Racial discrimination at work is the most common reason for a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), accounting for nearly 33% of all charges filed in 2020. In September 2014, McCormick & Schmick's settled a 2008 EEOC lawsuit, alleging a pattern or practice of race discrimination against African-American job applicants by refusing to hire them for front-of-the-house positions and by denying equal work assignments because of their race. The Commission said certain Black workers were highly qualified to become Team Leaders, but the company hired White applicants who were less qualified for the job. In August 2007, a San Jose body shop agreed to pay $45,000 to settle a sexual and racial harassment lawsuit filed by the EEOC, in which a male auto body technician of Chinese and Italian ancestry was taunted daily by his foreman with sexual comments, racial stereotypes and code words, including calling him "Bruce Lee." A consent decree required the company to pay $200,000 to the victims and enjoined future discrimination; to actively recruit Native Americans for available positions; to implement and publish a policy and procedure for addressing harassment and retaliation that includes an effective complaint procedure, and to report to EEOC on complaints of retaliation and harassment based on Native American heritage. In May 2009 a North Carolina-based restaurant entered a three-year consent decree to pay $14,700 and provide a positive letter of reference for the claimant. The EEOC filed its lawsuit (EEOC v. Walmart Stores East LP, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Case No. Though the company hired 52 of its predecessor's former employees, none of them were Black. The Caucasian employee also was called derogatory names, such as "N-lover," when she turned down customers for dates. contractor, paid $25,000 and furnished other relief to settle an employment discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. Additional remedies were injunctive relief enjoining each defendant from engaging in racial harassment or retaliation; anti-discrimination training; the posting of a notice about the settlement; and reporting complaints of racial harassment to the EEOC for monitoring. 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 January 2004, the Commission affirmed an AJ's finding that complainant was subjected to associational race discrimination (African-American who associates with White employees). In January 2008, the EEOC settled a race and national origin discrimination case against a Nevada U-Haul company for $153,000. When the Rastafarians complained, a white security supervisor made light of the physical threat and implied the Rastafarians were at fault. 1:13-cv-00473-WS-N (S.D. 22, 2012). EEOC v. Torqued-Up Energy Services, Inc., No. The judge faulted Noble Management LLC and New Indianapolis Hotels for failing to: (1) properly post notices; (2) properly train management employees; (3) keep employment records; (4) institute a new hiring procedure for housekeeping employees; and (5) reinstate three former housekeeping employees. The agreement resolves a lawsuit filed by the EEOC in September 2011. The supervisor also allegedly threatened Robinson, that he would "get back at" him for the "terrible things whites had done to blacks" in the past and allegedly berated him for being "too old" for the job and "washed up" in the industry. The jury found that the retailer failed to accommodate Marlo Spaeth, a longtime employee with Down syndrome, and then fired her in July . In another recent California case, Kourtney Liggins sued the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for wrongful termination related to her pregnancy. 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. 2:14-cv-02740 (W.D. In April 2009, high-end retailer Nordstrom settled an EEOC lawsuit alleging that it permitted the harassment despite complaints by Hispanic and Black employees about a department manager who said she "hated Hispanics" and that they were "lazy" and "ignorant" and that she didn't like Blacks and told one employee, "You're Black, you stink." 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. The defendants in the most high-profile cases were: The consent decree enjoins the restaurant from discriminating based on race in hiring or promotion into the bartender position, requires the restaurant to adopt a written anti-discrimination policy, provide Title VII training to all managers and supervisors, keep records related to any future complaints alleging racial discrimination in hiring or promotion, and submit reports to the EEOC. 