BH Photo

The federal government is charging the Hasidic-owned New York electronics store B&H Photo & Electronics with discriminating against its Hispanic warehouse workers — including separate bathrooms.

The decree settles allegations that B&H Foto discriminated against female as well as black and Asian job seekers by hiring only Hispanic men for entry-level positions. In addition, there were allegations that Hispanic shipping workers were paid significantly less than comparable workers and denied promotion to higher level positions. There were also allegations that Hispanic workers were routinely subjected to harassing conduct and had unequal access to restroom facilities, and the company failed to take corrective action when confronted with employee complaints.

A US Labor Department lawsuit filed Thursday accused B&H Photo & Electronics, the largest non-chain photo and video equipment store in New York City, of heavily discriminating against Hispanic employees by forcing them to use separate, unsanitary bathrooms.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has filed a discrimination lawsuit against electronics retailer B&H Photo-Video in New York City.

B&H Photo Video, the Jewish-owned Manhattan electronics retail giant, is settling a sex and race discrimination lawsuit filed by workers at its Brooklyn warehouse for $3.2 million. “We are pleased that B&H entered into this agreement, and has committed to ensuring that their workers will receive equitable wages and opportunities, and enjoy a workplace that…

B&H Photo Video, the Jewish-owned Manhattan electronics retail giant, is settling a sex and race discrimination lawsuit filed by workers at its Brooklyn warehouse for $3.2 million.

The federal government is charging the Hasidic-owned New York electronics store B&H Photo & Electronics with discriminating against its Hispanic warehouse workers — including separate bathrooms. Hispanic workers at the company’s Brooklyn warehouse are forced to use dirty, often broken restrooms, while white workers have access to “superior” toilets, according to the complaint U.S. Department of…

The EEOC’s lawsuit, filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, alleged that B & H paid Hispanics in its warehouses in Manhattan and Brooklyn less than non-Hispanic workers and failed to promote them or provide health benefits because of their national origin (EEOC v. B & H Foto and Electronics Corp. No. 07 CV-9241). Under the court-approved consent decree, B & H agreed to cooperate with the EEOC in a claims process to distribute $4.3 million in monetary relief to 149 employees who were paid less, not promoted, or denied benefits because they are Hispanic.

The largest non-chain photo and video equipment retailer in America, Chelsea's B&H Photo Video, has been slapped with a lawsuit from NY State Attorney General Letitia James, who accuses the company of dodging millions in sales taxes. The company, which has been in business in NYC since the '70s, failed to pay taxes "on tens of millions of dollars it received from electronics manufacturers to reimburse the company for 'instant rebate' manufacturer discounts B&H passed along to its customers," the AG's office said in a statement announcing the legal action.

New York Attorney General Letitia James is suing the Orthodox-owned B&H Photo for failing to pay more than $7 million in taxes, according to a complaint filed today in the Supreme Court of the State of New York.

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today filed a lawsuit against B&H Foto & Electronics Corp. (B&H) for violations of New York’s Tax Law, the New York False Claims Act, and New York’s Executive Law. The suit claims that B&H — the nation’s largest non-chain photo and video equipment retailer — knowingly failed to pay sales tax due on tens of millions of dollars it received from electronics manufacturers to reimburse the company for “instant rebate” manufacturer discounts B&H passed along to its customers.

The New York Supreme Court in Manhattan dismissed Attorney General Letitia James’s $7.3 million lawsuit against B&H Foto & Electronics Corp., ruling Sept. 21 that manufacturer discounts passed on to consumers under the retailer’s “Instant Savings” program were not coupons subject to the state’s sales tax. James’s office accused the company in 2019 of intentionally shielding more than a decade’s worth of manufacturer disbursements in the program.

Total reported payments, 2016 cycle: $596,443

Last year, the company faced a different lawsuit for offering only Jewish employees a $2,000 “baby bonus,” which plaintiffs claimed was discriminatory. In 2016, the U.S. Labor Department sued after Hispanic employees were forced to use a separate bathroom in a warehouse.

B&H has been sued multiple times for racial and gender discrimination. In 2007, B&H agreed to pay $4.3 million to settle a case levied by Hispanic employees over uneven pay scale; in 2009, four female employees sued B&H over failure to promote women to sales positions; and in 2011 Hispanic employees Luis Santana and Carlos Marchand sued B&H over denied promotions and raises.

The giant Hasidic-owned camera store B&H Photo Video is closing the Brooklyn warehouse where workers formed a union in 2015 amid stiff opposition from management, and where federal investigators allege Hispanic employees were forced to use separate bathrooms. In a statement on Thursday, B&H said it would move its fulfillment center from the Brooklyn Navy…

Unionized warehouse workers at the Hasidic-owned electronics retailer B & H Photo Video called a daylong strike on Monday, in protest of the company’s plan to shutter its two Brooklyn warehouses. At a large rally outside B & H’s Manhattan flagship store, workers said that they opposed the move — and praised their union, formed…

A leftist activist group has called for a boycott against B&H Photo Video, the large Hasidic-owned New York City camera gear retailer, amid an ongoing labor dispute over the company’s plans to shutter two warehouses in Brooklyn. The boycott call, announced Friday by the New York City Democratic Socialists of America, comes after months of…

Workers at the same warehouse voted in November to join the United Steelworkers union, alleging that the company was subjecting them to unsafe working conditions and unfair hours.

The union representing the newly-organized workers at the Brooklyn warehouse of B & H Photo Video have filed a complaint against the company over its plan to shift its operations to New Jersey. The local news website DNAinfo first reported the National Labor Relations Board filing brought by United Steelworkers. B&H announced in January that…