Feds: Sysco West Coast Florida to pay $130K over hiring discrimination

Sysco West Coast Florida, based in Palmetto, has been ordered to pay more than $130,000 in back wages and interest as the result of alleged hiring discrimination against 95 women who applied for jobs there, federal officials say. 

A routine compliance review for 2018 and 2019 found that the subsidiary of one of the nation’s largest food distributors had violated federal law that prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of sex, among other factors, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Since 2019, Sysco has held more than $100 million in federal contracts, the department reports, bringing it under a certain level of scrutiny. “Federal contractors like Sysco West Coast Florida are required to make certain its employment practices comply with all federal law, including those that seek to eliminate gender-based barriers to equal employment,” U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Southeast Acting Regional Director Diana Sen says in a statement.

As part of a conciliation agreement, Sysco West Coast Florida must pay $133,625 to resolve alleged hiring discrimination at its Palmetto facility against 95 female applicants for outbound selector positions. The position requires workers to select customer orders and move items averaging 30 pounds. It is “one of the most critical and physically demanding jobs in our company,” Sysco says in a job posting for an outbound selector on its website.

Sysco West Coast Florida agreed to ensure its hiring policies, selection process and personnel practices are free from discrimination and that its record-keeping is in compliance with federal law, as part of an early resolution conciliation agreement, officials say. It will also offer jobs to nine of the women who applied as the positions become available, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.