10:28 PM PDT on Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Compiled by kgw.com Staff

SEATTLE -- Les Schwab Tire Centers, one of the largest tire and automotive businesses in the West, violated federal employment discrimination law by failing to hire, train, and promote women into management jobs, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed Wednesday.

File photo

A Les Schwab sign.

Les Schwab denied the allegations.

Megan Morris and Jennifer Strange worked in various Les Schwab stores in the Puget Sound area, including Tacoma, Bellevue, SeaTac, and Puyallup. Although they requested to work in the tire bays, they were repeatedly denied these jobs and the opportunity for promotion due to their gender, according to the EEOC.

"In 1996, I started at the bottom and worked up to sales and management for an independently owned Les Schwab Tire Center. But when Les Schwab corporate took over this store, they demoted me to bookkeeper," Strange said. "When I asked about my prior position, I was told 'No gal in the company would ever make that kind of money. Gals should work in admin.' I stayed for almost two years trying to move back into sales and management, but the company refused to consider me for that kind of job.”

The women’s charges, which allege Les Schwab failed to hire female applicants into sales and service department jobs, form the basis of the lawsuit.

The sales and service department jobs positions -- which involve mounting, dismounting, repairing and rotating tires -- are held mainly by men and are required for entry into more lucrative management jobs, according to the lawsuit.

The agency said it found that Les Schwab has excluded women from those roles for more than 50 years and only recently promoted one woman to the position of assistant manager.

“We disagree with the EEOC and are disappointed it has reached this stage. We have fully cooperated with the agency to date, and, while we continue to hope this can be resolved, we will vigorously defend our position if necessary. We are committed to equal opportunity practices in all aspects of our business," said Les Schwab Human Resources Director Jodie Hueske.