Cruise ship workers win discrimination settlement
HONOLULU—NCL America Inc. has agreed to pay $485,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit involving seven crew members with Middle East backgrounds who lost their jobs aboard the cruise ship Pride of Aloha.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Thursday that the company also agreed to revise its policies to ensure a workplace that promotes equal employment opportunities.
In resolving the lawsuit that the commission filed in 2006, NCL America denied it had acted improperly in firing the seven Middle Eastern crew members.
"We are very pleased with this outcome, and NCL America should be applauded for its commitment to prevent discrimination by agreeing to the comprehensive injunctive relief in this case," said Anna Y. Park, regional attorney for the commission's district office in Los Angeles.
NCL America agreed to hire an equal employment opportunity consultant and to train its managers and employees regarding the company's equal employment policy and complaint procedure.
Meanwhile, the cruise ship that began plying Hawaii waters in 2004 is to join NCL's international fleet and be outfitted with a casino. It is shifting to a Miami-Bahamas route beginning in July. The move means the vessel will go back to its original name -- Norwegian Sky.
NCL once had three U.S.-flagged ships cruising among the Hawaiian Islands. Citing increased expenses and insufficient revenue from the operation, it is now left with just one -- Pride of America.
