Study: Minority Retail Workers Paid Less

A study published Tuesday finds that African-American and Latino workers in retail are paid less and less likely to be promoted off the floor. The study, backed by the NAACP and public policy organization Demos, found that African-American and Hispanic full-time salespeople make around 75 percent of what their white colleagues in the same positions make, while black and hispanic cashiers make about 90 percent of what their white counterparts earn. The pay gap shrinks for first-line supervisors and managers in retail, with black workers in those positions making $17.31 hourly compared to the $17.43 rate their white colleagues make, and $15.38 for Latino supervisors. The study also found that black workers make up only 6 percent of the supervisor positions despite representing 11 percent of the workforce.