Tenn. consent decree filed Dec. 5, 2014). Therefore, the Commission found that Complainant established that the Agency's stated reasons for her non-selection were a pretext for race and sex discrimination. When the Black employee complained, no action was taken and the mistreatment continued. The lawsuit alleged that a Swissport manager routinely called the African fuelers "monkeys" in various degrading ways. EEOC had alleged that the hospital, which served parts of the Navaho Nation, paid its non-White doctors thousands of dollars less than a White American physician who performed the same work. The EEOC charged SFI, a fabricator and supplier of heavy-gauge steel and value-added products, with discharging three black employees on the same day because of their race. In the two-year consent decree, the company states it will avoid engaging in racial discrimination or retaliation and must post a remedial notice and provide Title VII training to all supervisors and managers. The three-year decree enjoins the company from future discrimination and retaliation on the basis of race or national origin and mandates anti-discrimination and investigation training for all of its employees and supervisors. EEOC v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., No. To reduce its backlog, the EEOC must close more cases than it receives each year and with fewer investigators. 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?" Though the company hired 52 of its predecessor's former employees, none of them were Black. EEOC v. New Koosharem Corp., No. The parties entered a three-year consent decree on July 30, 2008, which enjoins the company from engaging in racial discrimination or retaliation and requires the company to institute an equal employment opportunity policy and distribute this new policy to its employees. Corp., No. On appeal, the Seventh Circuit unanimously rejected the facility's argument that Indiana's patient-rights law permitted such practice and remanded the case for trial because the "the racial preference policy violates Title VII by creating a hostile work environment and because issues of fact remain over whether race motivated the discharge.". In July 2008, a Florida laundry services company agreed to pay $80,000 and furnish other remedial relief to settle an EEOC discrimination lawsuit. The foreman also told racist jokes in the workplace, and made negative comments about African Americans; including that Sean Bell (shot by the police at a nightclub) deserved to be shot, and threatened that candidate Barack Obama would be shot before the country allowed a Black president. The alleged harassment included name-calling such as "black Polack," "Buckwheat," and "boy;" White coworkers' frequent use of the N-word; and the discovery of a note in a Black employee's locker that said: "KKK plans could result in death, serious personal injury, Nigga Bernard." Congress did so by defining "religion" to "include[] all aspects of reli-gious observance and practice, as well as belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to reasona-bly accommodate to an employee's or prospective em- During the first month of 2020, EEOC has settled nineteen discrimination lawsuits. Additionally, the environment was not favorable to Black recruits. Consent decree entered Dec. 10, 2012). In October 2019, the EEOCs Office of Federal Operation found that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Devens Federal Medical Center in Ayer, MA discriminated against a Hispanic female former Health Information Technician on the basis of race and sex when a supervisor gave her an unwarranted negative reference which cost her the job. In September 2009, a supply company in Arizona agreed to pay $49,500 to settle an EEOC lawsuit that alleged the company assigned an African American employee and his Hispanic team member to less desirable, lower-paying jobs than their Caucasian counterparts because of the Black employee's race. al, No. In October 2018, Floyd's Equipment Inc., a Sikeston, Mo. According to the EEOC's complaint, the assistant manager subjected the Black stylist to racist slurs in two separate incidents occurring in March and April 2008. According to the lawsuit, when the students met with the store manager, he briefly reviewed their applications and told them they were "not what he was looking for.". 1-800-669-6820 (TTY) 4:10-CV-002070-SWW (E.D. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. The Commission noted that several witnesses subscribed to Complainants view that management intentionally foreclosed minorities from career advancement. 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. The 2-year consent decree prohibits the company from engaging in sex and race discrimination and retaliation at the three stores. The settlement requires Baker Farms to stop discriminatory practices on the basis of national origin or race, refrain from automatically filling jobs with H-2A workers, or foreign nationals who receive a visa to fill temporary agricultural jobs, without first considering American workers and institute a formal anti-discrimination policy by Aug. 1, in addition to the monetary relief. 