A Fort Lauderdale yacht company is being sued over an internal email accidentally sent to job applicant Diane Melton that recommended against hiring her because she was "black and over weight," which would make customers who wanted to discriminate against both black and overweight people feel uncomfortable.
The Luxury Yacht Group is being sued by the county for almost $150,000, the amount determined by the county's Human Rights Board, according to the Sun-Sentinel. (There was no additional penalty for having the least creative boat company name in South Florida.)
And good news for the curious -- that email is included in old federal court filings.
After two interviews, the woman who interviewed Melton emailed Marcy Laturno, the person whom Melton would have worked for, recommending that Melton be hired. This is how Laturno responded in June 2005, according to Melton's lawyers:
Dear CAH,
I may agree with you, not having me [sic] the other candidates. I do think she would do a good job. However, I am not sure she portrays the image we are looking for here and if Amanda does not like her for whatever reason this is a problem. I am also a bit worried about the discrimination issues the boats have. I know I stressed them with her but until she hears how clients talk I don't think she will understand. Also, once clients met her I think they would have a problem being so up front with us on these issues. As she is black and over weight, these are two issues boats do not employ for. Part of our success with placements is our clients are comfortable speaking straight forward and the majority not being US flagged they can discriminate. We as an employer cannot due to these issues but I think employing her may directly affect our business and is something seriously worth considering. Please delete this e-mail after you read it. thank you.
There you go -- Laturno wanted to make sure their customers could discriminate without feeling awkward about it. Melton didn't get the job.
