info@eeoc.gov 0720140005 (Dec. 9, 2016). 6:12-cv-00051 (S.D. The manager's harassment included "humping" her from behind, grabbing her head, demanding that she perform oral sex on him, telling customers that she had AIDS "because it was proven that 83 percent of African American women had AIDS," calling her a slut, and slapping her in the face with his penis. Evidence showed that management generally condoned racially related comments made by African-American supervisors and co-workers who frequently voiced a "Black versus White" mentality at the work place. 4:11-cv-00117(JHM)(HBB) (W.D. 6 min read. 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. In September 2007, the EEOC filed a Title VII racial harassment case against a food and beverage distributor, alleging that the company subjected a Black employee to a racially hostile work environment when a co-worker repeatedly called him "Cornelius" in reference to an ape character from the movie, "Planet of the Apes," management officials were aware of the term's racially derogatory reference to the employee and an ape character from the movie, but terminated his employment once he objected to the racial harassment. In December 2012, a South Dallas, TX mill agreed to pay $500,000 to a class of 14 Black employees to settle an EEOC race discrimination suit alleging that the mill exposed Black employees to violent, racist graffiti and racial slurs by co-workers, such as "KKK," swastikas, Confederate flags, "white power" and other racist terms, including "die, n----r, die," as well as the display of nooses at an employee workstation. 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. EEOC v. Grand Central Partnership, Inc., No. The EEOC had alleged that the provider had recruited through media directed at Eastern European immigrants and Hispanics and hired people from those groups over African Americans, and that the provider's use of subjective decisionmaking had a disparate impact on African Americans. In a 2-1 decision partially overturning a federal trial court in Louisiana, the divided panel found that EEOC established a prima facie case of "work-rule" discrimination against Kansas City Southern Railway Co. on behalf of two of the four claimants. In contrast, defendant announced the promotion of Charging Party's White successor within three days and issued him a cell telephone and a company e-mail address immediately. After the employee formally complained to human resources about the harassment, he was fired within 48 hours. 1-844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone), Call 1-800-669-4000 Thirteen Black employees intervened in the Commission action alleging violations of Title VII, 42 U.S.C. In February 2007, EEOC obtained a $5 million settlement resolving two consolidated class action employment discrimination lawsuits against a global engine systems and parts company, asserting that the company engaged in illegal discrimination against African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians at its Rockford and Rockton, Ill., facilities with respect to pay, promotions and training. In September 2014, Izza Bending Tube & Wire agreed to pay $45,000 to settle an EEOC suit alleging that the company retaliated against employee Myrna Peltonen when it demoted her and reduced her salary after she refused to discriminate against an African-American employee. EEOC v. Bloom at Belfair, No. In February 2009, a discount retail chain agreed to pay $7,500 to resolve an EEOC lawsuit alleging that Title VII was violated when a light skinned Black female manager subjected darker skinned African American employees to a hostile and abusive work environment because of their color. In its lawsuit, the EEOC charged that Dollar General refused on at least three separate occasions to promote a Black employee to a vacant assistant store manager position at its Long Beach, Miss., store because of her race. The firm also allegedly retaliated against other employees and former employees for opposing or testifying about the race discrimination by demoting and forcing one worker out of her job and by suing others in state court. EEOC v. Bankers Asset Mgmt. The abuse lasted for two months and escalated when the co-worker physically assaulted the Black employee and inflicted serious permanent injuries. Selected Case Lists | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission The decree also permanently enjoins race discrimination, racial harassment, and retaliation, and requires the contractor to implement antidiscrimination policies, complaint procedures with multiple avenues for complaining about discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, guidelines for prompt and thorough investigation of each such complaint or report (whether verbal or written), procedures for compiling and maintaining an investigative file, and EEO training for all managers, supervisors, and other employees. 1-844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone) The record, however, showed that Complainant specifically listed relevant experience in all areas identified by the Selecting Official, and that the Selectee's application failed to establish relevant experience in two areas. EEOC alleged that the African fuelers reported the harassment verbally and in writing, including by signing a written petition and delivering it to the office of Swissport's general manager at the Phoenix facility to try to stop the harassment, but the abuse continued. According to the EEOC's August 2017 lawsuit, Maritime violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by segregating a class of Hispanic workers into lower-paying jobs as laborers or detailers at its former Edgewater, Md., facility. The jury awarded Spaeth $150,000 in compensatory damages and $125,000,000 in punitive damages after deliberating for three hours following the four-day trial. In August 2006, a Pennsylvania health care company agreed to pay $16,000 to two older workers who allegedly were denied promotions based on their race (Black) and their ages (50 and 53), despite their extensive relevant experience of 13+ years. In April 2011, an architectural sheet metal company settled a racial harassment case for $160,000 in which the EEOC alleged that a White supervisor regularly referred to African-American employees with the epithet "n----r" and used other slurs and racial graffiti was on display in common areas and on company equipment. The EEOC further alleged that, shortly after she complained, she was discharged for supposedly making "false, defamatory, and malicious statements" about a supervisor. 