August 22, 2001

Plaintiffs Hit ARAMARK As It Heads for IPO

ARAMARK Corporate, a $7-billion provider of outsourced services, may face a class action lawsuit alleging race discrimination. In mid-August, ten current and former employees filed suit in U.S. district court in Philadelphia, charging that ARAMARK managers at Philadelphia's Presbyterian Medical Center engage in a pattern of harassment directed at African Americans. The harassment includes excessive discipline, racial epithets, and retaliatory measures, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs. The class would include all African Americans working in the company's patient, environmental and distribution services, who transport patients, clean rooms and distribute linens. Workers in the department are mostly black; workers in other ARAMARK divisions are predominantly white. The suit seeks unspecified damages from defendants, including the company and two white managers identified as Dorothy Homony and Chris Hornbecker. One of the firms filing the suit, Berger & Montague, P.C., is also currently handling the claims of 140 African Americans alleging racial discrimination by Hygrade Food Products Co., a division of Sara Lee Corporation. The private company issued a statement saying it had not reviewed the lawsuit but that it "does not condone racial harassment in any form." Last month, the company filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a $600 million initial public offering to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

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