eeoc discrimination cases won eeoc discrimination cases won

Additionally, racist graffiti was written in portable toilets, with terms such as "coon"; "if u not White u not right"; "White power"; "KKK"; and "I love the Ku Klux Klan." 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 regularly subjected American workers to different terms and conditions of employment, including delayed starting times and early stop times, or denied the opportunity to work at all, while Mexican workers were allowed to continue working. The coworkers also made racially derogatory comments including using the racially offensive term "n----r-rigged," which was witnessed by the employees supervisor who took no action to stop it. 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. 1:71-cv-02877(LAK)(MHD) (S.D.N.Y. No. 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. 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 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 complaint also alleged that the two Charging Parties were retaliated against when they were suspended for minor issues within a few months of complaining about racial conditions at the plant. According to the EEOC's suit, an estimator and assistant project manager was subjected to derogatory comments from his supervisors, project manager and the company's owner on the basis of his national origin (Pakistani), religion (Islam), and color (brown). In December 2009, a Tennessee company that processes nuclear waste agreed to settle claims by the EEOC that Black employees were subjected to higher levels of radiation than others. 18, 2012). EEOC v. A.C. Widenhouse Inc., No. 13-cv-6656 (N.D. Ill. decision filed Apr. On September 22, 2010, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court on all federal law claims and remanded the claimant's state law claim. EEOC v. Hamilton Growers, Inc., No. In January 2010, a Georgia car dealership agreed to pay $140,000 to settle a race discrimination suit. 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. 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. In December 2012, an office and technology supply store paid $85,000 and target recruitment of African-Americans and Hispanics to settle a retaliation lawsuit filed by the EEOC. According to the EEOC, an African-American foreman repeatedly had racial slurs directed at him by a White superintendent and other White foremen. The EEOC's suit also alleged that, about a week after the distributor finally removed the graffiti, a second message appeared, this time stating "KKK I hate N*****s." The EEOC alleged that this second message remained visible for over three months after the employee alerted the EEOC to the situation. They also engaged in threatening and intimidating conduct toward Black employees, such as tampering with the brake lines and air hoses of one CP's truck. 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. 2440 Other Civil Rights EEOC had alleged that the company refused to hire a Black female applicant for a part-time customer service position, even after she was designated best qualified and had passed the requisite drug test. EEOC v. Matrix L.L.C., Civil Action No. In addition, the EEOC asserted that Latino / brown-skinned workers were told not to speak Spanish during their break times. filed Sep. 29, 2012). After consultation among the friends, another White friend entered the store and was immediately given an application on request. The store manager allegedly made racially and sexually offensive remarks to a Black employee, referred to the African Americans as "you people" and interracial couples as "Oreos" or "Zebras," and disparaged the employee for marrying a Caucasian man. In September 2010, a mineral company agreed to pay $440,000 and other relief to settle a class race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit. Pioneer entered into a four-year consent decree that prohibits Pioneer from creating, facilitating or permitting a hostile work environment for employees who are Latino or darker-skinned. EEOC had alleged that the company's Hagerstown, MD plant permitted its Black employees to be subjected to a racially hostile work environment despite repeated complaints about the harassment. 2:09-cv-00923 (M.D. The JATC imposed this severe sanction despite the apprentice satisfactorily completing virtually the entire eight-term program and despite his complaints about inadequate on-the-job training from biased contractors. In January 2013, Emmert International agreed to settle an employment discrimination lawsuit filed by EEOC that charged the company harassed and retaliated against employees in violation of federal law. 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. Specifically, the company allegedly violated federal law by failing to place a class of African American workers into temporary shipping positions at a FedEx SmartPost location in Southaven, Mississippi. EEOC v. Outokumpu Stainless USA, LLC, No. In the second lawsuit, the EEOC said that Bay Country subjected a concrete finisher, who is male and African American, to racial and sexual harassment by a foreman and co-workers. But when the employee was the plaintiff in an employment discrimination lawsuit, they . 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. In addition to monetary relief, the company must provide race discrimination training to all employees. The remarks included calling the employee "cricket" and "dumb-dumb" and telling him that "blacks don't get Saturdays off." 