NU Online News Service, May 9, 2:51 p.m. EDT

Chubb & Son will pay an employee $110,000 as part of an agreement to resolve allegations that the company failed to promote an employee based on race.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) says the Warren, N.J.-based insurer and employee Kong Chee Vang reached an agreement before scheduled mediation on a lawsuit filed by the EEOC on behalf of Vang in September 2010. Vang will get $60,000 in back wages and $50,000 for emotional distress, the EEOC says in a statement.

The EEOC alleged Chubb refused in 2006 to promote Vang in the company's Milwaukee underwriting office because of her Asian race and then rejected her again the next year in retaliation when she filed a complaint with the EEOC.

The EEOC says "Chubb failed to stop its managers from using stereotypes and negative assumptions based on race" while considering Vang for a promotion to underwriter.

"Business decisions involving jobs—including decisions on promotions—cannot be based on negative racial assumptions or stereotypes," says John Hendrickson, regional attorney for EEOC. "When race gets into employment decision-making, the process itself is fatally defective, and the EEOC will not hesitate to challenge it."

The EEOC says it has seen a nationwide increase in retaliation claims.

Chubb employees must undergo anti-discrimination training and the company must report future discrimination complaints it gets from employees to the EEOC.

Special Reports /

Chubb Pays Employee $110,000 To End EEOC Discrimination Suit

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