Target: Yeah, Those Offensive ‘Minority Tips’ Are Ours
Target has admitted that a leaked memo containing bizarre and offensive “minority tips” is indeed real, and corporate has taken the proper steps to make sure that the guilty parties were punished accordingly.
The training document came to light thanks to a lawsuit filed by three former Target warehouse workers in California’s Yolo County. The paper is titled “Organization Effectiveness, Employee and Labor Relations Multi-Cultural Tips,” and offers suggestions on relating to/managing Hispanic employees.
These suggestions came off a bit stereotypical, hence the lawsuit.
A spokeswoman for Target confirmed to The Huffington Post that the leaked document is indeed real, but said that it isn’t “formal or company-wide training.” She added that the retailer takes responsibility for the flap and is “truly sorry.”
“It is never Target’s intent to offend our team members or guests and we apologize,” she said. She didn’t mention whether or not the document was part of training materials dating back to the ’80s (read: Sarcasm).
The lawsuit alleged that Target’s “minority tips” document said the following:
a. Food: not everyone eats tacos and burritos;
b. Music: not everyone dances to salsa;
c. Dress: not everyone wears a sombrero;
d. Mexicans (lower education level, some may be undocumented);
e. Cubans (Political refugees, legal status, higher education level); and
f. They may say ‘OK, OK’ and pretend to understand, when they do not, just to save face.
Additionally, Robert Gonzalez, Bulmaro Fabian and Pedro Garcia-Ayala, the three employees who filed suit, said that their bosses frequently used racial slurs when talking to their Hispanic employees. Gonzalez reported the problem to human resources, and his supervisor allegedly retaliated.
All three were fired, and claim that their termination was racially motivated.
Do you think that Target’s “minority tips” list is offensive? Should the supermarket chain be sued, or is it the managers of the California warehouse who should be punished?
[Featured image: Kelly Martin]
