A U.S. District Court judge on May 31 dismissed claims from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that Bass Pro Outdoor World LLC had systemic discrimination policies and practices within the culture of the company. However, the case has not been thrown out entirely, and the EEOC has been afforded an opportunity to restate its discrimination claims.
In the dismissal, Judge Keith Ellison said the current complaint, “Does not manage to state a plausible claim for a nationwide pattern or practice of discrimination against blacks and Hispanics across the numerous positions the EEOC cites.”
The EEOC filed suit Sept. 21 in the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, against Bass Pro Outdoor World LLC, alleging the Springfield-based retailer unlawfully failed to hire black and Hispanic applicants for positions in its stores nationwide. Bass Pro has denied the allegations, and its recent motion to dismiss the case was approved, in part, last week.
Larry Whiteley, a spokesman for Bass Pro Shops, and William Burns, an attorney for the company, could not be reached for comment.
Gregory Juge, acting supervisory trial attorney for the EEOC, said the judgment amounted to a temporary delay, as the employee rights’ organization has been granted the right to refile the dismissed claims, and he said it intends to do so.
“The nature of the motion that the defendant filed was that there was insufficient clarity or notice of the nature of the claims to show that the plausible existence of a claim is there,” Juge said. “It is not a situation where the defendant is saying there is no factual support for the case – that would be in a much later proceeding. It has more to do with the way in which the claims were described.”
According to the court record, Ellison ruled that Bass Pro’s motion to dismiss the case was only granted in part, and claims against improper record keeping are intact.
“The EEOC has adequately pleaded a record-keeping violation and that conditions precedent to the lawsuit have been met,” Ellison said in the 45-page report.
The EEOC suit, which originated from stores in the Houston, Texas, area but expanded to cover the entire company, claimed that since at least November 2005, black and Hispanic people were routinely denied jobs, including cashier, sales associate, team leader, supervisor and manager. In addition, the EEOC alleges Bass Pro destroyed or failed to keep records and documents related to applications and internal discrimination complaints, and that employees who opposed the practices were punished or, in some cases, fired or forced to resign.
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