In July 2010, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the EEOC's rulings on race discrimination and retaliation claims in a case brought by a White "policymaking level" employee under the Government Employee Rights Act. Marshal, with back pay and benefits, and pay complainant $50,000.00 and attorney's fees. Nine Black employees and a White co-worker received payments. In April 2004, a letter carrier prevailed in part on his federal sector complaint alleging employment discrimination based on race/national origin (Asian), disability (PTSD), and retaliation. EEOC v. Holmes & Holmes Industrial, Inc., No. In February 2011, a family owned restaurant agreed to pay $25,000 to settle an EEOC case alleging that it violated Title VII when it demoted and discharged an African-American employee because of his race, and then discharged a Caucasian employee because of her association with him. In April 2015, a federal judge denied a motion to dismiss a claim of racial discrimination in hiring against Rosebud Restaurants, the U.S. In September 2004, the Commission affirmed an AJ's finding that a Caucasian registered nurse had been subjected to racial harassment and constructive discharge. Additionally, the hotel agreed to hire an outside equal employment opportunity consultant to ensure that the company implements effective policies, procedures and training for all employees to prevent discrimination, harassment and retaliation. Annually, defendants must provide copies of the decree to all supervisors and managers, and obtain signed statements that they have read the decree and agree to be bound by its terms. In April 2006, the Commission resolved a race discrimination lawsuit challenging the termination of a White female employee who worked without incident for a hotel and conference center until management saw her biracial children. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.) disclosed on their resumes, could have served as proxies for race. Studies of verdicts have shown that about 10% of wrongful termination cases result in a verdict of $1 million or more. Employees alleged that managers made offensive jokes about Muslim and Native American employees' religious practices and traditions, and used racial epithets like "n----r," "drunken Indians," "red." The EEOC currently has a number of on-going lawsuits and settlements of lawsuits. "The number of cases filed by the EEOC increased in a respectable climb back to pre-pandemic levels, forecasting a busy year ahead for the Commission and employers in FY . Within hours of his final complaint, the coater was fired, allegedly in retaliation for his complaints of racial harassment. In February 2020, an Illinois fencing company paid $25,000 to settle a race harassment case brought by the EEOC. 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." The EEOC alleged that the distributor's supervisors, including the Black employee's supervisor, used that restroom, yet the racist message remained for 30 days after he complained. 4:15-cv-00066 (DLH-CSM) (D.N.D. Although the assistant manager received a letter signed by eight employees complaining about the shift leader's conduct, the shift leader was exonerated and the Black female employee who complained was fired. The suit further asserted that the insurance company illegally retaliated against the employee by passing her over for job openings after she filed a discrimination charge with. In September 2015, Cabela's Inc., an outdoor recreation merchandiser based in Sidney, Nebraska with 60 retail stores in 33 states, agreed to take nationwide measures to increase the diversity of its workforce to settle EEOC's allegations that the company discriminated in recruitment and hiring of minorities. Pioneer entered into a four-year consent decree that prohibits Pioneer from creating, facilitating or permitting a hostile work environment for employees who are Latino or darker-skinned. Hurley also agreed to pay about $200,000 in March to settle a lawsuit filed by three nurses. Kenny C. v. Dep't of Def., EEOC Appeal No. Aug. 3, 2012). The only black front desk attendant also was terminated, while other non-Black front desk workers were allowed to continue their employment. No. 1:11-cv-09682 (S.D.N.Y. Under the proposed four-year consent decree, the drilling company also will create a new vice president position to be filled by a "qualified EEO professional" who will facilitate, monitor and report on the company's compliance with certain training, management evaluation, minority outreach, and other remedial measures. According to the suit, the concrete finisher complained about the harassment and Bay Country fired him in retaliation the same day. EEOC v. FAPS, Inc., C.A. In August 2015, the EEOC won a judgment of more than $365,000 against the Bliss Cabaret strip club and its parent company this week after a Black bartender was allegedly fired based on her race. Told that they needed to learn Spanish because they were in South Texas, the employees said that instead of addressing their complaints of discrimination, they were fired. The EEOC's complaint charged that the supervisor regularly referred to Black employees with the "N" word and other derogatory slurs. The EEOC found the Agency's explanation to be "so fraught with contradiction as not to be credible," and thus, a pretext for discrimination. In October 2012, a federal district court in Texas ordered AA Foundries Inc. to take specific measures to prevent racial harassment of Black employees at its San Antonio plant following a $200,000 jury verdict finding the company liable for race discrimination under Title VII. 1:10-CV-01234-WTL-DKL (N.D. Ind. Tex. EEOC v. Ready Mix USA LLC, No. Va. Mar. Under the decree, which settles the suit, MPW Industrial Services is required to pay $170,000 to the two former employees who experienced the racial harassment. In September 2017, a Hugo, Minnesota construction company paid $125,000 to settle a racial harassment lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The EEOC also charged that Maritime discriminated against the Hispanic class members in their terms and conditions of employment, such as forcing them to perform other duties without additional compensation and denying them proper safety equipment or clothing. 