<div class="ar">HONOLULU (AP) -- NCL America Inc. has agreed to pay $485,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit involving seven crew members with Middle East backgrounds who lost their jobs aboard the cruise ship Pride of Aloha. <p>The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Thursday that the company also agreed to revise its policies to ensure a workplace that promotes equal employment opportunities. </p><p>In resolving the lawsuit that the commission filed in 2006, NCL America denied it had acted improperly in firing the seven Middle Eastern crew members. </p><p>&quot;We are very pleased with this outcome, and NCL America should be applauded for its commitment to prevent discrimination by agreeing to the comprehensive injunctive relief in this case,&quot; said Anna Y. Park, regional attorney for the commission's district office in Los Angeles. </p><p>NCL America agreed to hire an equal employment opportunity consultant and to train its managers and employees regarding the company's equal employment policy and complaint procedure. </p><p>Meanwhile, the cruise ship that began plying Hawaii waters in 2004 is to join NCL's international fleet and be outfitted with a casino. It is shifting to a Miami-Bahamas route beginning in July. The move means the vessel will go back to its original name -- Norwegian Sky. </p><p>NCL once had three U.S.-flagged ships cruising among the Hawaiian Islands. Citing increased expenses and insufficient revenue from the operation, it is now left with just one -- Pride of America.</p></div>