filed consent decree 12/15/11). 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. 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. EEOC v. AutoZone, Inc., No. valuing your EEOC case and a low settlement offer On September 22, 2010, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court on all federal law claims and remanded the claimant's state law claim. Target also violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by failing to maintain the records sufficient to gauge the impact of its hiring procedures. Regarding the disparate terms and conditions, the agency alleges that work start times were habitually delayed for White American and African American workers, that they were sent home early while foreign workers continued to work, and that they were subjected to production standards not imposed on foreign born workers. EEOC v. Sealy of Minn., (D. Minn. Apr. In August 2016, a magistrate judge reaffirmed that "African" has long been recognized as an acceptable class entitled to protection under Title VII. 2000e-2(a)(2), Title VII's subsection prohibiting the limiting, classifying, or segregating of employees based on a protected trait. In October 2015, a federal judge held that the operators of an Indianapolis Hampton Inn in contempt for failing to comply with five different conditions settling the EEOC's class race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the companies. 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." filed 1/17/12 - The Commission appealed a decision by the Western District of Tennessee awarding attorney's fees to Memphis Health Center after granting its motion for summary judgment in an age discrimination and retaliation case. In June 2011, a national women's off-priced clothing retailer agreed to pay $246,500 and furnish other relief to 32 class members to settle a race discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. 1:14cv5579 (7th Cir. This evidence included a White manager's statement that if the Black recommending official hired the Black aide based on her the strength of her interview and her demonstrated ability to interact and work one-on-one with clients, "people are going to think" nonetheless that she was selected "because she was Black." The 18-month consent decree enjoined DSW from future race discrimination and unlawful retaliation; required that DSW will provide training on federal laws and store policies prohibiting discrimination and retaliation and reporting regarding any internal complaints of alleged race discrimination or retaliation. EEOC v. Dolgencorp, LLC d/b/a Dollar General, No. Further, the Manger did not consult with the instructors before making the decision, but instead relied upon one individual who was clearly hostile toward complainant and who the AJ found was not credible. The court denied Dollar General's motion for summary judgment and the parties ultimately entered a two-year consent decree requiring Dollar General to maintain effective anti-discrimination policies, distribute the policies to all newly hired employees, and provide management training on anti-discrimination laws and other injunctive relief to ensure discrimination complaints are promptly reported and investigated. EEOC v. Day & Zimmerman NPS, Inc., No. The company must also report certain complaints of harassment or retaliation to the EEOC for monitoring. The EEOC ordered the BOP, among other things, to consider disciplinary action against the supervisor and to pay the job seeker damages. In July 2016, the Fourth Circuit reversed summary judgment in an employment discrimination case alleging race, national origin, religion, and pregnancy discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation in violation of Title VII and 42 U.S.C. Under the decree, the supplier will provide web-based training to all employees at its Baton Rouge and Harahan, Louisiana offices on Title VII and defendant's antidiscrimination policies and complaint reporting procedures. 4:11-cv-03425 (S.D. Under the consent decree, the club will implement new policies and practices designed to prevent racial discrimination and retaliation. The supplier promoted complainant, but did not increase his base salary. In September 2009, a Phoenix credit card processing company agreed to pay $415,000 and furnish significant remedial relief to settle a race harassment lawsuit, in which the EEOC charged that the company subjected a group of African American workers to racial slurs and epithets. The 2-year consent decree also enjoins the firm from making hiring decisions based on race and prohibits retaliation. The Commission affirmed the Agency's finding of no discrimination with respect to other matters raised in the complaint. The EEOC said that Area Temps used code words to describe its clients and applicants for discriminatory purposes, such as "chocolate cupcake" for young African American women, "hockey player" for young White males, "figure skater" for White females, "basketball player" for Black males, and "small hands" for women in general. 