Three former Target employees are suing the retail chain for discrimination after the company sent out a ‘multi-cultural tips’ memo that they found offensive. The list aimed to help managers better work with Hispanic employees and told them that not all Hispanics eat tacos, wear sombreros or dances salsa.
The memo was titled “Organization Effectiveness, Employee and Labor Relations Multi-Cultural Tips” and went to warehouse managers. It was a failed attempt to stop racial discrimination, since all it did was use racial stereotypes of Hispanics. The memo notes “not everyone eats tacos and burritos” and “not everyone dances to salsa.” For clothing, it notes “not everyone wears a sombrero.”
Other notes include “Mexicans (lower education level, some may be undocumented)” and “Cubans (Political refugees, legal status, higher education level).” Lastly, is says, “They may say ‘OK, OK’ and pretend to understand, when they do not, just to save face.”
According to Fox News, the three employees - Robert N. Gonzalez, 58, Bulmaro Fabian, 58, and Pedro Garcia Ayala, 36 - filed the suit in Superior Court in Yolo County, California on June 24. All three are Mexican immigrants and worked at a Target distribution center in Woodland, California.
The men say that the ‘tips’ were just the one part of the humiliation they went through. They claim they were fired for being too old and that they heard racial stereotypes being used on a “daily basis.” “What the hell? I’m already sweating like a Mexican,” and “Only a wetback can work this hard,” they say they heard in the complaint.
Target later sent a statement to MSNBC.com, apologizing for the memo. A spokesperson said that it “was used during conversations at one distribution center” and “was never part of any formal or company-wide training.”
“At this time we have not been served with the complaint, so I am not able to comment on it directly,” Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder told MSNBC.com. “However, I can share that Target is firmly committed to diversity and inclusivity in our workplace. We never tolerate or condone discrimination in any form, and have extensive policies and procedures in place to prevent discrimination. As this is pending litigation, we don’t have anything additional to share at this time.”
You can read the complaint here.
image: Facebook