Minneapolis: Nash Finch Co. has been notified that the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) filed an administrative complaint against the company challenging the hiring of order selectors at the Lumberton, NC distribution center between April and December 2006.
OFCCP’s claims arise not from any complaint of discrimination from anyone seeking a job with Nash Finch but as the result of OFCCP’s investigation into hiring practices at the Lumberton distribution center during a routine compliance review.
"We were disappointed to see that OFCCP issued a press release which in our view inaccurately portrays the hiring practices of Nash Finch. Nash Finch does not tolerate any form of discrimination and is committed to offering very compelling and rewarding employment opportunities in a safe environment for all individuals," says Alec Covington, president and CEO of Nash Finch.
"While the OFCCP over time has asserted challenges in certain other locations concerning Nash Finch’s hiring of order selectors and record keeping practices, those allegations never reached a Court or administrative tribunal. Both Nash Finch and OFCCP made the decision to settle those disputes to avoid the tremendous cost and expense of potential litigation and OFCCP agreed that the settlements were not an admission of liability by Nash Finch," says Covington.
"In the Lumberton compliance review, as with other OFCCP reviews, we cooperated with the OFCCP in its investigation and tried to resolve the dispute in a reasonable manner to ensure that any remedy included only qualified applicants for employment. Unfortunately, our efforts to resolve the matter amicably were not successful. We look forward to defending our hiring policies and procedures in the administrative tribunal," says Covington.
