This past week, after six years of various lawsuits regarding employment discrimination at the hand of Atlanta homebuilder John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods Inc, the remaining victims of the alleged sex and race discrimination finally received some closure.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission settled with John Wieland Homes for $378,500 and an agreement that the company, within six years, will hire at least ten African Americans and women and place them in management positions. Despite claiming that his company consistently maintains a commitment to equal opportunity and never engaged in any of the alleged discriminatory acts, Wieland is also now forced to implement nondiscriminatory hiring and training practices including targeted recruitment and advertising.
The biggest question now is whether or not the settlement is sufficient enough in deterring such conduct.