In 2017, Ruby Tuesday paid $45,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. EEOC v. AA Foundries Inc., No. Chapman University, a private university in Orange, Calif., paid $75,000 and furnished other relief to settle an EEOC race discrimination. The EEOC ordered the placement of Complainant into the Division Secretary position, with appropriate back pay and benefits, and payment of attorney's fees and costs. In this Title VII case, EEOC claimed mineral lease provisions that require companies mining on the Navajo reservation in Arizona to give employment preferences to Navajos are unlawful. In addition to the monetary relief, the new consent decree requires the developer to conduct extensive training on investigating discrimination complaints, including methods for proper documentation and unbiased assessment of witness credibility. The EEOC alleged that the Defendants, a health care management system and nursing home discriminated against African employees, specifically employees from Ethiopia and Sudan, when it terminated four personal care providers all on the same day, allegedly for failing to pass a newly instituted written exam. Lee complained to the owner, who told Lee to take the doll down if he did not like it. Housekeeping and security department staffers in particular were constantly the targets of slurs by several supervisors and co-workers. In October 2019, Eagle United Truck Wash, LLC, which operates truck washing facilities at truck stop locations around the United States, paid $40,000 and furnished significant equitable relief to settle a racial harassment, discrimination and retaliation lawsuit. The EEOC's complaint charged that the supervisor regularly referred to Black employees with the "N" word and other derogatory slurs. The AJ also found that the Selecting Official's testimony about the Selectee's qualifications was not credible and was not supported by the documentation in the record. Two recent lawsuits filed by the U.S. 7, 2015). According to the EEOC's lawsuit, two Black carpenters were subjected to racial harassment during their employment by a White supervisor, who made racially derogatory comments including calling them "n----r." The supervisor also made a noose out of electrical wire and threatened to hang them, the EEOC charged. 17-cv-70) after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process. Charges of discrimination filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") (and similar charges with state and local human relations agencies) are a critical first step in an employee's discrimination claim. EEOC v. Holmes & Holmes Industrial, Inc., No. 1:13-cv-00706 (M.D.N.C. The decree also required the company to report future complaints of race harassment and any measures taken to investigate and remedy such complaints. 10-955 (D. Utah Oct. 10, 2012). In September 2007, the Commission upheld an AJ's determination that complainant was discriminated against on the bases of race (Asian American), national origin (Japanese), sex (female), and/or in retaliation for prior EEO activity when: (1) she received an unsatisfactory interim performance rating; (2) she was demoted from her GS-14 Section Chief position; and (3) management's actions created and allowed a hostile work environment. 3:15-cv-03238 (C.D. 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. LockA locked padlock As part of the agreement terms, the company admitted no liability, and Pier 1 Imports agreed to revise its policies, which include eliminating its background screening processes and removing the question about convictions from its job application. The EEOC ultimately found reasonable cause to believe that the county violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for the harassment to which the former attorney was subjected. 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. The Ninth Circuit ruled that the jurors could have reasonably determined that the district manager and regional human resources manager failed to exercise reasonable care to correct promptly "the obscene and harassing behavior" of the store since management did not check the video cameras that were in parts of the store where the rep was assaulted, the investigation was not confidential, certain employees were never interviewed, the harassment was not reported to the corporate office, critical corroborating evidence was lost, and the rep had complained to management "immediately and repeatedly." The EEOC's lawsuit charged that Murex Petroleum Corp. violated federal law when it subjected an African-American roustabout to racial harassment by his White coworkers. In its complaint, the EEOC alleged that the managers of the company not only knew about the harassment and took no action to stop or prevent it, but also that a manager was one of the perpetrators of the harassment. Specifically, the suit alleged that Baker Farms gave American-born workers fewer hours and tasks compared with the foreign-born workers and discharged U.S.