Former Price Cutter owner settles race-discrimination suit

SBJ Staff

Posted online September 25, 2007 | 9:43 am

The former owner of Price Cutter Supermarkets has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a race-discrimination suit brought last year by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of a former store employee.

Roswil Inc., which sold Price Cutter Supermarkets to Springfield-based RPCS Inc. in January 2005, will pay former assistant manager Sean Mabins, a black employee who alleged that Roswil allowed a Springfield store manager to harass him based on his race since 2002, and that he was wrongfully fired for complaining about the harassment.

The Sept. 19 settlement also requires RPCS to provide training on the illegality of racial harassment to management and supervisory employees, distribute an anti-discrimination message to its employees, report to the EEOC about the termination of employees for the next three years, and post a notice about the settlement.

“RPCS understands Roswil’s decision to settle this matter while specifically denying the claims in their entirety to avoid further distraction and expense of further litigation,” RPCS President and CEO Erick Taylor said in a statement in response to the agreement. “This settlement allows all of us to concentrate our attention and efforts on the future of this employee-owned company instead of matters from years ago.”[[In-content Ad]]