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 December 2009, a Tennessee company that processes nuclear waste agreed to settle claims by the EEOC that Black employees were subjected to higher levels of radiation than others. In April 2007, the Commission decided that a Caucasian complainant, was subjected to racial harassment over a period of two years by both managers and co-workers used various racially derogatory terms when referring to complainant. The company must distribute copies of its revised written anti-harassment policy to all current and future employees and post the policy in the break room of its San Antonio manufacturing facility. 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. In September 1998, an EEOC AJ properly decided that a Black male hospital director who abused all employees was not insulated from liability for racially harassing an African American female where evidence showed that she was the target of more egregious and public abuse than other employees. In March 2014, a federal district court upheld a jury verdict in favor of the EEOC and ruled that Sparx Restaurant of Menomonie, Wis., must provide back pay with interest of more than $41,000 in addition to the jury's award of damages of $15,000 to a former employee who was fired in retaliation for complaining about a racist display in the workplace. Although based on a single incident, the noose was a sufficiently severe racial symbol with violent implications that equates to a death threat. In September 2005, EEOC obtained a $34,000 default judgment on behalf of a then 19-year old Black former employee of a manufacturing plant in Illinois who alleged that he had been subjected to derogatory remarks and racial epithets, such as "what are you supposed to be, some kind of special nigger?" The EEOC charged in its lawsuit that a class of African American males at Ready Mix's Montgomery-area facilities was subjected to a racially hostile work environment. In December 2009, a national grocery chain paid $8.9 million to resolve three lawsuits collectively alleging race, color, national origin and retaliation discrimination, affecting 168 former and current employees. According to the EEOC lawsuit, after a day at the beach with her Caucasian friends, the teen was asked if she would request an application on her friend's behalf since the friend was a little disheveled in appearance. The EEOC took the case to trial and won, with a jury awarding Nelson $187,000 in back pay on his retaliation claim. The trial also established that the employee suffered devastating permanent mental injuries that will prevent her from working again as a result of the assault. The EEOC also found that Black and Hispanic employees were disciplined for violating company policies while Caucasian employees who violated the same policies were not disciplined. In October 2007, EEOC obtained $290,000 from an Oklahoma-based oil drilling contractor for seven African American men who alleged that, while on an oil rig, they were subjected to a hostile work environment, which included the display of hangman nooses, derogatory racial language, and race-based name calling. The consent decree enjoins the company from engaging in racial discrimination. 13-cv-5789 (N.D. Ill. consent decree entered Nov. 10, 2014). 8:12-cv-00643-EAK-MAP (M.D. Additionally, nooses were displayed and portable toilets featured racially offensive graffiti with swastikas and "KKK" references at the job sites, EEOC alleged. In addition, the complaint stated that several men were demoted or fired after taking their complaints of discrimination to the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services' Labor Standards Division. OFO ordered the Agency to promote Complainant and pay back pay with interest and benefits, investigate and determine her entitlement to compensatory damages, and consider disciplining and provide EEO training to the responsible management officials. The comments were sometimes accompanied by demeaning physical contact, such as slapping the employee in the head or shoving him, the EEOC said. The district court decided that the companies were a single employer. 2:11-cv-02861 (W.D. In August 2010, the EEOC and the largest commercial roofing contractor in New York state settled for $1 million an EEOC suit alleging the company discriminated against a class of Black workers through verbal harassment, denials of promotion, and unfair work assignments. In June 2010, the EEOC obtained a ruling by the Ninth Circuit that permits the Commission to pursue injunctive relief to stop a coal company mining in the Navajo Nation from discriminating in employment against non-Navajo Indians. 2:14-cv-02740 (W.D. They also referred to Black children or mixed-race children as 'porch monkeys' or 'Oreo babies.' Under the proposed two-year consent decree, PBM Graphics Inc. would place the settlement funds in escrow for distribution later among non-Hispanic workers identified by EEOC as victims of the alleged national origin discrimination. