eeoc discrimination cases won

In May 2013, the EEOC sued Clarksdale's Stone Pony Pizza, alleging that the pizza place maintains a racially segregated workforce, and that it "hired only whites for front-of-the-house positions such as server, hostess, waitress, and bartender, and hired African-Americans for back-of-the-house positions such as cook and dishwasher." Ready Mix will be required to modify its policies to ensure that racial harassment is prohibited and a system for investigation of complaints is in place. EEOC v. Hamilton Growers, Inc. d/b/a Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable, Inc., No. Ultimately, the EEOC filed a lawsuit on Spaeth's behalf in January 2017. As a result, a default judgment was entered by U.S. District Judge M. Casey Rodgers, based upon evidence submitted by the EEOC and Titan was ordered to pay lost wages and other damages suffered by Brooks. The consent decree also requires the owner/manager to attend individual training on EEO issues and the company must report to the EEOC on its compliance with the consent decree. In August 2015, the district court denied a motion to dismiss by J&R Baker Farms LLC and J&R Baker Farms Partnership in a lawsuit brought by the EEOC. Kenny C. v. Dep't of Def., EEOC Appeal No. Law360 (February 28, 2023, 8:52 PM EST) -- The U.S. In February 2020, a northern Indiana vending and coffee service provider paid $22,000 and provided other significant relief to resolve an EEOC race discrimination lawsuit alleging that the company discriminated against a Black applicant in filling vending service representative positions. EEOC v. Izza Bending Tube & Wire, Inc., No. According to the EEOC's lawsuit, a Puerto Rican store manager allegedly harassed a dark-complexioned Puerto Rican sales associate because of his skin color (e.g., taunting him about his color and asking why he was "so Black") and then fired him for complaining. 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. In June 2013, the largest and oldest adult entertainment strip club in Jackson, MS paid $50,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that it discriminated against Black dancers when it maintained schedules only for Black women and forced them to compete for dancing slots on the "Black shift." 11-792 (W.D. For more information on the ADA, please call the Justice Department's toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit www.ada.gov. 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. When the mechanic reported this behavior to management, the supervisor retaliated against him and Taylor Shellfish simply advised him to "put his head down and do what he was told." The Supreme Court ruled in cases involving age discrimination and traffic stops. Case Information Case Title. 1981, and various state law provisions. 15-1055 (4th Cir. 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. If the case is too serious for mediation or the employer declines mediation, then the EEOC may sue the employer. In October 2014, Prestige Transportation Service L.L.C., a Miami company that provides transportation services to airline personnel to and from Miami International Airport, paid $200,000 to settle a race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit, in connection with actions allegedly committed under different ownership. Share sensitive and "I fought two wars to get rid of people like you!" Marshal because of race, gender, and age discrimination when the agency's Career Board selected a 34-year old Caucasian female based on her academy achievement, work experience and interview. 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 July 2007, the Sixth Circuit agreed in part with EEOC's amicus argument that a district court improperly granted summary judgment against a Black rehabilitation aide because she presented sufficient evidence - whether categorized as "direct" or "circumstantial" - that race was a factor motivating her employer's decision not to promote her. In December 2011, a New York City retail-wholesale fish market agreed to pay $900,000 and institute anti-discrimination measures to settle an EEOC lawsuit charging it with creating a hostile work environment for Black and African male employees. Further, the EEOC alleged that the harasser belittled the various religious beliefs of employees, including calling a professed Christian "weak-minded" and allegedly telling another employee that she should have an abortion because she already had a child, and that she was her own God and could control her own destiny. In June 2005, EEOC obtained an $8 million dollar settlement from Ford Motor Co. and a major national union in a class race discrimination lawsuit, alleging that a test had a disproportionately negative impact on African American hourly employees seeking admission to an apprenticeship program. In February 2006, the Commission affirmed an AJ's finding that complainant had been subjected to hostile work environment discrimination based on race (African-American) when a noose was placed in his work area. On January 15, 2011, the corporation asked that the damages be reduced because, inter alia, the plant where the victim had worked had closed. In November 2007, the district court ruled in favor of the EEOC in its Title VII suit alleging that a Texas transportation shuttle service discriminated against African American drivers in favor of native African drivers by denying them the more profitable routes, sending them to destinations where no passengers awaited pickup, and misappropriating tips earned by the Black American drivers and instead giving them to the African drivers. 