-born white and African-American employees based on their race or national origin. In July 2017, Bass Pro Outdoor World LLC agreed, without admitting wrongdoing, to pay $10.5 million to a class of African-American and Hispanic workers the EEOC alleged it discriminated against by failing to hire because of their race and/or national origin in violation of Title VII. They alleged a soon-to-be salon manager told them that she did not want African-Americans working in the salon. The U.S.-born employees were allegedly subjected to tougher production standards and sent home early on days in which the foreign-born workers continued to work. EEOC also charged that the company then engaged in a series of acts designed to punish the victims for complaining and to ridicule those who corroborated the complaints. 11-cv-11296 (E.D. 6 min read. 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. The suit alleged that the manufacturer subjected a Black full-time sales representative to different terms and conditions of employment when it removed him from top accounts, assigned him to poorer producing accounts, and then terminated him even though he continued to perform successfully, while failing to discharge any of the poorer performing White sales executives. In addition to the monetary relief, M. Slavin agreed to submit to 5 years of monitoring by the EEOC; retain an independent EEO coordinator to investigate complaints; conduct one-on-one training for the worst harassers; and provide annual training for all staff. The court "assume[d] for the sake of argument" that the evidence created a material factual dispute about whether AutoZone intentionally segregated its Black employee Kevin Stuckey because of his race when it transferred him out of a predominantly Hispanic-staffed store. consent decree filed July 11, 2014). The hostile conduct ranged from "cold shoulder" type behavior to the use of the term "nigger lover," references to the KKK, and direct threats on their lives, as well as being told to "stay with their own kind." The company also agreed to establish an internal complaint procedure, disseminate an anti-harassment policy, and train its workforce to prevent future harassment. 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." ]," telling racially offensive jokes, hiding his safety gloves, placing stink bombs under his workstation, and telling him that the vending machines do not take "crack money.". The plant where the discrimination occurred had closed during the litigation period. In some of those cases, the EEOC found evidence of . The consent decree also enjoins The Original Hot Dog Shop from creating, tolerating, or fostering a hostile work environment based on race. Ga. Fla. Dec. x, 2012). Under the consent decree resolving this case, Taylor Shellfish has agreed to implement new policies, conduct extensive training for employees and management, post an anti-discrimination notice at the workplace and report compliance to the EEOC for a three-year period. An EEOC investigation revealed that the company hired no Black dock workers during the period studied and that one high-level manager allegedly said he "didn't want any [B]lacks on the dock." . In September 2007, a federal district court in Arizona granted a motion to dismiss the EEOC's race discrimination case against a northern Arizona hospital. reopened after dismissal due to bankruptcy Mar. Facts of the case. As part of the decree, the provider also agreed to extensive changes in its employment policies, to engage in "active recruitment" of African American employees, to hire previously rejected Black applicants, to implement training on discrimination and retaliation, and to hire an outside monitor to review compliance with the decree. When he refused, EEOC claimed the owner threatened the employees job and reduced his work hours. In March 2012, a Warren, Mich.-based painting company which does business in several states, will pay $65,000 to settle a retaliation lawsuit filed by the EEOC. 22, 2012). In August 2011, a federal district court entered a default judgment in favor of the EEOC in its lawsuit alleging that a pipeline construction company permitted several African American employees to be subjected to hanging nooses in the workplace even after they complained about the offensive displays. The company also must submit reports to the EEOC demonstrating its compliance with the consent decree. $186,295 disability discrimination settlement for an applicant being denied employment for being blind. EEOC v. Sealy of Minn., (D. Minn. Apr. The Commission affirmed the AJ's finding that the agency's articulated reason for failing to select complainant -- the selectee was "highly recommended" to the selecting official -- was not worthy of belief since complainant was "definitely recommended" and that discrimination more likely motivated the agency's decision. The prison officer job would have meant the Hispanic employee would have had as much or greater authority as her current supervisor. The dancers who refused to work at Black Diamonds were fined and sent home, and not allowed to work at Danny's. 