Goodwill settles hiring discrimination lawsuit

Goodwill Industries of Southern California has agreed to settle federal allegations that it discriminated against men in hiring.

The Department of Labor says Goodwill on Thursday agreed to settle claims that it favored women for entry-level jobs at its donation centers, in part because of an impression that women have better customer service skills.

Authorities claimed that 200 qualified male applicants were denied a chance to obtain jobs.

Goodwill strongly denied those claims in a statement Thursday, saying they hire the best qualified applicants for all positions, regardless of gender or other factors.

Goodwill agrees to pay nearly $132,000 to those men and to make 18 job offers to other qualified men as openings occur.

Goodwill didn’t acknowledge any wrongdoing in making the settlement.