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. As part of a five-year conciliation agreement, J.B. Hunt agreed to review and, if necessary, revise its hiring and selection policies to comply with EEOC's April 2012 enforcement guidance regarding employers' use of arrest and conviction records. I would love to answer her with thisThose people are pieces of shit and hopefully they try that with me so I can gun them down. The Agency found no discrimination. When he refused, EEOC claimed the owner threatened the employees job and reduced his work hours. EEOC v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., No. According to the lawsuit, the employee who was the only African American worker at the site was daily subjected to racial slurs by coworkers which management refused to address. The foreman also said about Black people, "just hang them and burn a cross on the homes." Within hours of his final complaint, the coater was fired, allegedly in retaliation for his complaints of racial harassment. 2:10-CV-13517 (E.D. According to the lawsuit, an interviewing official for the company refused to schedule interviews for four Black applicants seeking entry-level management positions because of their race. In January 2008, the EEOC settled a race and national origin discrimination case against a Nevada U-Haul company for $153,000. The company will name an EEO officer to receive complaints of discrimination and retaliation, and starting in January 2011, and every 6 months thereafter, will report to EEOC and to defendant's vice president of national operations on complaints of discrimination and retaliation received from applicants and employees in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia and the outcome. 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. In addition to the monetary relief, the three-year consent decree requires the company to provide mandatory annual three-hour training on race discrimination and retaliation under Title VII; have its president or another officer appear at the training to address the company's non-discrimination policy and the consequences for discriminating in the workplace; maintain records of race discrimination and retaliation complaints; and provide annual reports to the EEOC. Although the employee complained about the harassment to supervisors and reported the assault to the police, he was fired. EEOC legal staff resolved 165 merits lawsuits and filed 93 lawsuits alleging discrimination in FY 2020. In addition to paying $40,000 in monetary relief, the company must abide by the terms of a two-year consent decree resolving the case. It also handles . 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. In January 2012, a marine construction and transportation company located in Dyersburg, Tenn., will pay an African-American job applicant $75,000 to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. Kilgore v. Trussville Develop., LLC, No. [1] For another human trafficking case, see EEOC v. Trans Bay Steel, Inc., No. EEOC claimed that Yellow and YRC also subjected Black employees to harsher discipline and closer scrutiny than their White counterparts and gave Black employees more difficult and time-consuming work assignments. or name-calling such as "pencil dick," by his supervisor. 1:14cv5579 (7th Cir. Eventually, the Black employee resigned because he believed he would never be placed in the bartender position. A lock ( EEOC v. Columbine Health Sys. The suit claimed that the buyer was given more difficult tasks and less assistance than her colleagues who were not Black and female, was unfairly disciplined for performance scores that were higher than those of her White female co-workers who did not face any disciplinary action, and that the supervisor gave her White co-workers permission for vacation days but ignored the Black buyer's earlier requests for the same days. The EEOC currently has a number of on-going lawsuits and settlements of lawsuits. Additionally, every six months for the next 42 months, Bass Pro is to report to the EEOC its hiring rates on a store-by-store basis. The Commission found that the record showed that complainant's qualifications were observably superior to those of the selectee, and concluded that the agency's stated reasons for not selecting complainant for the position in question were a pretext for discrimination. Two witnesses testified that they heard someone remark "one down and two to go" when complainant turned in his equipment following his termination. The harassment included the White coworkers calling the Black employee racial slurs such as "spook," "spade" and "Buckwheat." The consent decree also requires the restaurant to provide training in equal employment opportunity laws for all of its employees and to appoint an Equal Employment Office Coordinator, who will be responsible for investigating discrimination complaints. Kilgore v. Trussville Dev., No. 