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 Heads-Up For Employers: EEOC Increases Enforcement Activities - Forbes Even after the assistant alerted NYU that the supervisor had retaliated against him for complaining, such as by fabricating grounds for disciplining him, the university did not stop the harassment. According to an EEOC lawsuit filed in September 2011 in a federal court in Pennsylvania, the executives of the cleaning company prohibited a White supervisor from hiring Black employees for a client in Concordsville, PA. 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. Invest., No. In August 2006, the Commission settled this Title VII lawsuit alleging that since at least 1991, defendant, a manufacturer of precision metal-formed products and assemblies, failed to hire women and Blacks into laborer and machine operator positions at its plant because of their sex and race for $940,000. 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. According to the consent decree, Bass Pro will engage in good faith efforts to increase diversity by reaching out to minority colleges and technical schools, participating in job fairs in communities with large minority populations and post job openings in publications popular among Black and Hispanic communities. In the first lawsuit, the EEOC charged that Bay Country's owner repeatedly used racial slurs and fired a secretary in retaliation for her opposition to the racial harassment. The EEOC also alleged that the general manager also illegally fired five women after they revealed they were pregnant. For example, "circle dots" referred to the clients that preferred Caucasian caregivers. The restaurant agreed to pay $9.6 million to class members as part of a conciliation agreement. In June 2019, Aarons Inc. paid $425,000 and provided anti-discrimination training to its New York City area workforce to settle a federal government lawsuit accusing it of racial harassment. The jury awarded them more than $1.4 million. 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. The analyst was terminated allegedly because she left work 30 minutes early to beat the traffic. The case settled for $75,000 and a raise in her annual salary. In addition to the monetary relief, the consent decree requires the company will repaint the restrooms and train employees on race discrimination within 45 days. Additionally, the lawsuit charged that Hamilton Growers provided lesser job opportunities to American workers by assigning them to pick vegetables in fields which had already been picked by foreign workers, which resulted in Americans earning less pay than their Mexican counterparts. and "redskins." The agency also alleged that Hamilton Growers fired at least 16 African-American workers in 2009 based on race and/or national origin as their termination was coupled with race-based comments by a management official. After the Black sales manager complained about the derogatory comments, two White managers asked the consultant to stop his discriminatory behavior. According to the EEOC, Danny's, and its predecessor, Baby O's Restaurant, subjected Black dancers to discriminatory terms and conditions of employment for years, including limiting the number of shifts Black dancers could work, and subjecting them to racially offensive epithets. The punishment included removing the man from his crew and assigning him to perform menial tasks such as washing trucks and sweeping, rather than the oil field work that he had been hired to perform, and reducing his work hours, thereby reducing his income. The parties reached an agreement and filed a joint motion to enter a consent decree. The agreement also imposes on BMW notice-posting, training, record-keeping, reporting and other requirements. the restaurant. In July 2010, one of the largest temporary placement agencies in Greater Cleveland area agreed to pay $650,000 to settle an employment discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC. 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 same managers also regularly assigned Black employees to longer routes with heavier items to deliver than they assigned White employees, the EEOC alleged. Hire a Qualified Attorney. The lawsuit asserts that, after the warehouse worker spoke to management about race discrimination because a non-Hispanic co-worker received a larger raise, he was told that if he was going to accuse the company of discrimination, they "should part ways." 5:11CV00134 (W.D.N.C. 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. The EEOC also charged that their supervising chefs referred to the affected dishwashers as f-----g Haitians, and slaves and reprimanded them for speaking Creole, even amongst themselves, while Hispanic employees were permitted to speak Spanish. According to EEOC, SFI replaced the black employees with white employees. According to EEOC data, the average out-of-court settlement for employment discrimination claims is about $40,000. The monetary award will be paid to African-American applicants who were denied jobs. In December 2007, a convenience store distributor paid $100,000 to resolve an EEOC lawsuit alleging race, color, and national origin discrimination. The EEOC charged that a class of Latino and/or brown-skinned workers was subjected to a barrage of highly offensive and derogatory comments about their national origin and/or skin color since at least 2006. The court then reversed summary judgment and remanded the case for trial. 