Pepsi Bias Suit Costs $3.1 Million
Pepsi Beverages, a division of PepsiCo, will be paying $3.1 million in a racial-bias suit that alleges the company used criminal background checks in the hiring process. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is currently investigating hiring practices that target Hispanics and blacks.
The EEOC stated that Pepsi was biased in it hiring practice of screening out applicants with arrest records, even if applicants had not been convicted of a crime. Applicants who were convicted of minor offenses were also denied work, and the EEOC charges that this practice has excluded more than 300 black applicants.
EEOC Chairwoman Jacqueline Berrien issued a statement saying, “I commend Pepsi’s willingness to reexamine its policy and modify it to ensure that unwarranted roadblocks to employment are removed.”
In light of the suit, Pepsi has agreed to revise its background-check process, including asking former applicants discriminated against if they would like to work for the company. Spokesman Dave DeCecco stated that working with the EEOC will help “to create a workplace that is as diverse and inclusive as possible.”
Pepsi Beverages currently produces Gatorade, Tropicana, Amp, and Ocean Spray in addition to its Pepsi and Mountain Dew brands. In 2011, PepsiCo reported a $119 billion in estimated retail sales.
