Raytheon Technologies subsidiary Rosemount Aerospace is cooperating with the Department of Labor to resolve allegations of discrimination against 187 Black applicants at its facility in Burnsville, Minnesota, according to the federal agency’s Aug. 9 news release.
As part of a compliance review, the agency’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs found that the federal defense contractor and manufacturer — which operates as Collins Aerospace — allegedly discriminated against Black applicants for assembler positions at the Minnesota facility between January 2018 and June 2019.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-based company is a global aerospace and defense contractor with more than 250 sites and 80,000 employees. It made $23.1 billion in sales last year, according to the company.
Rosemount entered into a conciliation agreement with the department on Aug. 8, a voluntary process to resolve and remedy discrimination charges informally without litigation. The manufacturer must pay $712,500 in back wages and interest to the affected applicants as well as make employment offers to 26 of the 187 affected applicants, referred to in the agreement as class members. The conciliatory agreement did not include specific details of the nature of the discrimination.
The company must offer roles to 26 individuals because it is the number of people expected to have been selected for assembler roles in a pool of qualified applicants had they not been discriminated against, a Department of Labor spokesperson told Manufacturing Dive in an email.
Class members will also be prioritized over other candidates for the assembler position until 26 individuals have been hired or the list of affected applicants is exhausted, according to the agreement. However, Rosemount can withdraw the job offer if the class member declines or does not meet the job conditions.
Affected applicants will receive equal distributions of Rosemount’s $712,500 settlement payment, regardless of whether they accept a job offer from the manufacturer.
“Federal contractors know that equal employment opportunity is non-negotiable when they accept taxpayer funds to fulfill their contract,” Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs Regional Director Carmen Navarro in Chicago said in a statement.
Collins Aerospace did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After the Labor Department review found Rosemount allegedly did not maintain accurate personnel records or interview notes during this time, the defense contractor must now document and retain every decision and step in its hiring process. The company must also train all hiring managers related to assembler positions on nondiscriminatory hiring practices.
Rosemount must submit four progress reports every six months and include job offers and hires from the class members, as well as the name, race and date and starting pay rate of those offered jobs accepted or rejected and the starting pay rate. The last report is due Sept. 30, 2025.
“Our job is to make sure federal contractors meet their legal and contractual obligations, including providing opportunities for all qualified applicants regardless of race,” Navarro said in a statement.