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. . Law360 (February 28, 2023, 8:52 PM EST) -- The U.S. The federal agency also reviewed the company's broader policy with respect to the hiring of job applicants with conviction records. In November 2010, a nationwide provider of engineering and janitorial services to commercial clients entered into a 4-year consent decree paying $90,000 in backpay and compensatory damages to settle the EEOC's claim that it discharged a building services engineer at a mall in Bethesda, Maryland in retaliation for complaining of race and sex discrimination. 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. 2:14-cv-02740 (W.D. The EEOC alleged that the supervisor also told Lee he could not enter the building because they were having a Ku Klux Klan meeting and put a statue of a jockey on his desk with a whip in the jockey's hand tied in a noose. In addition, Filipino mechanics were denied promotions while less qualified White employees were promoted. Case Number. 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. The three-year consent decree enjoins Maritime from retaliating in the future against any individual for asserting his or her rights under Title VII or otherwise engaging in protected activity. An official website of the United States government. EEOC v. Grand Central Partnership, Inc., No. The 5-year decree, which applies to Roadway and YRC, Roadway's identity after it merged with Yellow Transportation, includes $10 million in monetary relief, $8.5 million to be paid upon preliminary approval of the decree and the remainder in three subsequent installments due on or before November 1 of 2011, 2012, and 2013. The decree also mandates training of employees and reporting to the EEOC any future complaints of race harassment. The court then reversed summary judgment and remanded the case for trial. EEOC v. WRS Infrastructure and Env't Inc. d/b/a WRS Compass, No. The parties entered a consent decree that enjoins the company from engaging in color discrimination or retaliation. Nov. 21, 2017). Skanska awarded a subcontract to C-1 to provide buck hoist operations for the construction site and thereafter supervised all C-1 employees while at the work site. In addition to the monetary settlement, the company agreed to hire an external monitor and implement hiring goals and measures to ensure hiring transparency and diversification. The display included a dollar bill with a noose around George Washington's neck and drawings of a man on horseback and a hooded figure with "KKK" written on his hood. John Linehan contested his removal as chief deputy coroner by the elected coroner, who is African American. 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 ordered the agency to determine complainant's entitlement to compensatory damages; train the supervisor with regard to his obligations to eliminate discrimination in the federal workplace; and consider taking disciplinary action against the supervisor. In September 2004, an AJ determined that a Black male complainant was subjected to race discrimination when he was not selected for an EEO Specialist (Mediator) position despite having performed the duties of the position in the area in which he applied. In addition to the monetary settlement, the four year consent decree contained injunctive relief: OfficeMax agreed to target additional recruitment efforts in the Sarasota/Bradenton area to reach more African American and Hispanic applicants, provide training for its management and human resource personnel in three locations in the Bradenton/Sarasota area on racial harassment and retaliation, and will report future internal discrimination complaints to the EEOC. The term was spray-painted on walls and doors, written in Black marker or spray painted in the locker rooms, equipment, and on a calendar in the break room over Martin Luther King's birthday, etched into bathroom walls in the terminal, and written in dust on dock surfaces, even after the employer held a sensitivity session to explain the term's racial and derogatory implications. Among other relief provided under the decree, Battaglia also will provide its managers with training on Title VII and report regularly to the EEOC on any complaints it has received, as well as provide other data to demonstrate that it has not retaliated against any of the participants in the litigation. 7:11-CV-00134-HL (N.D. Ga. settlement announced Dec. 13, 2012). 2:09-cv-00923 (M.D. The EEOC did not find that the SOS had been subjected to a racially hostile work environment even though he averred that while he and another African-American coworker were working, a Caucasian Officer reportedly said to them as they were walking away, See you, boys, and said to Complainant on another occasion, See you tomorrow boy. To remedy the discrimination, the Commission ordered the Agency to provide Complainant the trainings at issue, and to noncompetitively promote him in a similar fashion to the two cited Caucasian comparators. The court also enjoined the company from discriminating on the basis of race or protected conduct in violation of Title VII. In a press release on Friday, the U.S. All four of the selectees were White. In March 2020, Prewett Enterprises, Inc., doing business as B&P Enterprises, and Desoto Marine, LLC, rail services and disaster response companies, paid $250,000 and furnished other relief to settle a race harassment case brought by the