Lawsuit Against BMW Alleges Discrimination

BMW is facing a lawsuit from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which says the automaker discriminated against black workers.

According to WYFF 4, the EEOC's suit says that background checks run by BMW found that more than 80 of the current logistics employees had convic­tion records, in violation of BMW’s criminal conviction policy. 

After learning of the convictions, BMW denied those 88 employees access to the plant, according to the EEOC.

That resulted in their termination by the plant's previous logistics provider, WYFF 4 reported. 

According to the EEOC, those employees were also denied employment with BMW by the new logistics provider. 

The automaker's conviction policy at the time barred from employment those with certain convictions, made no distinction between felony and misdemeanor convictions and did not take into account the age of the conviction, the EEOC stated.

The EEOC alleges that result of BMW’s policy was that blacks were disproportionately disqualified from employment, since of those affected, 80 percent were black, WYFF 4 reports. 

The EEOC also alleges BMW violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

BMW officials told WYFF 4 that the company employs a diverse workforce and that the company will fight the lawsuit.