Feb 16, 2012 -- Officials from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said today that Convergys Customer Management Group, a global provider of customer management services, will pay to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the commission on behalf of an applicant for the company’s call center in Hazelwood.

The commission charged Convergys with violating federal law by refusing to hire a call center job applicant who could not work on Saturdays due to his religious beliefs.

Convergys Customer Management Group is a subsidiary of the Cincinnati-based Convergys Corp.

According to the suit, Shannon Fantroy answered an online advertisement for a customer service position at Convergys’s call center in Hazelwood. His religious beliefs as a Hebrew Israelite require him to observe the Sabbath from sunup until sundown on Saturday.

A recruiter for Convergys interviewed Fantroy and told him that he would have to work weekends. Fantroy told the recruiter that he was unable to work on Saturdays due to his religious beliefs, and the recruiter told Fantroy that the interview was over unless he could work Saturdays.

"The settlement announced today is in no way an admission of any wrongdoing or violations by Convergys, but instead represents a decision by Convergys to amicably resolve this matter and to avoid protracted litigation regarding this issue," said Amy Williams, senior manager in public relations at Convergys Corp., in a statement. "Convergys corporate policy is to operate in full compliance with all applicable federal and state employment discrimination laws."

The consent decree settling the lawsuit must be approved by U.S. District Court Judge Audrey Fleissig.

Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, news correspondent
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com