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Macy's to pay $650K, latest retailer to settle over racial profiling

Macy's will pay $650,000 to settle allegations that it racially profiled customers at its store in New York City. Macy's joins Barneys, another New York department store that has paid a big settlement for racial profiling in recent weeks.

Macy鈥檚 will pay $650,000 to settle allegations of racially profiling customers at its Herald Square store in Manhattan, making it the second New York department store to settle racial profiling allegations this month. 聽

Macy鈥檚 flagship store in Manhattan faced more than a dozen complaints from African-American and Latino customers claiming that Macy鈥檚 "lost prevention unit" detained them even though they hadn鈥檛 stolen or attempted to steal anything. Complainants also accused store officials of falsely accusing minorities of shoplifting聽more than white customers.

鈥淚t is absolutely unacceptable 鈥� and it鈥檚 illegal 鈥� for anyone in New York to be treated like a criminal simply because of the color of their skin,鈥� New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman 聽Wednesday. 鈥淭his agreement will help ensure that no one is unfairly singled out as a suspected criminal when they shop in New York and that all New Yorkers enjoy full and equal access to our retail establishments.鈥�

The Civil Rights Bureau of the New York attorney general鈥檚 office began investigating Macy鈥檚 in February 2013 after receiving several complaints. Among the allegations: Customers with limited English proficiency said they were stopped for suspected shoplifting and credit card fraud, but they were denied access to an interpreter and were required to sign trespass notices though they weren鈥檛 able to understand the document, according to the Attorney General鈥檚 Office.聽

In October 2013,聽Robert Brown, a 29-year-old black actor, filed suit against Macy's, saying he was聽unfairly detained. Mr. Brown said he purchased a $1,300 Movado watch for his mother to celebrate her graduation from college. After the purchase, he alleged, security officers approached him and insisted that he could not afford such an item, holding him in a Macy鈥檚 cell for one hour.聽He settled with Macy's in July for an undisclosed sum.

This isn't the first time Macy's has faced allegations of racial profiling. In 2005, then-New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer found that security employees at 29 Macy's stores engaged in racial profiling. Macy's settled the allegations for $600,000.聽

Barneys of New York agreed on Aug. 11 to pay $525,000 to settle racial profiling allegations at its stores. The attorney general began an investigation into the upscale department store after two African-American customers alleged that they were falsely accused of credit card fraud. During the investigation, authorities found that Barneys disproportionately stopped African-Americans and Latino customers.

Under the terms of its settlement, Macy鈥檚 must designate an independent expert on anti-discrimination laws who will report to the attorney general. The company must train employees on best ways to treat detainees and investigate customer complaints of racial profiling.聽

In December, Barneys and Macy鈥檚 adopted a so-called聽, which strictly prohibits racial profiling or discrimination of any kind.聽

In a statement, Macy鈥檚 said the company policy strictly prohibits any form of discrimination or racial profiling. 鈥淲e at Macy鈥檚 are committed to fulfilling to the ideals of diversity, inclusion and respect that our company aspires to achieve 鈥� every day, in every store and office, with every customer and associate,鈥� Macy鈥檚 said. 鈥淪erving customers is what we are all about, and we will continue to work tirelessly to ensure that all customers feel welcome at Macy鈥檚 and are treated with respect.鈥