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 6th . Specifically, the EEOC's lawsuit alleged that the company's foreman and other Emmert employees repeatedly harassed two employees, one African American and the other Caucasian, while working on the Odd Fellows Hall project in Salt Lake City. The 39-month consent decree requires defendant to consider all female and Black applicants on the same basis as all other applicants, to engage in good faith efforts to increase recruitment of female and Black applicants, and to submit semiannual reports to EEOC that include applicant flow and hiring data by race and sex. After the electrician complained about the harassment, he was terminated. 06-cv-7806 (S.D.N.Y. In March 2011, a television station settled a race and sex discrimination case filed by the EEOC for $45,000 and additional consideration. Finally, the EEOC alleged that FAPS' employment application contained improper pre-employment medical inquiries in violation of the ADA. In June 2013, a national food distributor paid $15,000 in compensatory damages to three former employees to resolve an EEOC race discrimination lawsuit alleging that its Mason City warehouse failed for months to remove racist graffiti in a men's restroom that included a swastika and references to the Ku Klux Klan, despite complaints from an African-American employee. The complaint took too long to investigate and Kristina Garcia . The case settled for $75,000 and a raise in her annual salary. In this race-based action, an Indiana nursing home housed a White resident who did not want any assistance from Black health-care staff. The harassment continued even after the employee reported the conduct. 1. In May 2008, the EEOC obtained a settlement of $1.65 million in a racial harassment case filed against a general contractor and its subsidiaries on behalf of a class of African American employees who were subjected to egregious racial harassment at a construction site in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Of all the forms of workplace discrimination, cases involving race have been the most headline-grabbing in recent years.. When the Black employee complained, no action was taken and the mistreatment continued. Plaintiff filed suit alleging that the facility's acquiescence to the racial biases of its residents is illegal and created a hostile work environment. The EEOC had charged that the company violated Title VII when it subjected three Black employees at its Lexington, N.C., facility to a racially hostile work environment. According to EEOC data, the average out-of-court settlement for employment discrimination claims is about $40,000. The jury found that Danny's also forced the dancers to work at a related club, Black Diamonds, even though they were subject to arrest there because they were not licensed to work at that club. According to the lawsuit, EEOC alleged from at least 1993 to the present, a White foreman repeatedly used racial slurs toward Black workers, that the company assigned Black employees to the most difficult, dirty, and least desirable jobs, that the roofing contractor systematically excluded Black employees from promotion opportunities, and that the company retaliated against those who complained. 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. In April 2015, Local 25 of the Sheet Metal Workers' International Association and its associated apprenticeship school agreed to create a back pay fund for a group of minority sheet metal workers in partial settlement of race discrimination claims against the local union. June 12, 2012) (granting joint motion to dismiss). During the first month of 2020, EEOC has settled nineteen discrimination lawsuits. According to the consent decree, "these policies and practices have resulted in a laborer workforce that is almost 100% Hispanic." EEOC v. Rosebud Rest., No. No. In August 2019, Pier 1 Imports paid a $20,000 settlement to a Black job applicant in San Bernardino County who was denied an assistant manager position based on his race following a background check pursuant to a two-year conciliation agreement. The three-year consent decree also requires the company, which has stores in Arkansas, Missouri, and Mississippi, to train all managers and supervisors on preventing race discrimination and retaliation; create job descriptions for manager and assistant manager positions that outline the qualifications for each position; develop a written promotion policy that will include the procedures by which employees will be notified of promotional opportunities; report assistant manager and manager vacancies, the name and race of all applicants for the position, and the name of the successful candidate; report the names of all African Americans who are either hired or promoted to manager or assistant manager positions; and report any complaints of race discrimination and describe its investigation in response to the complaint. EEOC alleged that initially the owner offered the Black employee money and the use of a limousine if the employee agreed not to testify in the discrimination case. EEOC v. McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants, Inc. and McCormick and Schmick Restaurant Corporation, No. The complaint also alleged that defendant failed to retain employment applications. The consent decree also requires four hours of Title VII training for all Video Only employees. The settlement agreement resolves an EEOC commissioner's charge filed against the company. According to the EEOC's suit, Dellande was the first Black professor to have been allowed to apply for tenure at the ASBE, and was subjected to a higher standard for obtaining tenure and promotion than her non-Black peers. In accordance with the consent decree, the company must adopt, implement, and post a formal, written anti-discrimination policy, provide annual Title VII training for all managers and supervisors and report to the EEOC semi-annually on any instances where employees opposed unlawful employer practices. Cal. 2:10-CV-955 (D. Utah consent decree filed Apr. 