Gems Log

Sterling Jewelers sued for sex discrimination

A class action filed yesterday in federal court accuses Sterling Jewelers Inc., the nation’s largest jewelry chain, of systematically denying female employees equal opportunities for promotions and paying them lower wages than their male colleagues.

The company, based in Akron, Ohio, has 1,307 stores in 50 states, and is best known for its brands Jared the Galleria of Jewelry and Kay Jewelers. Sterling is a subsidiary of UK-based Signet Group, the world’s largest specialty jewerly retailer.

Fifteen current and former employees filed the suit in federal court in Manhattan, but the class, if certified, could include more than 20,000 women who have worked there, said Joseph Sellers, a partner at Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll’s Washington office.

Sellers is co-counsel for the plaintiffs with Sam Smith, of the Tampa-based Burr & Smith, and Thomas Warren, a solo practitioner based in Tallahassee, Fla.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of a January determination by the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, which found “reasonable cause to believe that [Sterling] has engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination.”

Christine Nazer, a spokeswoman for the EEOC, said the commission could not comment on determinations unless it files a related lawsuit on behalf of the United States. (And, no, she couldn’t comment on the liklihood of that happening, either.)

Gerald Maatman Jr., a partner at Seyfarth Shaw in Chicago, is handling Sterling’s defense. He also represented the company in the EEOC matter. Maatman declined to comment, referring a reporter to Sterling’s main office.

In the private suit, the plaintiffs allege that the company denied female employees equal opportunities to be promoted into and within management jobs, and paid them less than men for performing the same work. The suit seeks a change to Sterling’s personnel policies, as well as compensatory and punitive damages that could amount to “tens of millions of dollars,” Sellers said.

Sterling hit with sex discrimination suit

Fifteen current and former female employees have filed a class-action lawsuit against Sterling Jewelers, claiming they were paid less than their male counterparts, passed over for promotions and sexually harassed.

Filed late Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, the suit alleges specifically that Sterling lacked a system of advertising open positions or allowing employees to express interest when jobs became vacant, court documents show.

This resulted in a “tap on the shoulder system,” that allowed managers to notify and recruit employees whom they personally favored, and resulted in women being “denied equal opportunity to obtain promotions into and within management jobs,” according to court documents.”

In addition, the suit alleges that Sterling’s compensation policy “offers little or no guidance on setting wages rates,” again giving managers discretion to set compensation pursuant to “personal biases and stereotypes, rather than merit-based criteria.”

Court papers state that as a result, “women are paid less than men performing the same work, as the same levels, in the same area, and at the same time period.”

The suit also alleges that managers subjected female employees to sexual harassment and that Sterling has failed to take any action in response to complaints that women were being demeaned in the workplace.

One woman who worked as a sales associate alleges that a male “manager in training repeatedly called her and sent her text messages expressing the desire to be alone with her” and that he made “made unwelcome overtures,” saying he wanted to kiss her, which caused her “discomfort and distress” at work, court papers said.

In response to the suit on Wednesday, Sterling spokesman David Bouffard gave the following statement on behalf of the company: “We do not believe these charges are valid. Fairness, opportunity, integrity and respect are core values at Sterling. When these allegations first surfaced, we investigated those claims. That investigation failed to substantiate the allegations. We will defend ourselves vigorously against whatever legal action arises. We take the allegations raised in this lawsuit very seriously. We are confident that these charges do not reflect the culture of this company.”

The suit names 15 former and current female employees, though it is filed as a class action challenging the pay and promotion structure at Sterling on “behalf of themselves and all other similarly situated women,” court documents state.

The women named in the suit work, or worked, in stores operated by Sterling in California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Wisconsin, with positions ranging from sales associate to store manager.

Sterling operates more than 1,300 retail jewelry stores in 50 states, including Kay Jewelers and Jared The Galleria of Jewelry.

