The top photo shows Saks Fifth Avenue
president, Marc Metrick, paired with Chief Merchant Tracy Margolies at the 2016
opening of a new store in Manhattan.
The bottom photo shows former employees
of Saks who claim that the company engages in pervasive race discrimination.
Last Tuesday, they filed an
employment discrimination lawsuit against Saks and its parent company, Hudson Bay
Co.
“The Hudson's Bay Company
has been in existence since 1670 and it is the oldest company in North
America,” the men claim. “In the three hundred and forty-eight years that
followed, Hudson's Bay has not been able to find a black or Hispanic person to
fill any of its current leadership positions.”
They also allege specific discriminatory
practices at Saks' Manhattan flagship store—for example, assigning them to the
back of the store where traffic is lower than the front. This resulted in lower
sales, missing sales targets, and missed promotions. Younger white workers were
placed in high-traffic areas and easily scored new customers.
Their complaint alleges that young white males who missed sales targets were given a pass. The plaintiffs are
prepared to prove that allegation—and also prove that when they missed sales targets,
they were denied promotions or received unfavorable reviews.
Saks has not commented on the
lawsuit.
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