A bakery in Queens, N.Y., reportedly has been hit with $25,000 in fines and penalties in a discrimination case.
" 'I can't hire you because you're black,' " Jamilah DaCosta, 25, said she was told when she applied for a job in October 2011 as a counter clerk at Framboise Patisserie in Middle Village, Queens, according to the Daily News.
The incident reportedly occurred during an interview with bakery co-owner Patty Meimetea, when DaCosta was told she wouldn't be "good fit for the 'counter girl' position because black workers in the front of the store would scare away customers," according to findings by the city Human Rights Commission.
Following a recent investigation and trial, the commission fined the bakery $25,000 for racial and gender discrimination for discouraging DaCosta from applying because of her race and dissuading male applicants via a gender-specific ad on Craigslist.
Good for DaCosta for filing a discrimination suit against the bakery. It's just too bad that this is still going on in 2013. But given today's racial climate, we cannot say that we are surprised.
Read more at the Daily News.