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. In August 2014, a Thomasville mattress company agreed to pay a combined $42,000 to two Black former workers to settle an EEOC complaint that alleged they were unlawfully fired. The complaint alleged that they complained to the company about racial comments that included the "N-word" made by a White employee between June and August 2012, but the harassment continued. The university discharged her in June 2008 upon a denial of her tenure appeal. 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." 6 min read. EEOC v. for American Casing & Equipment Inc., Civil Action No. Pipeline Constr. The agreement included some novel relief, such as: implementation of a new applicant tracking system; establishing an advisory committee focused on the recruitment, development and retention of minority groups; hiring of recruitment firms; developing new interview protocol training; establishing a mentoring program for recently hired minority employees; and updating job descriptions for all college manager positions to require as a job component the diversity of its workforce. The two-year consent decree requires the company to strengthen its discrimination complaint procedure and develop and implement investigation procedures. Under the 3-year consent decree, four Black employees will share $400,000 in monetary relief and the organization will increase one Black employee's hours to no less than 20 per week to restore her eligibility for various employment benefits. The court of appeals also held that no particular degree or type of advocacy on behalf of individuals of a different race is required to state an associational discrimination claim based on this theory, again, so long as a plaintiff can show that she was discriminated against based on her advocacy on behalf of such individuals. According to the EEOC, the JATC violated the court's previous orders by summarily discharging the apprentice for alleged poor performance just days before he was to complete the program and be promoted to journeyman status. Additionally, the company will review its workplace policies to assure that they comply with Title VII and will train its entire staff on the laws against discrimination. Tenn. Sep. 25, 2013). According to the terms of the settlement, the seafood distributor agreed to pay the employee $85,000 and redraft its policies on discrimination and retaliation as well as provide employee training on workplace discrimination. 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. She also asserted that her termination was racially motivated. Ex-Medical Co. Worker Can't Revive ADA Suit, 11th Circ. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a suit filed Friday. 10-955 (D. Utah Oct. 10, 2012). Racially offensive pictures targeted against minority employees were also posted in the workplace. May 28, 2013). The Commission claimed that the agency selected Hispanics regardless of prior experience, place in line or availability. As such, the incident altered the condition of complainant's employment. The analyst was terminated allegedly because she left work 30 minutes early to beat the traffic. EEOC v. Regis Corp., Civil Action No. In September 2010, the largest uniform manufacturer in North America and provider of specialized services agreed to pay $152,500 to settle a racial harassment claim. In August 2017, the EEOC affirmed an Administrative Judge's finding that the Department of Defense (Agency) had discriminated against Complainant when it did not select him for an Assistant Special Agent in Charge position. US Foods did not terminate the Caucasian driver for being under the influence, or another Caucasian safety specialist who saw the driver at the first stop on his route. 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. 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. Additionally, Reliable Nissan agreed to review its policies and procedures to ensure that employees have a mechanism for reporting discrimination and to make certain that each complaint will be appropriately investigated. Complainant also stated that the Director, who was extensively involved in the selection yet did not testify at the hearing, made several comments that revealed a discriminatory intent. In addition to the monetary relief, the decree requires the company to set numerical hiring goals for its field laborer positions, recruit Black and female applicants via print and Internet advertisements and report to the EEOC regarding its attainment of the numerical hiring goals and other settlement terms. The plant where the discrimination occurred had closed during the litigation period. 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. But I see you as a black man." 4:10-CV-002070-SWW (E.D. The EEOC's suit had charged that the company unlawfully engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against American workers by firing virtually all American workers while retaining workers from Mexico during the 2009, 2010 and 2011 growing seasons. In November 2014, a Rockville, Md.