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have found a workaround: Close more cases without investigating them. Besides the monetary compensation, the five year consent decree requires FAPS to meet substantial hiring goals for African-Americans; give hiring priority to rejected class members who are interested in working at the company; use recruiting methods designed to increase the African-American applicant pool; and hire an EEO coordinator to ensure compliance with Title VII. The agency was ordered to restore leave; pay complainant $50,000.00 in non-pecuniary compensatory damages and $6,944.00 in pecuniary compensatory damages; and pay $45,517.50 in attorney's fees and $786.39 for costs. Lectric Chandler provided paralegal support at trial. The firm, however, offered the job to two less qualified White applicants -- the first declined and the second accepted. In March 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the EEOC presented sufficient evidence that two African American railroad workers were disciplined more harshly for workplace rule violations than comparable White employees to raise a jury issue of race discrimination under Title VII. The agency alleges these actions were motivated by race. Liggins v. Archdiocese of Los Angeles: Pregnancy And Discrimination. The company has agreed to adopt an online employee handbook and other documents spelling out company policies and practices; to post all vacancies for marketing company president; to provide training on discrimination and retaliation to all board members; and to provide periodic reports to the EEOC. The lawsuit also alleged that when he complained, the company demoted the Black supervisor, changed his work assignments, hours, and conditions and then fired him. In June 2016, the EEOC obtained a $350,000 settlement in its race discrimination lawsuit against defendant FAPS, Inc., a company located at Port Newark, N.J., involved in the processing for final sale of shipped automobiles. In December 2012, EEOC and a North Carolina printing firm settled for $334,000 a lawsuit alleging the firm violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by not placing non-Hispanic workers in its "core group" of regular temporary workers who perform the company's light bindery production jobs and giving disproportionately more work hours to Hispanic workers. ADP in resolving the charges didn't admit it engaged in any violations of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.. The EEOC's lawsuit asserted that a non-Rastafarian security officer threatened to shoot a group of Rastafarian officers. 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." In addition, the EEOC asserted that Latino / brown-skinned workers were told not to speak Spanish during their break times. 4:14-cv-03588 (Apr. The monetary award will be paid to African-American applicants who were denied jobs. The EEOC sued on behalf of an entire class of non-Hispanic job applicants who were allegedly negatively affected by Champion Fiberglass' hiring approach dating back to at least 2013. Co., No. In this race-based action, an Indiana nursing home housed a White resident who did not want any assistance from Black health-care staff. EEOC alleged that Hughes complained to management many times for more than a year regarding the harassment, and that when Day & Zimmerman finally arranged a meeting in response, it disciplined Hughes less than an hour later, and then fired him that same day, citing a false safety violation as a reason. 15-11850 (11th Cir. "In the Matter of U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has asked a Colorado federal judge to alter a judgment, or at least grant a new trial, in its disability discrimination lawsuit against a Denver . Notice of consent decree will be visibly posted at the hotel. On January 7, 2011, the district court dismissed the claimant's state law claim without prejudice '. The record also revealed that it was the agency's policy to afford remedial training and an opportunity to correct behavior before removing candidates from the training program. The lawsuit further charged that the company suspended and then fired all three employees for complaining about the harassment. EEOC v. Choctaw Transp. The U.S. Supreme Court sided with older federal workers on Monday, making it easier for those over 40 to sue for . The concrete finisher called the police to file charges after one co-worker groped him and another intentionally poked him with a shovel handle, the EEOC said. Despite the employees' complaints to management, the alleged race-based harassment continued. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a suit filed Friday. The consent decree also includes provisions for equal employment opportunity training, reporting, and posting of anti-discrimination notices. EEOC v. AutoZone, Inc., No. .ain't worth s--t." In addition to providing monetary relief, the company agreed to conduct employee training on its anti-harassment policy and make the policy available to all employees. and "redskins." Tenn. Sep. 25, 2013). The company also must submit reports to the EEOC demonstrating its compliance with the consent decree. In April 2008, a national video store entered a consent decree to pay $80,000 and to provide neutral references for the claimant in resolution of the EEOC's Title VII lawsuit against it. EEOC v. Hamilton Growers, Inc., No. For example, in federal court from 1979 to 2006, plaintiffs in non-employment law cases won 51% of the time. 4:11-cv-00117(JHM)(HBB) (W.D. No. According to the EEOC's suit, an estimator and assistant project manager was subjected to derogatory comments from his supervisors, project manager and the company's owner on the basis of his national origin (Pakistani), religion (Islam), and color (brown). Gender-based discrimination claims were the most frequent basis for the EEOC's amicus filings this year, as the agency placed 11 cases in this category. nigger. In January 2008, a Lockheed Martin facility in Hawaii settled a Title VII lawsuit for $2.5 million, the largest amount ever obtained by the EEOC for a single person in a race discrimination case. EEOC v. Rugo Stone, LLC, Civil Action No. In addition, the store has agreed to distribute a formal, written anti-discrimination policy, train all employees on the policy and employment discrimination laws, and send reports to the EEOC on employees who are fired or resign. In March 2006, the Commission obtained $562,470 in a Title VII lawsuit against the eighth largest automobile retailer in the U.S. EEOC alleged that shortly after a new White employee was transferred to serve as the new General Manager (GM), he engaged in disparate treatment of the Black employee and made racial remarks to him, such as using "BP time" (Black people time) and remarking that he'd fired "a bunch of you people already." In April 2017, Sealy of Minnesota paid $175,000 to resolve a charge of racial harassment filed with the EEOC. The company's motion to dismiss argued that the EEOC's complaint should be dismissed because it did not identify the victims of the alleged hiring discrimination. Employers, no matter how large, have an obligation under the law to evaluate the individual circumstances of employees with disabilities when considering requests for reasonable accommodations, said Chicago District Director Julianne Bowman. In addition to the monetary claims fund, the four-year consent decree provides for extensive injunctive relief, including recruiting and hiring of blacks and non-Hispanic job applicants, and training for managers. In addition, the company must provide training in its policies on hiring, promotion, transfer, and co-employment. In September 2012, the judge entered a five-year consent decree resolving the EEOC's litigation against the hotel operators. In April 2011, the EEOC found that the transportation department engaged in race and color discrimination when it failed to select the Complainant, the Acting Division Secretary, for the position of Division Secretary. Corp., No. The doll was hung from a hook and displayed in the middle of the facility. EEOC also found that the supervisor violated the anti-retaliation provisions of Title VII when, standing behind the federal employee, he informed all employees that if they wanted to file an EEO complaint, they had to discuss it with him first. In February 2012, the owners of Piggly Wiggly supermarkets in Hartsville and Lafayette, Tenn., agreed to pay $40,000 to settle a race and gender discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. In June 2015, EEOC filed a lawsuit accusing Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC of not promoting workers at its Calvert plant because of their race. EEOC v. Titan Waste Services, Inc., No. The Associate Director emailed the panel chair and Selection Official, asking that the panel interview Selectee as a professional courtesy. The BQ grid results were disregarded and all candidates were rated and ranked based solely on interview scores. 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. 0520170446 (Nov. 3, 2017). Housekeeping and security department staffers in particular were constantly the targets of slurs by several supervisors and co-workers. The employer chose to voluntarily resolve this issue with the . 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. The aggrieved employees alleged that they were restricted to "back of the house" positions such as busboys and runners and refused promotions to "front of the house" positions such as captains, which instead went to Caucasian workers with less experience and seniority. No. In June 2015, the EEOC filed an amicus brief in support of a pro se plaintiff whose race and age discrimination case was dismissed for failure to establish a prima facie case. The EEOC further charged that the company maintained a segregated work force and an established practice of not hiring males for cashier positions at the same locations. Kilgore v. Trussville Develop., LLC, No. EEOC also alleged that the mechanic also repeatedly and regularly called the employee "nigger" and "Tyrone," a term the co-worker used to refer to unknown black individuals. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. The consent decree enjoins the company from engaging in any racial discrimination or retaliation and requires the company to post a remedial notice for two years. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. The 5-year consent decree. In June 2008, a beauty supply chain agreed to pay $30,000 to settle a race discrimination lawsuit in which the EEOC charged that it rescinded a job offer after learning the successful applicant was Black. 2:10-cv-03095 (D.N.J. The company also must submit reports to the EEOC on its compliance with the consent decree. A blind individual applied as a night warehouse loader after his company eliminated his previous position as a driver's aide. 4:13-cv-92(SA)(JMV) (N.D. Miss. In October 2012, a Hampton Inn franchise in Craig, Colorado agreed to pay $85,000 to resolve a race and national origin discrimination lawsuit regarding the terminations of three Caucasian and non-Latino employees. 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. For Deaf/Hard of Hearing callers: The EEOC also claimed that four White employees were harassed by their White co-workers because they associated with African-American employees. WMN-09-cv-984 (D. Md. 3:09-CV-00537 (D. Nev. Mar.