In September 2010, EEOC filed a racial harassment lawsuit against a cell phone installation and testing company, asserting that the company violated federal anti-discrimination laws when it subjected an African-American employee to severe and repeated harassment. The manager allegedly made continually disparaging comments to the former attorney, saying that she needed to assimilate more into the local culture and break up with her boyfriend at the time, also White, in favor of a local boy. In June 2011, a district court ruled that the EEOC could proceed with its two Title VII cases alleging race, national origin, and religion discrimination by a meatpacking firm against a class of Black Somali Muslim workers at its facilities in Greeley, Colo., and Grand Island, Neb. EEOC v. Hamilton Growers, Inc., No. After being subjected to racial slurs and witnessing a supervisor display a noose with a black stuffed animal hanging from it, the employee complained. Lawyers can be helpful when brokering a higher settlement. In June 2015, a Laughlin hotel has agreed to pay $150,000 to six Latino or brown-skinned workers who were "subjected to a barrage of highly offensive and derogatory comments about their national origin and/or skin color since 2006." In January 2008, a bakery caf franchise in Florida entered a two-year consent decree that enjoined the company from engaging in racial discrimination or retaliation and required it to pay $101,000 to the claimants. Chapman University, a private university in Orange, Calif., paid $75,000 and furnished other relief to settle an EEOC race discrimination. EEOC v. M. Slavin & Sons Ltd., No. In its lawsuit, the EEOC had alleged that the employee's supervisors subjected him to racial epithets and asked if he was a "black man or a n----r." The Commission further alleged that, following his complaints of racial discrimination, the company demoted and later discharged the employee. 18, 2012). Plaintiff Monica Guessous is an Arab-American Muslim woman from Morocco who worked for Fairview Property Investments, LLC until she was terminated from her position as a bookkeeping assistant by her supervisor, Greg Washenko, Fairview's Chief Financial Officer. even though the relevant union local is not a party to the suit. In December 2017, Laquila Group Inc., a Brooklyn-based construction company, paid $625,000 into a class settlement fund and took measures to eliminate race bias and retaliation against black construction laborers. In September 2015, BMW Manufacturing Co. settled for $1.6 million and other relief an EEOC lawsuit alleging that the company's criminal background check policy disproportionately affects black logistics workers at a South Carolina plant. 0:11-cv-02785-DSD-JJG (D. Minn. consent decree filed Nov. 20, 2012). 4:11-cv-03425 (S.D. In May 2009, the federal district court in Minnesota dismissed the EEOC's lawsuit alleging that a Minneapolis-based company provided contract human resources services to more than 37,000 entities, allegedly disciplined and fired a Ph.D. social worker because of his race (African American) and his complaints about race discrimination. 26, 2016). The consent decree enjoins the company from engaging in racial discrimination and requires it to post a remedial notice and arrange training in racial discrimination for its managers and supervisors. 10, 2014). In its original complaint, EEOC alleged that since at least 2003, management officials and employees at Scully Distribution referred to Black drivers as "niggers," East Indian drivers as "Taliban" and "camel jockeys," and a Latino manager as a "spic." EEOC alleged that the engineer reported to his supervisor that the mall's operations manager was engaging in race discrimination and sexual harassment; the supervisor told the engineer to ignore the operations manager's conduct, and offered to relocate the engineer. The Commission noted that several witnesses subscribed to Complainants view that management intentionally foreclosed minorities from career advancement. The suit also included other Black applicants who were denied hire in favor of less qualified White applicants. EEOC v. Izza Bending Tube & Wire, Inc., No. Thereafter, the parties agreed to settle the matter. 0120141506 (June 2, 2017). The jury found that the retailer failed to accommodate Marlo Spaeth, a longtime employee with Down syndrome, and then fired her in July 2015 because of her disability. In November 2011, a furniture company operating in several locations in Puerto Rico, agreed to pay $40,000 and furnish other relief to settle a charge of retaliation at a worksite in San Juan. Defendant did not announce the promotion until two months after Charging Party had begun the new job and did not issue Charging Party a cell telephone or a company e-mail address during his tenure in the position. On April 26, 2011, Whirlpool appealed the judgment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. 24, 2015). In February 2010, Big Lots paid $400,000 to settle a race harassment and discrimination lawsuit in which the EEOC alleged that the company took no corrective action to stop an immediate supervisor and co-workers, all Hispanic, from subjecting a Black maintenance mechanic and other Black employees to racially derogatory jokes, comments, slurs and epithets, including the use of the words "n----r" and "monkey," at its California distribution center. EEOC v. Rosebud Restaurants, Inc., Civil Action No. Further, the AJ noted that the selection criteria was changed for one candidate who did not meet the requirements but not for Complainant. The comments were sometimes accompanied by demeaning physical contact, such as slapping the employee in the head or shoving him, the EEOC said. The EEOC's suit alleged that the company excluded Black applicants for jobs at the company's Little Rock location based upon their race. In September 2019, the EEOC Office of Federal Operations reversed an agency finding of no discrimination. Complainant was reinstated to his position with backpay. Law360 (February 28, 2023, 