06-cv-7806 (S.D.N.Y. A lock ( The Commission ordered the retroactive promotion of complainant, back pay, compensatory damages ($5,000), attorney's fees, and other relief. In its lawsuit, EEOC alleged that Laquila engaged in systemic discrimination against black employees as a class by subjecting them to racial harassment, including referring to them using the N-word, "gorilla," and similar epithets. EEOC v. Taylor Shellfish Company, Inc., 2:16-CV-01517 (W.D. In August 2015, Target Corp. settled for $2.8 million an EEOC charge that the retailer's former tests for hiring for professional jobs discriminated against applicants based on race, sex and disability. 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. 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. In February 2020, the EEOCs Office of Federal Operation (OFO) found that the Department of Veteran Affairs engaged in race and age discrimination when it did not select a Registered Nurse (RN) at the Murfreesboro VA Medical Center facility in Tennessee for the position of Nurse Manager, Specialty Clinics. The Commission ordered the agency to pay complainant $10,000.00 in compensatory damages and to provide training to all management and staff at the facility. The company also must submit reports to the EEOC demonstrating its compliance with the consent decree. 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. 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. According to evidence in the record, management denied the SOS the opportunity to the attend trainings necessary for promotion into a Security Officer Locksmith (SOL), citing budgetary reasons. In January 2018, a water and waste-water services company in Bear, Delaware paid $150,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit alleging racial harassment. 30, 2015). 2:11-cv-02844 (W.D. The consent decree enjoins the company from engaging in racial discrimination. The Black foreman complained to company management about the slurs to which he and other African-American employees were subjected, including epithets such as n-r, monkey and boy. The company not only failed to stop the harassment, but in fact promoted one of the wrongdoers and assigned the Black foreman to work under his supervision on a project. 2:11-CV-00920CW (D. Ariz. Jan. 7, 2013). Tetro v. Elliott Popham Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick, & GMC Trucks, Inc., 173 F.3d 988, 994-95 (6th Cir. consent decree filed Sep. 8, 2015). The settlement also requires Hillshire to designate one employee to serve as a point-of-contact for those who feel they've been treated improperly and to punish workers with suspensions and even termination who are found "by reasonable evidence" to have engaged in racial bias or behavior related to it. 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. The consent decree also requires Laquila to set up a hotline for employees to report illegal discrimination, provide anti-discrimination training to its managers, adopt revised anti-discrimination policies and employee complaint procedures and report all worker harassment and retaliation complaints to the EEOC for the 42-month duration of the agreement. The agreement applies to all ACM facilities and locations nationwide and has extra-territorial application to the extent permitted by Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Ready Mix paid a total of $400,000 in compensatory damages to be apportioned among the seven class members to settle an EEOC lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that a Black employee was asked if he could read because a lot of you guys cant read, and that a general manager referred to Black employees as monkeys or Africans and many other accusations. The EEOC's lawsuit seeks relief for a class of terminated housekeeping employees as well as a class of Black housekeeping applicants who sought employment at its Shadeland Avenue Hampton Inn facility between approximately September 2, 2008 and June 2009. 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. Miss. there are many African'american midwives who are failed the final test after they have a masters certificate.raw scores have been cut up to 9 points so that they fail and can not practice. April 2, 2015). In June 2017, the Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment on the Commission's race segregation claim brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. By honoring those provisions and refusing to hire non-Navajo Indians, Peabody discriminates based on national origin, in violation of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, EEOC asserted. The Agency was ordered, among other things, to place Complainant into the position or a similar position, with appropriate back pay and benefits, and pay him proven compensatory damages. According to the lawsuit, Lesine and Ware allegedly were subjected to unwelcome derogatory racial comments and slurs made by a White coworker, including the repeated use of the "n" word. The federal agency also reviewed the company's broader policy with respect to the hiring of job applicants with conviction records. 2:11-cv-01588-LRH-GWF (D. Nev. settlement June 18, 2015). Guessous v. Fairview Prop. Court. Agreeing with the position taken by the Commission as amicus curiae, the court of appeals held that there is no prerequisite degree or type of association between two individuals of different races in order to state a claim for associational discrimination or harassment, so long as the plaintiff can show that she was discriminated against because of her association with a person of a different race. LockA locked padlock 2:09-cv-00923 (M.D. 