EEOC. The class of Black employees worked for C-1, Inc. Construction Company, a minority-owned subcontractor for Skanska. The company also must provide equal employment opportunity training for all of its employees and post a remedial notice. Complainant applied for the position, was rated as qualified, interviewed for the position, and was not selected. EEOC v. Hamilton Growers, Inc., No. Pursuant to the terms of the settlement, BBI also will conduct anti-discrimination training for its Illinois sales force; put in place systems to further encourage diverse applicants for open positions; revise its anti-discrimination policy to expressly reference that it prohibits segregating or making assignments based on race and/or national origin and distribute the revised policy to its Illinois sales force; hire a monitor to track the demographics of employees applying for and receiving offers for specified Illinois sales positions; provide periodic reporting on the demographics of its Illinois sales force for the next two years; and post an internal notification to its Illinois employees of this resolution. The foreman also said about Black people, "just hang them and burn a cross on the homes." 12, 2013). The company withdrew its appeal on June 11, 2012 and agreed settle the case with the EEOC and plaintiff intervener for $1 million and court costs. Washington, DC 20507 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. The Court decided that there was substantial evidence to support the Commission's determination that the coroner's reasons for Linehan's demotion and subsequent termination were pretextual. As such, the decision concluded that Complainant had been subjected to harassment based on her race and color. As part of the three-year consent decree, the company also is required to create clear, understandable anti-discrimination policies, require training for the owner and employees and provide regular reports to the EEOC for the next three years. 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. In its lawsuit, the EEOC charged that the food distributor violated federal law by firing an African-American employee who worked at its Memphis facility because of his race. Hamilton Growers will also 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. Although the employee complained about the harassment to supervisors and reported the assault to the police, he was fired. Sep. 21, 2011). Where a client indicates a preference not to have a caregiver of a certain race, and there is a risk that the client will become violent, the facility will notify the caregiver, who can choose to refuse the assignment. 21-1499. 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. To learn more about your rights under disability discrimination law call the California employment attorneys of the Law Offices of Michael S. Cunningham, LLP at (951) 213-4786. In addition to monetary relief, the 18-month consent decree settling the lawsuit provides for training on employee rights under Title VII, and requires the company to maintain records of racial harassment complaints, provide annual reports to the EEOC, and post a notice to employees about the lawsuit that includes the EEOC's contact information. Subsequent to the complaints, the employee was fired. EEOC v. Dart Energy Corp., 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. 2015). 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. .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. In addition to prohibiting race discrimination and retaliation against Black employees at YRC's Chicago Heights facility, the decree also requires YRC to provide all Chicago Heights employees annual training on racial harassment and race discrimination and engage a Work Assignment Consultant and a Disciplinary Practice Consultant to assist it in reviewing and revising the company's work assignment and disciplinary policies and practices at the Chicago facility. The Agency did not overcome Complainant's prima facie case of sex discrimination where the Agency explained the general mechanics of the selection process for a Lead Transportation Security Officer position but did not provide a specific . The supervisor was the father of the company's president and he insisted that the "n-word" is Latin for "Black person." 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. information only on official, secure websites. Additionally, the EEOC, the NAACP and Falcon Foundry signed a conciliation agreement that requires Falcon Foundry to pay substantial monetary relief to identified victims; hold managers and supervisors accountable for discrimination in the workplace and provide ongoing training to all employees; revise its policies and procedures for dealing with discrimination; and report to the EEOC for the agreement's multi-year term. 103, 103 (1972). According to one discrimination victim: "My supervisors often referred to my fellow African-American employees and me as 'n-----rs' and 'porch monkeys' and forced us to play so-called 'Civil War games' where employees were divided into North and South. These practices led to all American workers receiving less pay than their foreign born counterparts.