09-5330 (E.D.N.Y. The company also agreed to implement training at all of its plants in a bid to end consolidated suits from the EEOC and former worker Stanley Beaty. On September 22, 2010, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court on all federal law claims and remanded the claimant's state law claim. In August 2017, Ford Motor Company agreed to pay nearly $10.125 million to settle sex and race harassment investigation by the EEOC at two Ford plants in Chicago area. 11-cv-134 (M.D. In May 2013, a Tyler, Texas-based petroleum and gas industry equipment provider paid $150,000 and furnished other relief to settle an EEOC racial harassment and retaliation suit. In a complaint filed in June 2011, EEOC alleged that, from at least May 2007 through June 2008, one Black employee was subjected to derogatory and threatening comments based on his race by his supervisor and co-workers, and that a coworker mechanic displayed a noose and asked him if he wanted to "hang from our family tree." The two-year decree also enjoins Ready Mix from engaging in further racial harassment or retaliation and requires that the company conduct EEO training. Other Holmes employees used the term "n----r-rigging" while working there, and racist graffiti was evident both inside and outside portable toilets on the work site. One week before the class was to graduate, the third and last Black student was removed from the program. EEOC v. New Indianapolis Hotels, Inc., Case No. In July 2017, the largest producer of farmed shellfish in the United States, paid $160,000 and implemented other relief to settle an EEOC lawsuit. Ark.Apr. Jan. 8, 2015). In October 2010, a South Point, Ohio-based contractor that constructs and installs water and sewer lines entered into a 5-year consent decree to settle claims that it violated Title VII when it failed to stop a White foreman and employees from racially harassing and retaliating against a Black laborer working at defendant's sewer installation site in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. In accordance with the agreement, the company will pay a civil penalty and discontinue its "word-of-mouth" referrals to settle the accusations that its behavior stifled diversity in the laborer role. After the interviews, the panel selected Complainant. Specifically, the EEOC said, the company discharged the black employee after he failed to stop a Caucasian driver who reported to work under the influence of alcohol from making deliveries on his route. In September 2012, the County of Kauai in Hawaii agreed to pay $120,000 to settle an EEOC charge of race harassment, alleging that a Caucasian former attorney for the County's Office of the Prosecuting Attorney was subjected to racially disparaging comments by a top-level manager. Of those 88 employees, 70 were Black. Specifically, an African-American employee complained to management that he had seen graffiti reading "N*****s STINK" in a men's restroom. The manager who recommended the selectee, ignored complainant's qualifications and was reported to have previously told another African-American applicant that his "Black ass would never become a special agent." . According to the EEOC's lawsuit, MPW subjected two African-American employees to racial harassment, including hangman's nooses, racial epithets, racist comments and jokes, and an alleged KKK meeting at the worksite. Evidence indicated that the restaurant had a practice of hiring only White people as bartenders. Additionally, Hamilton Growers agreed to exercise good faith in hiring and retaining qualified workers of American national origin and African-American workers for all farm work positions, including supervisory positions; will implement non-discriminatory hiring measures, which include targeted recruitment and advertising, appointment of a compliance official, and training for positive equal employment opportunity management practices; will create a termination appeal process; extend rehire offers to aggrieved individuals from the 2009-2012 growing seasons; provide transportation for American workers; and limit contact between the alleged discriminating management officials and American workers. If the case is too serious for mediation or the employer declines mediation, then the EEOC may sue the employer. No. EEOC v. McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant Corp, No. The complaint alleges that AutoZone attempted in 2012 to redistribute the non-Hispanic workers at its auto parts retail location at S. Kedzie Ave and W. 49th Street in Gage Park. 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 January 2012, Pepsi Beverages Company, formerly known as Pepsi Bottling Group, agreed in a post-investigation conciliation to pay $3.13 million and provide training and job offers to victims of the former criminal background check policy to resolve an EEOC charge alleging race discrimination in hiring. The company agreed to establish an effective anti-discrimination policy and to provide anti-discrimination training to its employees. Tales of Age Discrimination in the Courts - AARP EEOC v. Northern Star Hospitality, Inc., No. The suit claimed that the buyer was given more difficult tasks and less assistance than her colleagues who were not Black and female, was unfairly disciplined for performance scores that were higher than those of her White female co-workers who did not face any disciplinary action, and that the supervisor gave her White co-workers permission for vacation days but ignored the Black buyer's earlier requests for the same days. In accordance with the five-year consent decree, the company is enjoined from engaging in racial and religious discrimination or retaliation and must implement and enforce anti-discrimination policies, procedures, and training for all employees. The Agency was ordered, among other things, to rescind the Letters and remove them from Complainant's personnel record, as well as adjust any subsequent discipline