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 October 2010, Austin Foam Plastics, Inc., (AFP) a producer and distributor of corrugated box and cushion packaging, agreed to pay $600,000 to resolve a number of racial and sexual harassment charges. In August 2009, a Pinehurst, N.C.-based support services company for condominium complexes and resorts paid $44,700 and will furnish significant remedial relief to settle a race and national origin discrimination lawsuit, alleging the company unlawfully discharged six housekeepers because of their race (African American) and national origin (non-Hispanic) and immediately replaced them with Hispanic workers. The company agreed to establish an effective anti-discrimination policy and to provide anti-discrimination training to its employees. The Court cautioned: "KCSR is no stranger to Title VII employment discrimination litigation, and it would behoove KCSR to discharge its burden with greater acuity." 0720100034 (Apr. The store manager allegedly told one applicant that the store "does not hire White people.". 5:11CV00134 (W.D.N.C. 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. In its complaint, the EEOC said the driver was subjected to racial slurs by a supervisor and taunts by White employees. In October 2007, the Commission obtained $2 million for approximately 50 claimants in this Title VII lawsuit alleging that defendant subjected employees in its three Illinois restaurant/gift stores to sex and race discrimination and retaliation, causing the constructive discharge of some employees. Under a three-year consent decree signed Nov. 10 by Judge Paul W. Grimm of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, ACM Services Inc. will pay a combined $110,000 to the two Hispanic female workers who first brought the allegations to the EEOC's attention and will establish a class fund of $305,000 for other potential claimants to be identified by the agency. I am familiar with EEOC cases and have fought and won . 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." Appellate - 4th Circuit. WMN-09-cv-984 (D. Md. The consent decree also requires Hillshire to implement anti-racism training and create a mechanism for employees at its existing plants to confidentially report instances of harassment, discrimination and retaliation. In September 2012, two California-based trucking firms agreed to settle for $630,000 an EEOC lawsuit alleging one company violated Title VII by permitting the harassment of African American, Latino, and East Indian workers and by otherwise discriminating based on race, national origin, and religion. In September 2010, the EEOC filed a lawsuit against a Union City, Tenn., pork company, alleging that the company engaged in race discrimination by paying an African-American maintenance worker less than non-Black employees, subjecting him to a hostile work environment, and forcing him out of his job. For example, in federal court from 1979 to 2006, plaintiffs in non-employment law cases won 51% of the time. In June 2017, the EEOC investigated a restaurant operating over 100 facilities in the Eastern U.S. involving issues of hiring discrimination against African Americans. 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. OFO rejected the Agencys explanation that the BQ scoring grid failed to consider years of nursing experience within specialty care clinics, noting that Selectee was considerably less experienced than Complainant. In addition to monetary relief, a consent decree enjoins the company from engaging in either sexual or racial harassment or retaliation. EEOC v. Rosebud Rest., No. Lastly, the company will provide discrimination and retaliation training of at least 2 hours to supervisors and managers in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. According to the EEOC's suit, the supervisor of the mailroom in NYU's Elmer Holmes Bobst Library regularly subjected his assistant, who is a native of Ghana, to slurs such as "monkey" and "gorilla," and made comments such as "go back to your cage," "go back to the jungle," and "do you want a banana?" 131 M Street, NE The Commission affirmed the AJ's finding of discrimination and ordered the retroactive promotion of complainant, back pay, compensatory damages ($75,000), attorney's fees, and other relief. In September 2006, the Korean owners of a fast food chain in Torrance, California agreed to pay $5,000 to resolve a Title VII lawsuit alleging that a 16-year old biracial girl, who looked like a fair-skinned African American, was refused an application for employment because of her perceived race (Black). 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. 1:11-cv-915 (E.D. 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." Under the consent decree, the club will implement new policies and practices designed to prevent racial discrimination and retaliation. The EEOC had charged that the company unlawfully retaliated against an employee for objecting to race discrimination. In November 2006, the EEOC resolved a Title VII lawsuit alleging that defendant, a nationwide meat processing company, discriminated against Black maintenance department employees at its chicken processing plant in Ashland, Alabama, by subjecting them to a racially hostile work environment, which included a "Whites Only" sign on a bathroom in the maintenance department and a padlock on the bathroom door to which only White employees were given keys. 