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. 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. Pioneer failed to stop and rectify the harassment and discrimination despite repeated complaints by the Latino / brown-skinned workers. In March 2004, a Ruby Tuesday franchise agreed to pay $32,000 to resolve an EEOC lawsuit, alleging race discrimination in hiring against two African American college students who were refused employment as food servers in favor of several Caucasian applicants with less or similar experience and qualifications. EEOC Releases Fiscal Year 2020 Enforcement and Litigation Data The three employees worked in the supply chain department at SFI and allegedly had no performance issues before their discharges. ACM also subjected the two charging parties to harassment based on sex, national origin and race, and it retaliated against them for opposing the mistreatment-and against one of them based on her association with Black people-by firing them, the commission alleged. The alleged unlawful conduct included the site manager commenting to the three employees that she "hated Puerto Ricans," that "Hispanics are so stupid," that "Colombians are good for nothing except drugs," and that "damn, f-----g Africans . 3:12-CV-681-DPF-FKB (SD. 1:13-cv-20684(JEM) (S.D. In July 2006, EEOC settled a Title VII action against a Dallas-based HIV service agency, in which four Black employees were allegedly racially harassed by the center's founder and former Executive Director, who is also African American. When the teen complained to the company president about the offensive remarks, the supervisor's son replied that he could not reprimand his father. In June 2015, Dollar General Corporation paid $32,500 and furnish other relief to settle a race discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The restaurant also allegedly failed to display information regarding federal anti-discrimination laws. 15, 2011). EEOC alleged that the company failed to accommodate the Muslim workers' religious beliefs by hindering their prayer breaks and Ramadan observances, and that supervisors and co-workers harassed the Somali workers by uttering vulgar epithets and throwing bones, meat, and blood at them. The lawsuit alleged that the driver was fired after complaining twice in one month about the treatment. The consent decree also includes provisions for equal employment opportunity training, reporting, and posting of anti-discrimination notices. The EEOC's lawsuit was brought to obtain relief for fuelers who were from various African nations, including Sudan, Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone. The case was tried by Trial Attorneys Leslie Carter and Carrie Vance, along with Supervisory Trial Attorney Justin Mulaire. In May 2009, the fast food giant Jack in the Box has agreed to pay $20,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that the company did not take prompt action after a White hostess at its Nashville restaurant complained she was being harassed by Black co-workers who called her racial epithets and insulted her when they learned she was pregnant with a mixed-race child. 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. 15-cv-02901 (D. Minn. consent decree filed Mar. What are the chances of winning an EEOC case? - LegalKnowledgeBase.com In October 2018, MPW Industrial Services, Inc., a Hebron, Ohio industrial cleaning company, paid $170,0000 to settle a race discrimination lawsuit filed by EEOC. According to the EEOC lawsuit, an over 40, African-American female employee who worked in loss prevention at several Sears stores in the Oklahoma City area, from 1982 until her termination in March of 2010, was passed over for promotion to supervisor several times beginning in 2007 in favor of younger, less experienced, White males. The two-year consent decree also requires the farm must hold interviews at the Georgia Department of Labor at least one day a week for two weeks "before the start of each H-2A season," and provide to the EEOC upon request a list of those people they hired, including their names, phone numbers, addresses and national origin, in addition to applicants not hired and those whom they fired, including any claims of discrimination, with those same details. A Black assistant superintendent said that his contact information was saved in his supervisors cell phone contacts as BBG and when he called the phone would say Big, Black gorilla is calling and the ringtone would make gorilla sounds. In addition to the monetary settlement, the company is required to write an apology letter and a positive letter of reference for its former employee. EEOC v. Wells Fargo Financial Michigan, Inc., Case No. The posting and training provisions of the Decree were also extended by two years. In March 2008, a wholesaler book company settled an EEOC lawsuit alleging that it violated Title VII when the owner verbally harassed a White female employee after he learned she had biracial children such as stating that they were "too dark to be hers." Kenny C. v. Dep't of Def., EEOC Appeal No. In January 2017, Hospman LLC paid $35,000 and furnish other relief to settle a race discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. 