Ex-Versace Employee Says Store Has Code Word For Black Shoppers

An ex-employee of a Bay Area Versace retail store is blowing the whistle on some discriminatory practices. According to this employee, the location he worked at had a special code word they used whenever African American’s walked in their store.

The employee says a manager told him about a store code called “D410,” which was used to let co-workers know a black person was present (i.e. “We have a D410 in Menswear). Ironically that’s also the code for all black shirts in Versace stores.

The employee says that he responded to his manager by saying, “You know that I’m African-American?” and since then he was refused breaks and was fired after just two weeks of working because he hadn’t “lived the luxury life.”

The employee is now suing the company for unpaid wages and damages. Versace denies the allegations and has filed to have the case dismissed in court.