-based environmental remediation services contractor paid $415,000 and provide various other relief to settle a class lawsuit alleging that the company engaged in a pattern or practice of race and sex discrimination in its recruitment and hiring of field laborers. The company must also report certain complaints of harassment or retaliation to the EEOC for monitoring. Aside from the monetary relief, the county agreed to establish policies and complaint procedures dealing with discrimination and harassment in the workplace and to provide live EEO training to all managers and supervisors. The settlement included a donation of $10,000 value of books or 1000 books relevant to the EEOC's mission, which will be given to a non-profit organization with an after-school program. In 2017, Ruby Tuesday paid $45,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. EEOC had alleged that the store chain refused to hire qualified Black job applicants for sales, truck driver and other positions in its retail or warehouse facilities for reasons that were not applied to successful White applicants. EEOC alleged that the company refused to hire Black applicants because it was concerned that its customers would be uncomfortable with a Black man coming to their home and would be intimidated by him. The supplier also will maintain policies and procedures prohibiting race discrimination and wage disparities based on race, which will include investigation procedures and contact information for reporting complaints. Abercrombie & Fitch also agreed to improve hiring, recruitment, training, and promotions policies; revise marketing material; and select a Vice President of Diversity and diversity recruiters. EEOC v. Day & Zimmerman NPS, Inc., No. However, none of the lawsuits filed in January were publicized. Upon arrival, her employer realized she was Black and her supervisors gave her no direction and very few assignments despite her requests for work. However, the employer did not fire a Caucasian employee who they left two hours early on two different days because he was tired. For workers, the ruling is a reminder to make certain of the completeness of all filings with the EEOC to avoid potential exhaustion problems. The EEOC's lawsuit asserted that a non-Rastafarian security officer threatened to shoot a group of Rastafarian officers. In addition to monetary relief, the four-year consent decree required Pioneer Hotel must hire a consultant to help implement policies, procedures and training for all workers to prevent discrimination, harassment and retaliation. The agency also found that the company discriminated against black and Hispanic employees in the selection of lead positions at the St. Paul facility. 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 clinic also agreed to incorporate a zero-tolerance policy concerning discriminatory harassment and retaliation into its internal EEO and anti-harassment policies. The EEOC noted that Complainant discussed her experience as Acting Division Secretary in her KSA responses, and, contrary to the Agency's assertion, made numerous references to acting as a Division Secretary in her application. The company agreed to establish an effective anti-discrimination policy and to provide anti-discrimination training to its employees. Ultimately, both Black employees were terminated, but the EEOC asserted that one of the employees was discharged for an infraction for which non-Black employees were not disciplined, while the other was discharged after relaying his intention to file a charge of discrimination to the company. 1:09-cv-4272 (N.D. Ill. consent decree filed Aug. 23, 2012). According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Prewett and Desoto supervisors and managers subjected African American employees to daily harassment and humiliation because of their race by calling them racially offensive and derogatory names and assigned Black employees the more dangerous job duties. The EEOC further claims the owner of Porous Materials did nothing to put a stop to the harassment. Although it admitted no wrongdoing and said that it settled the case for financial reasons, the company agreed to hire an equal employment opportunity coordinator to provide employee EEO training, monitor future race discrimination complaints, and file periodic reports with EEOC regarding hiring, layoffs, and promotions. Hopkins (1989) The Supreme Court ruled that employment discrimination based on sex stereotypes is recognized as unlawful sexual discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 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. CHICAGO - Stan Koch & Sons Trucking, Inc., a Minnesota-based transportation company, will pay $165,000 and furnish other relief to settle a retaliation case brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today. The Commission's evidence included inculpatory tester evidence and expert testimony indicating that the names and voices of the Black applicants, as well as some of the organizational affiliations (e.g. The 4-year consent decree prohibits defendants from engaging in future discrimination based on race, color, or national origin. In September 2019, Lexington Treatment Associates, a Delaware-based limited liability company that owns and operates methadone clinics in North Carolina, paid $110,000 and provided other relief to settle a racial harassment lawsuit brought by the EEOC. 