When you’re searching for the American Screening Corp Lawsuit, well, there are actually two different cases that have happened in recent times that you might be looking for, right? Well, that is the very reason why we have talked about both of these cases, and sure enough, in these cases, it was the American Screening that was at fault and eventually, the justice was served.
What Happened During the Pandemic?
Back in early 2020 when COVID-19 started, American Screening stepped into selling masks, gloves, and sanitizers through their website, and you must have been a customer if you know how the situation was back then. From the get-go, of course, it was stated that orders would be shipped within “24 to 48 hours.” But nah, in reality, that wasn’t even the case, like pretty unfortunately, the promise was not kept.
Just to give you an idea of how bad things were, well, customers of the company had to wait for several weeks and in some cases more than a month before their orders were delivered. Customers were charged right away but the goods came late. When customers asked for their money back, their requests were mostly rejected. Even with the shipping delays, the company could still be found advertising on their website that orders could be shipped fast.
Why Did the FTC Step In?
Well, no doubt, when things started going sideways with their shipping and all that and the complaints of the customers started to pile up, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stepped in once it figured that the company’s claims about shipping were deceiving. Like pretty much the Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule states that businesses are required to give correct delivery schedules and must provide refunds if the orders cannot be shipped as scheduled.
What Was the Court’s Decision?
And then, later down the line, in this very case, in a decision made in June 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals sided with the FTC. It was the court’s decision to make the company and the owners liable for the case and to grant the customers who were affected nearly $14.7 million in refunds.
But that wasn’t it though, actually, siding with the customers even more, in this case, American Screening was prohibited from the sale or promotion of any kind of personal protective equipment in the future. The owners were held accountable too, considering the fact that the evidence pointed to them giving employees orders to refuse the refunds and keep the sales going even when there was no inventory whatsoever.
What Was the Hair Discrimination Lawsuit?
The second lawsuit dealt with workplace discrimination. An African American worker was initially hired while wearing her hair straight in 2022. However, she later decided to wear her natural curly hair to work. Her supervisor said the hairstyle looked “unprofessional” and asked her to change it.
When she wouldn’t, she was fired and eventually replaced by a white employee. That is why she filed a discrimination complaint.
How Did That Case End?
The lawsuit was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) which claimed that the firing was a breach of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In fact, the EEOC said that natural hair is one of the things that shows a person’s race.
In a later settlement with the EEOC, American Screening paid the sum of $50,000 and in addition to that, the company had to make the changes in their internal policies, conduct training of their employees on the rules against discrimination, and for the next three years send any complaints to the EEOC. The court approved the settlement despite the fact that the company had gone bankrupt in 2023.
