CINCINNATI — Judge Sean Cox of the Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division has rejected plaintiffs’ bids for class certification in two employment discrimination lawsuits: Mirna E. Serrano vs. Cintas Corp. (Case No. 04-CV-40132) and Blanca Avalos vs. Cintas Corp. (Case No. 06-CV-12311), Cintas reports.
The nationwide and Michigan hiring discrimination lawsuits alleged that Cintas had discriminated against female and minority applicants who sought service sales representative positions at hundreds of Cintas facilities across the country.
The court sided with Cintas in ruling that the plaintiffs’ evidence did not demonstrate any common, class-wide discriminatory impact or pattern of discrimination. The court also found the plaintiffs’ efforts to refute Cintas’ commitment to diversity “entirely unpersuasive,” saying, “Cintas has presented sincere attempts to achieve greater diversity in its company.”
“This is an important vindication for Cintas. Diversity is one of our top corporate initiatives,” says Scott Farmer, chief executive officer of Cintas Corp. and chairman of the company’s Diversity Committee. “We are pleased that the court acknowledged Cintas’ continued commitment to diversity and inclusion, as both a smart business practice and a way to maximize the talents of our employee-partners.”
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