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. That number includes both private sector and state and local . The Commission also ordered training of responsible officials, consideration of discipline, and the posting of a notice but rejected the AJ's award of $6,903.87 in closing costs for complainant's sale of his house as being too speculative to connect to the discriminatory conduct. On several occasions, I was told to turn off my 'jigaboo music.". In June 2009, the EEOC overturned an AJ's finding of no discrimination in a Title VII race discrimination case. 20, 2017). 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. Real EEOC Cases. EEOC Accuses Va. Hospital System Of . In March 2015, a Texas-based oil and gas drilling company agreed to settle for $12.26 million the EEOC's lawsuit alleging discrimination, harassment and retaliation against racial minorities nationwide. In July 2006, EEOC reached a $100,000 settlement in its Title VII lawsuit against a Springfield, Missouri grocery chain alleging that a Black assistant manager was subjected to racially derogatory comments and epithets and was permanently suspended in retaliation for complaining about his store manager's racial harassment of him and the manager's sexual harassment of another worker. 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. Neither the White coworker nor the supervisors who witnessed the racial incidents were disciplined. The NAACP filed an EEOC charge on behalf of some employees and the EEOC's investigation found that a top company official subjected employees to derogatory racial comments and that there was a noose hanging in the facility. The EEOC's suit alleged that qualified African-Americans and Hispanics were routinely denied retail positions such as cashier, sales associate, team leader, supervisor, manager and other positions at many Bass Pro stores nationwide and that managers at Bass Pro stores in the Houston area, in Louisiana, and elsewhere made overtly racially derogatory remarks acknowledging the discriminatory practices, including that hiring Black candidates did not fit the corporate profile. The harassment included racial slurs, explicit sexual comments and gestures and threats. Ala. Feb. 3, 2012). According to EEOC's lawsuit, the complainant was hired as a junior account manager in the supplier's Baton Rouge, Louisiana office with an annual salary of $32,500, plus commissions. Evidence indicated that the restaurant had a practice of hiring only White people as bartenders. The Agency also appeared to have violated its Merit Promotion Plan by having a lower-level employee participate in the interview panel. The Commission also alleged that the company engaged in retaliation against workers who joined in the complaint. filed consent decree 12/15/11). 1-800-669-6820 (TTY) A federal lawsuit filed by the EEOC alleged that supervisors amd coworkers were "constantly" targeted with slurs such as "taco bell," "bean burrito" and "f____ aliens." In December 2016, a south Alabama steel manufacturing plant agreed to pay $150,000 as part of a three-year consent decree to resolve an EEOC lawsuit. EEOC v. Chapman Univ., No. The consent decree enjoins the restaurant from engaging in racial discrimination and requires the chain to post a remedial notice and amend and distribute its anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies. EEOC v. Hamilton Growers, Inc., Civil Action No. 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.". The owner refused to give the teen an application and told her the store was not hiring anymore despite the presence of a "Help Wanted" sign in the window. The new hiring procedures include implementation of an extensive applicant tracking system that will better enable the EEOC and the company to assess whether the company is meeting the targeted hiring levels. 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. Ready Mix will be required to modify its policies to ensure that racial harassment is prohibited and a system for investigation of complaints is in place. 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. In July 2008, EEOC resolved a race discrimination and retaliation suit for $140,000 against a Mississippi U-Haul company. The traffic clerk asserted that, prior to his discharge, his coworker, a White woman, expounded on her view that African Americans are more athletic than Whites because they were inbred as slaves and have an extra muscle in their legs, that she was afraid to be around certain people of color, and that a customer was entitled use the "n-word" in reference to the clerk based on freedom of speech. 5:11CV00134 (W.D.N.C. The company denied the allegations in court. In December 2018, Maritime Autowash (later known as Phase 2 Investments, Inc.) paid $300,000 in monetary relief and furnished equitable relief to settle an EEOC race and national origin discrimination lawsuit.