Local jewelry chain denies discimination allegations

Sterling Jewelers refutes claims by a group of current and former female employees that the company discriminates against women.
The class-action suit against Sterling was filed in New York on behalf of 15 women who say the company’s female retail sales employees are paid less than men and have fewer chances to be promoted.

None of the women were from Ohio, where Sterling operates jewelry stores under several names, including Jared’s, JBRobinson and Kay Jewelers.

Sterling Jewelers has 2,300 Northeast Ohio employees in approximately 100 local stores.

Sterling is a wholly owned subsidiary of the UK-based company Signet.

David Bouffard, vice-president of public relations for Sterling, said in a statement, “We do not believe these charges are valid. Fairness, opportunity, integrity and respect are core values at Sterling.”

Bouffard tells Channel 3 News the allegations are not new.

“When these allegations first surfaced, we investigated those claims,” he said in a prepared statement. “That investigation failed to substantiate the allegations.”

“We will defend ourselves vigorously against whatever legal action arises,” Bouffard continued in the statement. “We take the allegations raised in this lawsuit very seriously. We are confident that these charges do not reflect the culture of this company.”

Joseph M. Sellers, lead lawyer for the 15 current and former employees who are suing, said at a New York news conference, “While Sterling Jewelers sold more than $ 1 billion in jewelry last year, it failed to pay the women behind the counter the same wages it paid men and failed to offer them the same chances for promotion.”

Cohen Milstein Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Sterling Jewelers

The law firm of Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll, PLLC, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs, announced that it has filed a class action lawsuit in federal court in the Southern District of New York on March 18, 2008 on behalf of 15 current and former female employees of Sterling Jewelers, the nation’s largest chain of jewelry stores. Sterling Jewelers was charged with committing widespread sex discrimination against its female retail sales employees.

Sterling Jewelers operates more than 1300 stores located in shopping malls and centers in every state in the nation. The stores operate under at least 12 retail brand names, including Jared The Galleria of Jewelry, Kay Jewelers, Belden Jewelers, JB Robinson Jewelers, Marks & Morgan Jewelers, Weisfield Jewelers, Osterman Jewelers, Shaw’s Jewelers, Rogers Jewelers, LeRoy’s Jewelers, Goodman Jewelers and Friedlanders Jewelers.

The suit was filed by 15 current and former female employees who have worked at stores located in New York, Florida, California, Texas, Indiana, Missouri, Massachusetts, Nevada and New Jersey. The suit claims Sterling Jewelers has engaged in a pattern or practice of sex discrimination by denying female retail sales employees equal opportunities to be promoted into and within management jobs, and by paying them less than men performing the same work, at the same levels, in the same stores and at the same time period. The suit seeks fundamental changes to Sterling’s personnel policies, as well as awards of earnings and benefits lost because of discrimination and compensatory and punitive damages.

“While Sterling Jewelers sold more than $ 1 billion in jewelry last year, it failed to pay the women behind the counter the same wages it paid men and failed to offer them the same chances for promotion.” said Joseph M. Sellers, a partner in Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll, PLLC and co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs.

Sam J. Smith, Burr & Smith, co-lead counsel said, “It is outrageous that female employees with similar experience were hired for several dollars per hour less than male employees working in the same job in the same store.”

“Sterling treated female employees as second class citizens in their promotion practices as well and gave preferences to men who were significantly less qualified,” added Tallahassee attorney and co-lead counsel Thomas A. Warren.

After examining sworn charges of discrimination filed by the plaintiffs and reviewing statistical analyses of Sterling’s workforce data, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) found reasonable cause on January 3, 2008, to believe Sterling subjected its female retail sales employees throughout the company “to a pattern or practice of sex discrimination in regard to promotion and compensation.”

The plaintiffs’ attorneys have established a toll-free number for individuals who have information regarding the allegations or who want information about the lawsuit; that number is 866 854-5152.

Sterling Jewelers is a wholly owned the UK-based company Signet. It is traded on the NYSE as SIG.

Keywords for this article:

• Sterling Jewelers
• jewelry stores