Princeton Club of New York faces racial discrimination suit

A former Princeton Club of New York payroll manager, 51-year-old Jo-Ann Garcia, filed a $10-million lawsuit against her former employer in early August, contending that she was dismissed from her job due to her age and race.

In a New York Daily News article published in August, Garcia, who was let go in March, claimed that the club’s Spanish-speaking employees felt that they “were being segregated” by club management, who allegedly instructed employees to avoid speaking the language in front of club patrons.

Garcia had worked at the club for nearly 30 years, initially as filing planner, and had been promoted to several other roles.

The Princeton Club of New York and Garcia’s lawyer, Brian Heller of Schwartz and Perry LLP, declined to comment because the lawsuit is ongoing.

According to the suit, white workers making the same wage replaced Garcia even though club management provided “financial reasons” as rationale for Garcia’s dismissal. Garcia said that she “was never reprimanded for anything and did wonderful work.”

University Spokesperson Martin Mbugua responded to inquiries about the lawsuit, stating in an email that the University is unaffiliated with the club and does not manage or control it.

Mbugua also said that Princeton University has not had an active racial discrimination lawsuit in the past decade and that “an inadvertent association of the University’s employees with this lawsuit would be grossly misleading.”

“Princeton University has very strong policies prohibiting racial discrimination, as well as other forms of discrimination, in the workplace and in the campus community generally,” Mbugua said.

According to the current assistant general manager, cited in the suit, the General Manager Larry Hines preferred “white, native English speaking personnel” and found the Hispanic accents of some employees “embarrassing.”

Popular media outlets that picked up on the story framed it around long-standing stereotypes about the Ivy League and Princeton’s elitism.

Calling the Daily News report “predictable as hell,” IvyGate said that they were “a little disappointed that it took Ms. Garcia 29 years to realize that the Princeton Club prefers pale white men,” but even more disappointed with Princeton, because “country club racism is so passe.”

In a sarcastic post, Gawker expressed incredulity that an “institution created by and for Ivy League graduates, participating in racist hiring practices … would go against the centuries of diversity, tolerance and openness that characterize Princeton University.”