8:52 PM EST) -- The U.S. In addition to paying $40,000 in monetary relief, the company must abide by the terms of a two-year consent decree resolving the case. [1] For another human trafficking case, see EEOC v. Trans Bay Steel, Inc., No. In November 2019, a federal judge approved a $1.2 million settlement resolving the EEOCs racial harassment suit against Nabors Corporate Services Inc. and another Houston-based oil field services company. According to the EEOC, evidence at trial indicated that a White supervisor used "the N word" in reference to Black employees, called male Black employees "motherfucking boys," posted racially tinged materials in an employee break room, and accused Black employees of "always stealing and wanting welfare." Maritime allegedly failed to offer them promotion or advancement opportunities to key employee or cashier positions, despite their tenure and outstanding job performance, and paid many class members only the minimum wage despite years of service, while paying non-Hispanic workers higher wages and promoting them. Tex. At that time, there were only three Black students in the 31-person class. In December 2005, the Commission resolved for $145,000 this Title VII case alleging that a global company discharged a traffic clerk in a Colorado warehouse, based on his race (Black) and in retaliation for complaining about discrimination. Four nurses filed discrimination lawsuits after a Hurley staff member allegedly posted a note with the father's instructions. A federal jury recently delivered a eye-popping $125,150,000 verdict in a disability discrimination case against Walmart. The settlement this month between the U.S. Such alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which prohibits discriminating against individuals because they are age 40 or older. In April 2011, a long-term care facility located approximately four miles from Little Rock, Ark agreed to pay $22,000 in back pay and compensatory damages to settle an EEOC retaliation case. 2000e-2(a)(2) requires only that the transfer had a "tendency to deprive a person of employment opportunities," but concluded that there was "[n]o evidence" in the record to make the requisite showing in this case. complaint filed July 22, 2014). The 5-year consent decree. EEOC v. Gonnella Baking Co., Civil Action No. In addition, the company must revise its complaint mechanism and clarify and expand its website and toll-free phone number for the reporting of incidents of employment discrimination. In June 2017, the EEOC reversed the Administrative Judge's finding of no discrimination by summary judgment, which the Department of Homeland Security (Agency) adopted, regarding Complainant's claim that the Agency discriminated against her, an African American woman, when it failed to select her for a promotion. In December 2014, two Memphis-based affiliates of Select Staffing, employment companies doing business in Tennessee, agreed to pay $580,000 to settle allegations they engaged in race and national origin discrimination. Additionally, it will submit annual reports to EEOC on complaints of race discrimination and harassment it receives at its Baton Rouge and Harahan offices and their resolution. Pursuant to the three-year consent decree enjoining the company from engaging in any further discrimination against any person on the basis of color, national origin, or religion, the contracting company also agreed to redistribute the company's anti-harassment policy to each of its current employees; post its anti-harassment policies in all of its facilities and work sites; provide anti-harassment training to its managers, supervisors and employees; and post a notice about the settlement. According to the EEOC's lawsuit, another African-American employee complained to a high-level executive at the company, but, again, no action was taken to stop or prevent the harassment. The 2-year consent decree enjoins sex and race harassment and discrimination and retaliation in violation of Title VII and age discrimination under the ADEA. Erwin B. v. Dep't of Homeland Sec., EEOC Appeal No. According to the EEOC's lawsuit, the three African American men endured the store owner's daily use of racial slurs, one employee was slapped by the owner, and racially offensive posters of monkeys were prominently displayed in the workplace to humiliate the Black employees. 15-1055 (4th Cir. 1:16-cv-05194 (E.D.N.Y. In March 2012, a financial services company formerly located in various cities in Michigan agreed to settle for $55,000 an age and race discrimination suit brought by the EEOC. The decree enjoins the company from racial coding and prohibits race-based caregiver assignments. Every employee has the right to file an EEOC . 2, 2017). The store manager allegedly made racially and sexually offensive remarks to a Black employee, referred to the African Americans as "you people" and interracial couples as "Oreos" or "Zebras," and disparaged the employee for marrying a Caucasian man. Solutions, No. The Commission also alleged that the company fired an employee who complained about the harassment. When the employee complained, she was told to "pray about it" or "leave" by the owner; the employee resigned. EEOC Releases New Details On Systemic Age Discrimination: What - Forbes A posting notice and attorneys fees were also ordered. According to the EEOC, a parts department manager, who is White, allegedly used the "N-word" to refer to at least two Black employees and made racially derogatory comments and jokes on a near daily basis at the dealership. Following the determination, the County of Kauai entered into an over two-year conciliation agreement with the EEOC and the alleged victim. In September 2019, a commercial truck washing facility paid $40,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit accusing the owner of firing an employee because he is Black and had reported that he had been subjected to a racially hostile work environment. EEOC v. BMW Mfg. The company has also pledged, among other things, to create a termination