution center, was never part of any formal or company-wide training. We take accountability for its contents and are truly sorry.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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