According to a lawsuit filed in November, clothes retailer Versace has been charged with racial discrimination in a class action lawsuit.
23 year old Christopher Sampino started working for Versace in September earlier this year. According to the lawsuit, Sampino was instructed to use “code D410” whenever a black customer entered the store. “D410” is the code used on every piece of black clothing. Sampino’s manager instructed him to “hold a black shirt” while using the code to avoid the customers from being aware that they were being discriminated against. At that point, Sampino informed his training manager that he was One-quarter African American, stating “You know that I’m African American?”
The lawsuit states that Sampino was then treated differently after he informed his employers of his ethnicity. “On information and belief, Plaintiff did not receive proper training with regard to rest breaks and did not take rest breaks. Plaintiff further did not receive login information needed to access an online database where employees retrieved printouts of pay stubs,” states the lawsuit.
Sampino was fired on the grounds, the company says, of not “knowing the luxury life,” which was less than two weeks after he was hired. Sampino is also seeking damages under several charges besides racial discrimination, including failure to pay compensation, failure to provide rest and meal periods and failure maintain accurate records.
Versace released a statement yesterday via an email to Complex magazine, “Versace believes strongly in equal opportunity, as an employer and a retailer. We do not tolerate discrimination on the basis of race, national origin or any other characteristic protected by our civil rights laws. We have denied the allegations in this suit, and we will not comment further concerning pending litigation.”
Leave a Comment