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. In July 2008, an Oregon video company paid $630,000 to resolve an EEOC lawsuit alleging that two employees, an African American who was converting to Judaism and a Hispanic with some Jewish ancestry, were forced to endure repeated racial, religious, and national origin jokes, slurs and derogatory comments made by employees and upper management since the beginning of their employment in 2005. 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. Additionally, the EEOC alleged that an African-American telemarketer was paid less than a Caucasian telemarketer in a substantially similar job. Ill. consent decree filed 3/29/17). The case was reinstated and remanded to the agency for an investigation. EEOC v. Wells Fargo Financial Michigan, Inc., Case No. According to the EEOC's lawsuit, the company coded the preferences of clients who requested White caregivers, and made assignments based on the preferences. 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. In April 2011, the EEOC affirmed an agency's final decision because the preponderance of the evidence of record did not establish that discrimination occurred. The company's other two interns, who were White, participated in projects and worked closely with supervisors. For Deaf/Hard of Hearing callers: 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. EEOC v. Sealy of Minn., (D. Minn. Apr. The Commission affirmed the award of $50,000 in non-pecuniary damages due to complainant's emotional suffering, restoration of leave, payment of costs, and mileage. 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. The EEOC alleged that the temp agency violated federal law by matching workers with companies' requests for people of a certain race, age, gender and national origin and illegally profiling applicants according to their race and other demographic information using code words to describe its clients and applicants. In September 2013, Hurley Medical Center entered into a 5-year agreement with the EEOC to settle its lawsuit alleging that a White father reportedly demanded no African-American nurses treat his newborn baby. In reversing the Agency's decision finding no discrimination, the Commission found that the issuances of the disciplinary actions giving rise to these claims was motivated by discriminatory animus based on Complainant's race. is the contrast in races." The new GM also berated the personnel coordinator for assisting the Black employee with his complaint and intensified his harassment of him until the employee resigned. Under the three-year conciliation agreement, reached before any lawsuit was filed, Target has discontinued the use of the tests and made changes to its applicant tracking system, the EEOC said. Pursuant to the three-year consent decree enjoining the company from engaging in any further discrimination against any person on the basis of color, national origin, or religion, the contracting company also agreed to redistribute the company's anti-harassment policy to each of its current employees; post its anti-harassment policies in all of its facilities and work sites; provide anti-harassment training to its managers, supervisors and employees; and post a notice about the settlement. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.) disclosed on their resumes, could have served as proxies for race. Sep. 21, 2011). 4:10-CV-002070-SWW (E.D. "In the Matter of U.S. EEOC v. New Indianapolis Hotels LLC and Noble Management LLC, C.A. Ready Mix denies that racial harassment occurred at its worksites. 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 December 2004, the Commission affirmed an AJ's finding that a Black female complainant was subjected to discrimination on the basis of her race and sex with regard to the processing and approval of her application for telecommuting and her request for advanced sick leave. The contempt action charged that Danny's breached the terms of an agreement it entered into with the EEOC to resolve a racial discrimination and retaliation lawsuit. EEOC v. Hospman, LLC , Case No. The consent decree also requires the company to post a remedial notice for one year and to notify any potential successors of the consent decree. In May 2011, an IT service company entered a consent decree to pay $60,000 to an African-American employee who had allegedly been subjected to race discrimination and retaliation. In April 2015, a federal judge denied a motion to dismiss a claim of racial discrimination in hiring against Rosebud Restaurants, the U.S. Additionally, managers allegedly imitated what they perceived to be the speech and mannerisms of Black employees, and denied them breaks while allowing breaks to White employees. In one instance, the EEOC says a co-worker flaunted a swastika tattoo and talked about keeping the White race "pure." In January 2013, a federal jury found that two Black employees of a North Carolina trucking company were subjected to a racially hostile work environment and awarded them $200,000 in damages. Defendant did not announce the promotion until two months after Charging Party had begun the new job and did not issue Charging Party a cell telephone or a company e-mail address during his tenure in the 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. To reduce its backlog, the EEOC must close more cases than it receives each year and with fewer investigators. Chapman University, a private university in Orange, Calif., paid $75,000 and furnished other relief to settle an EEOC race discrimination. Spaeth had worked for the company for approximately 16 years and had consistently received positive performance evaluations from her managers, according to evidence presented at trial. 