Appeals Court Orders Target to Defend Discrimination Suit

By Nathan Abbott

Published on August 25, 2006

The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago decided that Target Corporation must defend itself against the suit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The court’s decision reverses a 2004 Wisconsin trial court ruling that threw out the suit in which four black job applicants claim they were denied management positions because of their skin color. The court’s panel also questioned whether Target keeps proper records of its job applicants.

The lawsuit in question claims Target denied interviews to three African-American women, and would not hire an African-American man who scored higher on a management aptitude test than the Caucasian person who was eventually offered the position. In its decision, the court stated that the discount-store giant has not proven that its rejection of the applicants was not racially motivated.

All four claims arose between 2000 and 2001 and concern a Target store district encompassing several Wisconsin metropolitan areas. A spokesperson for Target said the claims are completely without merit and that the company is confident it will prevail in court.

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