Colorado Hotel Owner Settles Discrimination Suit

DENVER (AP) - Court documents show a Hampton Inn & Suites franchise in western Colorado has agreed to pay $85,000 in back pay and compensatory damages to non-Hispanic employees who said they were fired because of their race.

The franchise in Craig is owned by Rawlins, Wyo.-based Century Shree Corp. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged the company fired at least three Caucasian housekeeping and laundry workers and replaced them with Latino workers because the company's management believed non-Hispanics are lazy.

A consent decree says those who were fired will be offered reinstatement to their jobs, and the owners, managers and supervisors of the company will undergo training on federal anti-discrimination laws.

A lawyer for Century Shree was out of the office Tuesday afternoon and wasn't immediately available for comment.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)