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. Studies of verdicts have shown that about 10% of wrongful termination cases result in a verdict of $1 million or more. The EEOC took the case to trial and won, with a jury awarding Nelson $187,000 in back pay on his retaliation claim. 3:10-cv-00379 (N.D. Fla. Mar. 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. If, for example, your itemized damages are $12,000 and you estimate you have a 50% chance of winning, your case can be valued at $6,000. According to the EEOC, the general manager of the Hampton Inn hotel advised her employees that she wanted to get "Mexicans" in who would clean better and complain less than her black housekeeping staff, even if the Hispanic hires were equally or less qualified than Black candidates. From 1996 to 2007, an African-American female reporter was paid lower wages than a comparable White female reporter and male reporters of all races. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. 3:15-cv-03238 (C.D. Defense Commissary: 0.97 percent. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) made it . The Agency was ordered, among other things, to offer Complainant the position, pay him appropriate back pay and benefits, and pay him $5,000 in proven compensatory damages. During the first month of 2020, EEOC has settled nineteen discrimination lawsuits. Pa. Dec. 16, 2016). Pursuant to the agreement, the EEOC will conduct non-discrimination training for all Hurley staff each year and will examine any progress made to see if more needs to be done. The agency also charged that the hotel paid lower wages to Black housekeepers, excluded Black housekeeping applicants on a systemic basis, and failed to maintain records required by law in violation of Title VII. 4:10-CV-002070-SWW (E.D. In September 2019, a tire, wheels and auto service company, agreed to pay $55,000 and furnish other relief to settle a racial harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the EEOC. There was no evidence that the term or any other racial epithet was used after this meeting. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates. Id. Under the agreement, Cabela's is required to appoint a diversity and inclusion director who will report directly to the company's chief administrative officer and set hiring goals designed to achieve parity in the hiring rates of white and minority job applicants. One Rastafarian security officer objected to the supervisor's reaction and complained that he heard the supervisor had referred to the Rastafarians by the "N-word." EEOC also can proceed with efforts to secure an injunction against future enforcement of the Navajo hiring preference, the court added. For workers, the ruling is a reminder to make certain of the completeness of all filings with the EEOC to avoid potential exhaustion problems. EEOC v. Atsalis Bros. Painting Co., Civil Action No. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.) disclosed on their resumes, could have served as proxies for race. or name-calling such as "pencil dick," by his supervisor. 13-cv-00198 (D. Wyo. The EEOC charged in its lawsuit that the general manager who worked at both the Best Western Evergreen Inn (formerly La Quinta Federal Way) and Best Western Tacoma Dome persistently harassed and denigrated women, including those who were minorities and had strong religious beliefs, in violation of federal law. According to the EEOC's lawsuit, the employer favored foreign born workers or workers they believed to be foreign born, while engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination against White American and African American workers. The three-year consent decree enjoins the company from engaging in or condoning race-based harassment and retaliation; requires the provision of training on federal anti-discrimination laws with an emphasis on preventing race-based harassment; and mandates reporting to the EEOC on how it handles internal complaints of race-based discrimination and the posting of a notice regarding the settlement. Based on its investigation, the EEOC had found reasonable cause to believe that BBI discriminated against Illinois sales employees by offering them account and territory assignments that, when accepted, resulted in national origin or race discrimination, which violates Title VII of the Civil Right Act of 1964. Pursuant to the consent decree, the retail chain's store manager and assistant managers must receive training on color discrimination, the chain must keep records on any complaint of color discrimination and all information related to the complaint, and it must submit reports on these matters to the EEOC. Selected List of Pending And Resolved Cases Involving Farmworkers from 1999 to the Present. 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.