11-cv-134 (M.D. EEOC v. NYU, No. info@eeoc.gov In March 2012, a financial services company formerly located in various cities in Michigan agreed to settle for $55,000 an age and race discrimination suit brought by the EEOC. In a ruling last year, Judge Dale A. Kimball found that the Bratchers and class member James Buie were subjected to an objectively hostile work environment based on race. All of those who come forward to ensure the right to a workplace free of discrimination do a service to our nation. The record, however, showed that Complainant specifically listed relevant experience in all areas identified by the Selecting Official, and that the Selectee's application failed to establish relevant experience in two areas. 2:09-CV-923 (M.D. If the case is too serious for mediation or the employer declines mediation, then the EEOC may sue the employer. In addition to the monetary relief, the four-year consent decree provides for extensive injunctive relief to help secure a diverse workforce; requires JPPJATT to hire a consultant to review and revise its selection process and implement and train employees in the new process; enjoins JPPJATT from discriminating against Black applicants on the basis of race in the future; and requires the company to hold information sessions at locations in the Black community. . 7:15-CV-00151-F (E.D. The EEOC alleged the retaliation was so severe that one of the entertainers was forced to leave her employment. 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. 5:11CV00134 (W.D.N.C. proposed consent decree filed Sep. 25, 2012). The EEOC's findings arose from its investigation of the apprentice's appeal of his dismissal, which he filed with the court-appointed special master who monitors Local 25 and its JATC pursuant to past judicial findings of race and national origin discrimination. What is the average EEOC settlement? In October 2005, the EEOC obtained $650,000 for named claimants and an additional $70,000 for "unknown class members" in a Title VII lawsuit alleging that the owner of assisted living and other senior facilities in 14 states engaged in discriminatory hiring practices based on race and/or color. White employees and managers regularly emailed racially derogatory jokes, cartoons, and other materials to coworkers, and posted racially offensive photographs on the bulletin board outside the human resources office. According to EEOC's complaint, the company gave raises and paid higher salaries to all maintenance department employees except the department's lone African-American employee because of racial animus and allowed a supervisor to regularly use racially offensive language toward the Black employee, causing the employee to quit his job to escape the abuse. 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. The decree also provides for posting anti-discrimination notices, record-keeping and reporting to the EEOC. Egg Producer Allowed Supervisor to Sexually Harass Female Employee, Then Retaliated Against Her When She . The Commission claimed that the company illegally granted placement preferences to Hispanic temps over African American temps. In February 2020, an Illinois fencing company paid $25,000 to settle a race harassment case brought by the EEOC. In March 2004, EEOC settled a failure to promote case for $45,000, in which the company's president and CEO defended its action by arguing that the company was in "redneck country" and customers would not accept a Black man as an account manager. After screening qualified candidates using a Best Qualified (BQ) grid, the primary panel interviewed the five highest-scoring candidates, including Complainant. The agency employs about 570, down roughly 150 from a decade ago. . The harassment was both physical and verbal and included offensive comments based on race and national origin such as "nigger" and "African bastard" as well as explicit sexual expressions. Ala. Feb. 27, 2014). The complainant resigned and was replaced by a White junior account manager who earned a higher base salary than complainant had ever earned as an account manager. The hotel also agreed to conduct antidiscrimination training and implement procedures to investigate discrimination complaints. Employers paid more than $439 million to resolve U.S. Under the E-RACE Initiative, the Commission continues to be focused on the eradication of race and color discrimination from the 21st century workplace and is seeking to retool its enforcement efforts to address contemporary forms of overt, subtle and implicit bias. In February 2011, the EEOC filed suit against an electric company alleging race discrimination. Retaliating against a previous lawsuit filed and won as well as for fmla leave, race discrimination when two African American males assaulted me after calling the manager multiple times for help and he refused, after being distracted by verbal threats by one, the other sneaks beside me and shoved me until I eventually . Accordingly, the decision held that the Agency failed to take prompt action to meet its affirmative defense.