Bank of America told to pay in discrimination case

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) — The U.S. Department of Labor has ordered Bank of America topay black job applicants more than $2 million in back wages and interest to settle a discriminationcase.

A statement from the agency said the Charlotte-based bank applied unfair and inconsistent selection criteria, leading to the rejection of qualified black applicants for teller and entry-level clerical and administrative positions.

The decision affects 1,147 applicants. It awards a total of $964,033 to 1,034 applicants who were rejected for jobs in 1993 and $1,217,560 to 113 individuals who were rejected between 2002 and 2005.

Labor Department administrative law Judge Linda S. Chapman rejected the bank’s arguments for a lower award on the grounds that they could not make use of missing records that they had failed to keep.