Macy’s reaches accord on racial profiling allegations

New York -- Macy's Inc. has agreed to pay $650,000 to settle allegations of racial profiling at its flagship store in Manhattan.



Under the agreement with New York's attorney general, the company will initiate enhanced training and education for its loss prevention and sales associates.



“We also will be adopting an expanded role for our security monitor to help ensure that we have the right policies and procedures in place, and that we are constantly reviewing our compliance with them,” the retailer said in a statement.



The New York attorney general's Civil Rights Bureau opened an investigation into Macy's in February 2013 after receiving several complaints from minority customers. The office recorded complaints from 18 African-American, Latino and other ethnic minority customers who alleged they were detained at Macy's stores between 2007 and 2013, despite not having stolen or attempted to steal any merchandise.



"To be clear, our company's policies strictly prohibit any form of discrimination or racial profiling and any occurrence of such behavior will not be tolerated in our organization," Macy's said in its statement.



The agreement with Macy’s comes on the heels of a similar agreement the attorney general's Civil Rights Bureau reached with Barneys.