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. The lawsuit also said workers were told not to speak Spanish on break, at least one employee lost his job after complaining about the treatment, and the company failed to correct the problems. 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. The agreement resolves a lawsuit filed by the EEOC in September 2011. Co., Inc., 1:10-cv-01248-JDB-egb (W.D. The 30-month consent decree enjoins Diversified from discriminating against or harassing anyone based on race or engaging in retaliation and requires the company to designate an internal monitor to ensure compliance with the consent decree. In March 2020, Baltimore County-based Bay Country Professional Concrete paid $74,000 and furnished significant equitable relief to settle two federal harassment and retaliation lawsuits by the EEOC. EEOC v. King-Lar Co., No. In May 2016, American Casing & Equipment Inc., a Williston-based oil field service company, paid $250,000 to a Filipino worker it fired after he complained of harassment to settle a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the EEOC. An analysis of hours and wages showed African-American and Hispanic workers received fewer hours of work than their white co-workers during most of this same timeframe. The supplier promoted complainant, but did not increase his base salary. EEOC v. Stone Pony Pizza, Inc., No. 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. The case settled for $75,000 and a raise in her annual salary. 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. The decision awarded complainant a retroactive promotion with back pay, $150,000 in compensatory damages and attorneys fees and costs. EEOC recovered just over $106 million for charging parties and other aggrieved individuals through litigation, representing the largest recovery through the EEOC's litigation program in the past 16 years. The facility claimed that it ceased the coding practice in 2008, but admitted that it continued to take client racial preferences into account in making caregiver assignments. 2:10-CV-955 (D. Utah consent decree filed Apr. 4:14-cv-03588 (Apr. Fla. consent decree filed Sept. 26, 2014). The EEOC decided there was a pattern of racial discrimination at the company, and ordered Texaco to settle for $115million in cash for about 1500 minority employees. The claims included: (1) awarding Black employees less favorable assignments (both terminals); (2) assigning them more difficult and demanding work (both terminals); (3) enforcing break times more stringently (Chicago Heights); (4) subjecting their work to heightened scrutiny (Chicago Heights); and (5) disciplining them for minor misconduct (both terminals). EEOC v. McCormick & Schmick's Restaurant Corp, No. Equal . The code words at issue included "chocolate cupcake" for young African American women, "hockey player" for a young White male, "figure skater" for White females, "basketball player" for Black males, and "small hands" for females in general. EEOC v. McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants, Inc. and McCormick and Schmick Restaurant Corporation, No. Within hours of his final complaint, the coater was fired, allegedly in retaliation for his complaints of racial harassment. proposed consent decree filed Sep. 25, 2012). The use of arrest and conviction records to deny employment can be illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when it is not relevant for the job, because it can limit the employment opportunities of applicants or workers based on their race or ethnicity.". But in a race . EEOC v. for American Casing & Equipment Inc., Civil Action No. While the Agency asserted that the Selecting Official's selection history precluded a finding of discrimination, the Commission stated that selection history is not controlling, and the AJ reasonably relied upon Complainant's prior performance appraisal as an indicator of his performance. According to the lawsuit, three White workers at the Whirlpool plant in LaVergne, Tennessee, witnessed numerous instances of racial hostility and slurs directed at their Black coworkers. Find your nearest EEOC office The court, however, determined that Defendant was entitled to summary judgment on the hostile work environment claims brought on behalf of the White employees because injury must be personal and thus a White employee cannot sue for harassment of African-American employees that the White employee happened to see. Along with a monetary settlement, the three-year consent decree requires the company to disseminate and post a modified anti-discrimination policy; designate specific individuals to whom raced-based discrimination complaints should be directed; provide at least three hours of anti-discrimination training by a compliance specialist for all management and supervisory personnel; and submit a written report to the EEOC after one year identifying all race-based discrimination complaints. The judgment also assessed $37,197.00 in monetary damages against Ethio Express. The case, EEOC v. Wal-Mart Stores East, E.D. EEOC v. Patterson-UTI Drilling Co., No. In addition to the $100,000 payment, Sears has agreed to take specified actions designed to prevent future discrimination, including the posting of anti-discrimination notices to employees, dissemination of its anti-discrimination policy and providing anti-discrimination training to employees.