CHICAGO, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- A Chicago federal judge has issued an order ending a 2 1/2 year discrimination case against suburban meat processor Carl Buddig & Co.
The EEOC filed suit in March 2002 accusing Buddig of not hiring African-Americans at its Chicago area processing plants during the 1990s and of hiring women factory workers for only one low-paying job.
Buddig entered into a $2.5 million consent decree that will be paid to up to 300 black and female workers and agreed to end discriminatory hiring practices.
Buddig reported more than $100 million in sales in 2003 and markets products under the brands Carl Buddig, Old Wisconsin, Country Cupboard and Wisconsin Maid.
"With the cooperation of the employer, the challenged hiring practices have been corrected, the employment discrimination suffered by African Americans and women in the past is being remedied, and measures to assure bias-free hiring in the future are now in place," said EEOC General Council Eric Dreiband.
