Wet Seal Discriminated in Firing, EEOC Says

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has determined that Foothill Ranch-based clothing retailer Wet Seal illegally discriminated against a then store manager in Pennsylvania, The New York Times is reporting.

Wet Seal fired the African American woman after a company executive complained about too many black employees at the manager's store in King of Prussia.

The director of the EEOC's Philadelphia office said Wet Seal’s “corporate managers have openly stated they wanted employees who had the 'Armani look, were white, had blue eyes, thin and blond in order to be profitable.' "

It issued its determination after the former manager and two others filed a federal race discrimination lawsuit against Wet Seal last July.

Read the full New York Times story here.