Dry cleaner wouldn’t hire man, EEOC says

A federal agency is accusing a Milwaukee-area dry cleaner of employment discrimination, saying the firm turned away a job applicant because he was a man.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit this week against Carriage Cleaners, formally known as Fabricare Specialists of Wisconsin Inc.

According to the complaint:

Donovan McLemore walked in to the Carriage Cleaners shop at 544 E. Ogden Ave. in Milwaukee in June 2017, when the business was seeking workers, and asked for an application. An employee, however, told McLemore the owners did not hire men and would not accept an application from him because he was male.

McLemore turned to the EEOC, which concluded three months ago that he had a reasonable complaint, notified Carriage Cleaners that the agency was taking action and invited the company to work informally “to eliminate the unlawful employment practices and provide appropriate relief.”

Those efforts failed, prompting the EEOC to take the company to federal court, the agency said.

The EEOC is asking a judge to bar Carriage Cleaners from employment discrimination based on gender and to give McLemore and other male applicants back pay and other damages.

A Carriage Cleaners representative could not be reached Tuesday. The company runs seven dry-cleaning shops in the area, its website indicates.