appeal process; extend rehire offers to aggrieved individuals from the 2009-2012 growing seasons; provide transportation for American workers which is essential to viable employment in that part of the country; and limit contact between the alleged discriminating management officials and American workers. For workers, the ruling is a reminder to make certain of the completeness of all filings with the EEOC to avoid potential exhaustion problems. Inc., Civil Action No. The supplier promoted complainant, but did not increase his base salary. The decision remanded the matter to the Agency for a determination on Complainants entitlement to compensatory damages, for training and reconsideration of discipline for the co-worker, for training for management focusing on addressing harassment, and for consideration of disciplinary action against the management officials who failed to respond to Complainants claims of harassment in a prompt manner. Can someone do an EEOC case if they were discriminated against before Rosebud is also required to recruit African-American applicants as well as train employees and managers about race discrimination. In this race-based action, an Indiana nursing home housed a White resident who did not want any assistance from Black health-care staff. Three assessments used by Target disproportionately screened out female and racial minority applicants, and a separate psychological assessment was a pre-employment medical examination that violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, the EEOC had charged. J.B. Hunt also reached a private settlement with the alleged discrimination victim, who filed an EEOC charge after being denied a job at J.B. Hunt's San Bernardino, Calif., facility in 2009. In March 2012, the EEOC sued a restaurant in Menomonie, Wisconsin because its managers allegedly posted images of a noose, a Klan hood and other racist depictions, including a dollar bill that was defaced with a noose around the neck of a Black-faced George Washington, swastikas, and the image of a man in a Ku Klux Klan hood. EEOC v. Sierra Restroom Solutions, LLC, Civ. Lee felt he had to resign because of the harassment, and the EEOC further alleged that, since 2011, Arizona Discount Movers has required its employees sign a two-page "Rules and Employee Agreement," which included both "Negative attitudes, fighting, complainers will not be tolerated here" and "Drugs, fighting, foul language, racism, arguing will be tolerated." The consent decree enjoins the company from engaging in racial discrimination or retaliation and requires the company to post the EEO Poster in an area visible to all employees. Corey Bussey, Justin Jones and Christopher Evans worked in the meat department at GNT Foods. In addition to the monetary relief, the company agreed to distribute a revised discrimination and complaint policy and hire an employment consultant. In January 2018, a water and waste-water services company in Bear, Delaware paid $150,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit alleging racial harassment. The court observed that the site superintendent, Paul E. Facer, referred to the African-American employees as "n----rs" or a variation of that word almost every time he spoke to them. Tex. 1-844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone) EEOC had alleged that the company's Hagerstown, MD plant permitted its Black employees to be subjected to a racially hostile work environment despite repeated complaints about the harassment. In December 2015, Hillshire Brands (formerly known as Sara Lee Corporation) agreed to pay $4 million to 74 workers at the now-shuttered Paris, Texas, plant, including the dozens of people who sought EEOC charges against Hillshire and other aggrieved workers identified by the EEOC and the plaintiffs. A blind individual applied as a night warehouse loader after his company eliminated his previous position as a driver's aide. As such, the decision concluded that Complainant had been subjected to harassment based on her race and color. EEOC Litigation Settlement Activity - January 2020 - OutSolve Burlington Industries, Inc. Ellerth (1998) In this case the Court held that an employee who refuses unwelcome and threatening sexual advances of a . In July 2008, the largest independent tire companies in the nation agreed to pay $185,000 and furnish other corrective measures to settle a racial harassment lawsuit. In December 2012, Hamilton Growers, Inc., doing business as Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable, Inc., an agricultural farm in Norman Park, Ga., agreed to pay $500,000 to a class of American seasonal workers - many of them African-American - who, the EEOC alleged, were subjected to discrimination based on their national origin and/or race, the agency announced today. The decree also mandates training of employees and reporting to the EEOC any future complaints of race harassment. The agency alleges these actions were motivated by race. The lawsuit alleged that management at the company's Brooklyn facility routinely subjected more than 30 Black and African male loaders and drivers to sexual and racial harassment and retaliated against employees who complained. The U.S. Supreme Court sided with older federal workers on Monday, making it easier for those over 40 to sue for . In a unanimous published opinion, a three-judge panel said it found no issue with a trial court granting summary judgment to the town of Sneads in John McAlpin's suit claiming retaliation in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, the First Amendment and Florida's whistleblower law. 1:11-cv-04741 (E.D.N.Y. In June 2008, a San Jose-based manufacturer of semiconductor production equipment agreed to pay $168,000 to settle EEOC claims that it failed to stop the racial harassment of an African American assembly technician who was forced to listen to a Vietnamese coworker play and rap aloud to rap music with racially offensive lyrics and then fired the Black employee after he repeatedly complained about his work conditions.