Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) v. SVT, LLC., d/b/a Ultra

In this class action, the EEOC alleged that the defendant engaged in unlawful employment practices at its Merrillville, Indiana grocery store by denying employment opportunities to qualified females in favor of equally or less qualified males. Specifically, the EEOC alleged that Ultra Foods failed or refused to hire qualified female applicants as night crew stockers because of their gender, while disproportionately hiring equal or less qualified male applicants for the same position.

Econ One was retained by the EEOC to statistically analyze the hiring of night crew stockers at Ultra Food’s Merrillville location and determine whether females were hired at rates significantly lower than their representation within the applicant pool. David Sharp submitted an expert report concluding that females were significantly under-represented as night crew stockers relative to their representation in the applicant pool.  Dr. Sharp also found that consistent results emerged even after additional controls for various applicant attributes (i.e., assessment scores, availability, education, employment gaps, and stocker experience) were accounted for. The defendant did not submit a rebuttal from an opposing expert by the relevant deadline.  This case is scheduled for a settlement conference later this year and will proceed to trial if no settlement is reached.