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Shutterbug Life helps enthusiast photographers create great pictures. Using our photography podcast, blog and photo tours, we provide shutterbugs tips and discussions on improving photography.

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B&H Photo's response to federal lawsuit is a good first step but not enough

Lynford Morton February 29, 2016

How can you reconcile the latest federal suit against B&H Photo Video — and the retailer's response — with what your conscience and common sense tells you might be happening?

You can't. There is still enough evidence to create reasonable doubts, so we should expect a better response from B&H Photo.

In case you missed it, the U.S. Labor Department filed a lawsuit against B&H Photo Video claiming it "has systematically discriminated against Hispanic employees and female, black and Asian jobseekers at its Brooklyn Navy Yard warehouse." 

That was a major gut punch for many of us photographers who loved and supported the camera retail giant. We made special trips to B&H on most visits to New York City. We might shop around but always return to B&H to make our major purchases.

This was like finding out someone you knew, loved and trusted was involved in an embarrasing scandal. You just didn't want to believe it was true.

B&H officially responded with a statement that reads like a PR guy and lawyer conspired to placate their customers.

 

Here's the good news — B&H unequivocally denied the worst allegations.

"We can declare outright that B&H does NOT have any segregated bathrooms by race or religion, and anyone working at B&H knows that to be true. Additionally, any similar contentions are not only inaccurate, but bizarre," said in their statement.

I was somewhat relieved that they were willing to take such a strong stand on the worst charges. 

Even with that, there are still some troubling aspects of this situation that are still not addressed:

  • This is a lawsuit from the federal government, not a few disgruntled workers or someone who "never step foot in a B&H facility."
  • This lawsuit is the result of a years-long investigation, not a one-time occurrence.
  • The government says that “B&H fell far short of this responsibility and created deplorable working conditions for employees at its Brooklyn warehouse."
  • The suit also alleges that when confronted with this information, B&H refused to take corrective action.
 

Here's the bad news — This kind of controversy isn't new to B&H. 

  • The NY Post reports that in 2007 B&H paid $4.3 million to settle a separate discrimination case.
  • In October 2015, Al Jazeera published a lengthy report from workers who claimed abuse and ultimately won the right to unionize. 
  • Earlier in February 2016, the retailer was fined $32,000 for not providing guardrails on raised platforms at the warehouse.

The charges raised in the federal suit have a cumulative effect. Why do these kinds of allegations persist about B&H Photo — and only about B&H Photo? We are hearing too many alarming accusations to ignore them all.

I appreciate B&H's statement, but it falls far short of addressing the full range of concerns raised by the lawsuit and the history of complaints. I will wait to see how this plays out before making further judgment or returning to B&H.

It's said that we are still talking about treating people with basic fairness and dignity in 2016.

 

Here is the full text of the lawsuit

Of Ccp 20160384

TagsB&H Photo
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© 2010 - 2017. Lynford Morton

Shutterbug Life

Create great photos. Build an audience. Make an impact.

Shutterbug Life community helps enthusiast photographers create great pictures. Using our photography podcast, blog and photo tours, we provide shutterbugs tips and discussions on improving photography.

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