CHICAGO (AP) - The Illinois attorney general’s office announced Thursday it reached consent decrees with four companies, including a temporary staffing agency, to resolve allegations of workplace segregation and sex discrimination in hiring.
DSI Holdings Corp., the parent of Service Master; Alternative Staffing Inc. and Resource Management Group Inc., which operate jointly; Amylu Foods LLC; and Fibre Drum Sales Inc. agreed to pay a total of $280,000 in penalties to resolve the allegations of misconduct, according to the attorney general’s office.
In a statement, Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the companies didn’t do much to hide their discriminatory hiring practices by assigning positions based on gender stereotypes about the work women can perform. He said discrimination is almost commonplace within the temporary staffing industry.
However, Nathaniel Reinsma of DSI Holdings said the company disputes it engaged in discrimination, but agreed to the consent decree to resolve the issue. The other companies and their lawyers had no comment or did not return calls seeking comment.
The consent decrees require the companies to train employees on sex-based discrimination, create a hotline for complaints, improve record-keeping methods, and implement a discrimination and equal employment opportunity policy.
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