ABC is the latest target of a high profile class action lawsuit rooted in racial discrimination. The plaintiffs, Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson, allege that the network is guilty of racial discrimination by never featuring a person of color in the combined 21 seasons of reality shows The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. They also claim that their auditions (both are African Americans) were shorter than average. ABC says that the allegations are “baseless and without merit.”
The Bachelor lawsuit is not the first high profile class action suit to feature racial discrimination:
- Denny’s
Denny’s paid a $54 million settlement in 1995. The chain was sued for denying service, providing lesser service or charging extra fees to African-American customers. Some were asked to pay in advance. After paying the settlement, Denny’s created a racial sensitivity program for employees and featured more diverse actors in its commercials.
- Abercrombie & Fitch
A 2004 lawsuit accused the clothing retailer of hiring a predominately white workforce for sales and modeling positions while placing minorities in less visible roles. Abercrombie & Fitch agreed to pay a $40 million settlement, hire up to 25 diversity recruiters, hire a vice president of diversity and create more racially diverse marketing materials.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
A group of 400 African-American farmers – representing thousands more – sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture for racial discrimination in 1999. The suit claims that African-American farmers were denied farm loans due to their race. The case gained notoriety when a group of senators, including then-Senator Barack Obama, lifted certain requirements to allow more farmers to join as plaintiffs in 2008. One email claimed that the $1.25 billion settlement was slated to go to 86,000 African-American farmers when only 39,697 existed during the years specified in the suit. The government explained that a farm can be in the names of multiple people and the census forms had multiple, misleading titles for those who work on a farm. The submission for claims to receive part of the settlement ends on May 11, 2012.
Sarelson Law Firm – Miami class action attorneys