that was based on the Letters. In June 2011, Herzog Roofing, Inc., a Detroit Lakes, Minn., roofing company, agreed in a pre-suit settlement to pay $71,500 to seven Black, Hispanic, and American Indian employees to settle racial harassment and retaliation charges, alleging that the targeted employees were frequently subjected to racial epithets, racial jokes and hostile treatment by managers and coworkers and that complaints were ignored. The extreme bullying and harassment allegedly included a manager using racial slurs toward his employees, calling foreign workers terrorists, telling immigrants to leave America, and making unwanted sexual advances toward female employees. More and more workplace discrimination cases are closed before they're Erwin B. v. Dep't of Homeland Sec., EEOC Appeal No. The EEOC's administrative investigation found that African-American drivers were assigned to predominately Black neighborhoods and White drivers to White neighborhoods. EEOC Says Nonprofit Fired Worker Over Hip Impairment Furthermore, the company must conduct training on federal anti-discrimination laws, report on company responses to complaints, and post a remedial notice. River View Coal LLC, a unit of Alliance Resource Partners LP, also will have to regularly report to the EEOC on its hiring practices for two years to escape the suit, which alleged that the company refused to hire a class of African-American applicants for coal mining jobs at its Waverly, Ky., location since 2008. 7:14-cv-00136 (M.D. In November 2004, the Commission settled for $50 million a lawsuit filed against Abercrombie & Fitch on behalf of a class of African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and women allegedly subjected to discrimination in recruitment, hiring, assignment, promotion and discharge based on race, color, national origin, and sex. In January 2013, Emmert International agreed to settle an employment discrimination lawsuit filed by EEOC that charged the company harassed and retaliated against employees in violation of federal law. 10 of the biggest EEOC settlements ever | HRD America EEOC v. SFI of Tenn. LLC, No. On January 15, 2011, the corporation asked that the damages be reduced because, inter alia, the plant where the victim had worked had closed. A Black, non-Hispanic man told the EEOC that the company refused to provide him with a job application after it learned he couldn't speak Spanish. The EEOC alleged in a December 2017 complaint that the rent-to-own furniture chain subjected Black employees at a Queens, N.Y., warehouse to racist name-calling by two managers. But I see you as a black man." The Commission noted that, while complainant was asked to provide additional information concerning child care and told that she would have to submit to a home inspection, a White male employee who also had children at home was not asked to do so. In August 2012, a Tampa, Fla.-based environmental services company agreed to settle a race discrimination and harassment case brought by the EEOC and eleven intervening plaintiffs for $2,750,000 and other relief. According to the EEOC's lawsuit, a supervisor at Arizona Discount Movers frequently made racist comments to an African American employee named Clinton Lee. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have found a workaround: Close more cases without investigating them. In November 2019, Janitorial Service Provider Diversified Maintenance Systems, LLC paid $750,000 and furnished significant equitable relief to settle a federal race discrimination, harassment and retaliation lawsuit. This particular agreement covers from April 1991 through December 2002. On April 24, 2008, the Black stylist met with her operations manager and salon manager and complained to both supervisors about the assistant manager's offensive remarks. The alleged racial harassment largely involved a serial harasser who continually used racial slurs, including various permutations on "nigger," made references to the Ku Klux Klan openly and on a daily basis, and left a threatening message on a coworker's husband's answering machine. The EEOC complaint stated that the African-American employee was subjected to derogatory remarks, such as use of the N-word, from both the restaurant's co-owner and customers. When confronted by a Black employee about the comment, the White supervisor allegedly replied: "I can see where your feelings were hurt, but there is a difference between niggers and blacks, Mexicans and spics. EEOC v. Bankers Asset Management, Inc., No. EEOC Releases New Details On Systemic Age Discrimination: What - Forbes The Commission argued that, contrary to the district court's requirement that the plaintiff needed to identify comparators or a replacement to establish a prima facie case, the discriminatory comments were direct evidence of animus and sufficient to establish a prima facie case of discrimination as well as raise triable issues of pretext sufficient to overcome summary judgment. In this case, a jury found that two employees of Seattle City Light, a Vietnamese-American and an African-American, had been discriminated against and faced a hostile work environment because of their races . 2:11-cv-06183 (E.D. Additionally, Diversified must implement a targeted hiring plan that tracks the number and race of applicants, and reason(s) why they are not hired. information only on official, secure websites. The EEOC also found that the company retaliated against employees who complained about the harassment or discrimination. In September 2006, EEOC filed this Title VII lawsuit alleging that a nonprofit organization that provides rehabilitation services for people with disabilities discriminated against four African-American employees because of their race (delayed promotion, unfair discipline, and termination) and retaliated against three of them for complaining about racially disparate working conditions, reduction of working hours, discipline, and termination. EEOC FY 2020 Annual Performance Report - natlawreview.com However, none of the lawsuits filed in January were publicized. 06-cv-7806 (S.D.N.Y. The four-year consent decree also includes provisions requiring anti-discrimination training, reporting, and postings. 9 High Disability Discrimination Settlement Amounts