A French civil appeals court on Friday ordered a subsidiary of French cosmetics giant l'Oreal SA to pay a fine of 30,000 euros ($40,790) in a case of racial bias in hiring staff in 2000.
The court fined subsidiary Garnier France as well as staffing group Adecco SA and communication firm Ajilon 30,000 euros each and gave a former Adecco employee a three-month suspended prison sentence. The former boss of Garnier, Laurent Dubois, was acquitted.
It was the first time ever in France that blue-chip companies have been involved in a legal case involving racial discrimination in hiring.
L'Oreal described itself as "flabbergasted" by the decision and rejected the racism allegation. It said Garnier would appeal the ruling.
Adecco, the world's largest staffing company, said in a statement it was astonished by the ruling and was considering an appeal. It added the company has had an internal action plan to fight discrimination since 1999.
The case alleged that Garnier and the other companies had collaborated in seeking to exclude applicants of Arab, Asian or African backgrounds from a position to promote a new product in supermarkets.
In June last year, a Paris civil court dismissed charges against the three companies, finding there was sufficient doubt about their guilt. French prosecutors and an association formed to fight racism appealed the ruling.
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