Miami Beach Hotel To Pay $2.5 Million Over Racism

MIAMI BEACH, FL — The SLS Hotel South Beach has agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle charges by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that the hotel fired black Haitian dishwashers and replaced them with light-skinned Hispanics. The agency also had charged that SLS managers and chefs referred to the Haitian dishwashers as “slaves” and “f—–g Haitians.”

The allegations were contained in a federal discrimination lawsuit filed in April.

“The dishwashers testified that their supervising chefs referred to them as ‘slaves’ and reprimanded them for speaking Creole, even amongst themselves, while Hispanic employees were allowed to speak Spanish,” EEOC officials explained in announcing the settlement on Monday.

The terminated dishwashers worked in the kitchens of The Bazaar by José Andrés, Katsuya and Hyde Beach — all restaurant venues located at SLS Hotel in South Beach.

“The testimony also revealed that the black Haitian dishwashers complained to human resources about discrimination and about having a ‘racist’ supervisor but, instead of addressing these complaints, the SLS Hotel fired the entire dishwashing department made up primarily of black Haitians, without providing them an opportunity to apply to the staffing agency before their termination,” according to the EEOC.

James L. Greeley, chief legal officer with the hotel’s parent organization — SBE — had previously maintained that the organization did nothing wrong.

“SBE takes its responsibility as a diverse employer very seriously,” a company spokesman said of the settlement. “SLS South Beach has been awarded for its diversity and prides itself of the fact their workforce reflects the rich diversity of the Miami market. We are an inclusive company with over 60 nationalities employed and welcome everyone who works with us regardless of their national origin, race, skin color or other protected characteristic.”

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The company said there has been no evidence of any wrongdoing and that it has fully cooperated with the EEOC. “This matter has been going on for nearly four years and we made the decision to settle to draw closure for all involved in the most amicable way possible,” company officials said.

Under the settlement, SLS Hotel also agreed to provide equitable relief over a three-year period that includes comprehensive training for human resource officials, management personnel and hourly employees across six of SBE’s South Florida hotels: SLS Hotel South Beach, Shore Club, SLS Brickell, Delano, The Raleigh, and SLS Lux Miami.

“Further, an independent consent decree monitor will attend all required training sessions and provide comprehensive reports to the EEOC,” the agency said. “The EEOC will also receive comprehensive data on any terminations, layoffs or involuntary separations that may occur over the three-year period across the six SBE hotels in the Miami region.”

The settlement demonstrates that employers cannot use outsourcing as a proxy for discriminatory practices, declared EEOC Miami District Office Regional Attorney Robert E. Weisberg.

“The EEOC will continue to fight to prevent these discriminatory employment practices, especially against vulnerable workers,” Weisberg said.

Michael Farrell, district director for the EEOC’s Miami District office added that the agency is committed to protecting workers from discrimination in important Florida industries like service, hospitality and tourism.

“EEOC will continue to protect workers in the hospitality industry, including the black Haitian community that makes up a significant part of the South Florida workforce,” Farrell said.

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