US: U.S. Sues Goodyear

The Labor Department has sued Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., alleging hiring discrimination against hundreds of women who sought jobs at one of its plants in Virginia in the late 1990s. The lawsuit seeks to have Goodyear, which is based in Akron, Ohio, hire and provide back wages, retroactive seniority and all other employment benefits to the female applicants who were denied employment. From January 1998 through June 1999, Goodyear followed "a hiring process and selection procedures that discriminated against hundreds of female applicants for entry-level positions on the basis of gender," the Labor Department said. Jo Andrews, a spokeswoman for Goodyear, said the company denies the charges and is working with the department to resolve the matter.

• 184 Labor