Short Hills Biz Settles Discrimination Charges With 60 Asian Job Seekers

SHORT HILLS, NJ — One of the world’s largest auditing firms has entered into a conciliation agreement with 60 Asian-American job applicants who say they encountered hiring discrimination at the company’s facility in Short Hills, New Jersey.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, KPMG, a global network of professional firms that provides audit, tax and advisory services, agreed to pay $420,000 in back salary, interest and benefits to 60 Asian-American job seekers who applied for associate audit positions at the Short Hills facility from Oct. 1, 2011, to March 31, 2013.

The company will also provide associate audit job opportunities to six affected applicants as positions become available, and will take steps to “ensure its personnel practices” meet legal requirements, including its record-keeping and internal auditing procedures, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

KPMG has contracts valued at more than $14 million with federal agencies including the U.S. departments of Energy, and Housing and Urban Development, as well as NASA and the IRS, federal officials stated.

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According to the DOL:

“The agreement with KPMG LLP follows an OFCCP investigation that found from Oct. 1, 2011, to March 31, 2013, the auditing firm discriminated against 60 Asian applicants for associate audit positions at its facility in Short Hills. The agency determined that KPMG’s actions violated Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment based on race, color or national origin.”

KPMG did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the settlement, federal officials said. Read the company’s position on “inclusion and diversity” here.

Workers who think they may be one of the applicants eligible for back pay or job opportunities from this settlement can visit the OFCCP Class Member Locator at: https://www.dol.gov/ofccp/CML for more information.

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