A major northern Minnesota furniture retailer is paying $60,000 to a transgender job applicant after a federal investigation concluded that the company refused to hire him as a sales associate out of concern that he would hurt business.
Frizzell Furniture Gallery, with stores in Bemidji and Walker, also has agreed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to provide training for its staff and revise company policies regarding discrimination based on sex and gender identity, the agency announced Tuesday.
"We appreciate that Frizzell Furniture worked cooperatively with the EEOC to resolve this charge without having to go through protracted litigation," Julianne Bowman, director of the EEOC's Chicago District, said in a statement. "By revising its hiring procedures and adopting new policies, Frizzell Furniture is taking important steps to promote equal employment opportunity for all job applicants."
An investigation by the EEOC's Minneapolis office concluded that Frizzell Furniture rejected the applicant for a sales position because he is transgender. A hiring official informed him he would not "mix well with the customers," the agency announcement read.
Dick Frizzell, who owns the 29-year-old company, said Wednesday that "obviously, no," he was not satisfied with how the case was resolved.
"We hire people that have the skills or the experience to do the jobs," Frizzell told the Star Tribune. "We have several classes of people ... Native Americans, openly gay people. We do not intend to discriminate against people."
Frizzell paused when asked whether he would reconsider hiring the transgender applicant who sought a job early last year at the Bemidji store, but he did say, "If a person such as them were applying for a position and had the qualifications, I would hire that person."
Frizzell said the company has insurance that covered the $60,000 payout, but there were additional expenses in connection with the case that his business absorbed.
