SAN FRANCISCO - Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch hires a disproportionately white sales force, puts minorities in less-visible jobs and cultivates a virtually all-white image in its catalogs and elsewhere, a lawsuit charges.
The federal lawsuit, filed Monday by nine Hispanic and Asian plaintiffs, alleges that Abercrombie discriminates against blacks, Hispanics and Asians by enforcing a nationwide corporate policy of preferring white employees for sales positions, desirable job assignments and favorable work schedules.
"If you look at the material they put out, they are cultivating an all-white look," said Thomas Saenz, vice president of litigation at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs. "It is difficult to understand why, given that their target age demographic is even more heavily minority than the rest of the population."
The New Albany, Ohio, company, which targets college students with its upscale casual clothing, has about 600 stores and about 22,000 employees nationwide.
Spokesman Tom Lennox said Abercrombie has not received a copy of the lawsuit, and he declined comment on its specifics.
"However, as a company that prides itself on diversity, we are dismayed by the lawsuit and take this matter very seriously," he said. "Abercrombie & Fitch represents American style. America is diverse, and we want diversity in our stores."
Lennox said the company does not discriminate and "our policy is to have a zero tolerance for discrimination in hiring or employment on the basis of race, national origin, ancestry" and other characteristics protected by state and federal law.
According to the lawsuit, which is seeking class certification, the company has a policy that requires all sales people to exhibit an all-white "A&F look." Posters and a television program in stores display models who are mostly white, as does the company's catalog, the lawsuit says. The company also encourages recruitment from overwhelmingly white fraternities and sororities, it says.
When it does hire minorities, it channels them to stock room and overnight shifts and reduces their hours, the suit says.
