Jason Alderman, Kristy Johnson and Troy Tolentino

The Alderman Law Firm

Carmen Manrara Cartaya and Beatriz Biscardi Andre

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

SLS Hotel Group agreed to pay a $2.5 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging race, color and national origin discrimination against black Haitian dishwashers, who allegedly were fired and replaced with mostly light-skinned Hispanics from a staffing agency.

As part of the federal consent decree approved in July, SLS Hotel owner and operator SBE agreed to a large-scale training program for its workforce at six Miami-area hotels requiring annual training for three years.

EEOC Miami attorneys Beatriz Biscardi Andre and Carmen Manrara Cartaya, together with Jason R. Alderman, Kristy Johnson and Troy Tolentino of The Alderman Law Firm in Miami Shores, represented the fired workers.

The lawsuit alleged a pattern of racial discrimination and improper handling of complaints by area and corporate human resources officials.

The fired Haitians worked in the kitchens of The Bazaar by Jose Andres, Katsuya and Hyde Beach. They testified about chefs referring to them as “slaves” and about being reprimanded for speaking Creole while Hispanic employees were allowed to speak Spanish.

The dishwashers claimed they were fired after they complained to human resources about discrimination and having a “racist” supervisor. They said SLS responded by firing the 17-employee department, and the Haitian workers were given no opportunity to apply to the staffing agency providing replacements.

Only one Hispanic dishwasher was fired. He testified he was the only one rehired as a dishwasher two days later and was allowed to speak Spanish throughout the workplace.

The training program covers SBE's human resources officers in Miami, New York and Los Angeles and managers, supervisors, chefs and hourly employees, including staffing agency workers, in English, Spanish and Creole at the SLS Hotel South Beach, Shore Club, SLS Brickell, Delano, The Raleigh and SLS Lux Miami.

An independent monitor will attend the training sessions and provide comprehensive reports to the EEOC.

SBE also is required to provide comprehensive data on terminations, layoffs or involuntary separations for the next three years at the six SBE hotels.

The settlement was seen by plaintiffs attorneys as a victory for marginalized workers in low-paying jobs in Miami's hospitality industry. The average hourly pay for the Haitian dishwashers was about $9 per hour.