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 Commission also noted that the agency did not produce any rating sheets from the interview panel, and that complainant appeared to possess similar qualifications to the other selectees. As part of the decree, the provider also agreed to extensive changes in its employment policies, to engage in "active recruitment" of African American employees, to hire previously rejected Black applicants, to implement training on discrimination and retaliation, and to hire an outside monitor to review compliance with the decree. In November 2006, the EEOC affirmed an AJ's findings that a federal employee complainant was not selected for promotion to Team Leader based on race (African American), sex (female) and age (DOB 2/14/54), notwithstanding her qualifications, and that she was subjected to discriminatory harassment by the same management official. EEOC v. Regis Corp., Civil Action No. A blind individual applied as a night warehouse loader after his company eliminated his previous position as a driver's aide. That lawsuit was resolved by a 2009 consent decree which prohibited Grand Central Partnership from retaliating against Rastafarian security officers for their participation in the lawsuit, but the developer's current conduct constituted a breach of the earlier consent decree. In July 2017, Bass Pro Outdoor World LLC agreed, without admitting wrongdoing, to pay $10.5 million to a class of African-American and Hispanic workers the EEOC alleged it discriminated against by failing to hire because of their race and/or national origin in violation of Title VII. The AJ awarded 28 months of back pay and 24 months of from pay; lost benefits; compensatory damages of $120,000 for physical and mental pain and suffering; and approximately $40,000 in attorney's fees and costs. In a 2-1 decision partially overturning a federal trial court in Louisiana, the divided panel found that EEOC established a prima facie case of "work-rule" discrimination against Kansas City Southern Railway Co. on behalf of two of the four claimants. Scully denied all of EEOC's allegations, but it and its successor Ryder System Inc. agreed to resolve the suit. It also must create a policy to prohibit harassment and retaliation and provide training on preventing discrimination, harassment and retaliation. The EEOC also found that Black and Hispanic employees were disciplined for violating company policies while Caucasian employees who violated the same policies were not disciplined. The suit alleged that a Black former night crew lumberman/forklift operator was subjected to a racially hostile work environment because management condoned racial remarks by his supervisors who called him "Black dog," "Black boy," a "worthless [racial epithet]" and told him that the Supreme Court had found Black people to be "inferior.". 15-11850 (11th Cir. 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. Although this can potentially happen, typically, you may be able to resolve the matter earlier through negotiations directly between your counsel and counsel for your employer or mediation. The consent decree also includes provisions for equal employment opportunity training, reporting, and posting of anti-discrimination notices. The 5-year decree, which applies to Roadway and YRC, Roadway's identity after it merged with Yellow Transportation, includes $10 million in monetary relief, $8.5 million to be paid upon preliminary approval of the decree and the remainder in three subsequent installments due on or before November 1 of 2011, 2012, and 2013. The managers of the club used racial slurs when speaking of and to the doormen, forced them to work in the back of the club instead of at the entrance, and complained that "black music makes the club look bad." The agency was ordered to reinstate complainant to a Registered Nurse position in a different work area, with back pay and benefits, pay complainant $10,000 in compensatory damages, and provide training to her former unit. 9:15-cv-04047-CWH-BM (D.S.C. Additionally, the restaurant must train its employees in anti-discrimination laws and policies and impose appropriate disciplinary measures against supervisors who engage in discrimination. In January 2009, a cocktail lounge agreed to pay $41,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit alleging that the lounge engaged in race and religious discrimination when it refused to promote an African American employee who wears a headscarf in observance of her Muslim faith to be a cocktail server because the owner said she was looking only for what she termed "hot, White girls." 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. Mar. 7, 2015). The doll was hung from a hook and displayed in the middle of the facility. 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. 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. The AJ found that the harassment ultimately led to proposed disciplinary action and complainant's constructive discharge. 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. 2:09-cv-00923 (M.D. According to the EEOC, the six-year employee had his work scrutinized more critically than non-Black employees, was placed on a performance improvement plan because of his race, and was fired when he complained despite his excellent performance history and numerous awards. In February 2009, the Sixth Circuit published a favorable decision in a Title VII associational discrimination case in which the EEOC participated as amicus curiae. Under the two-year consent decree, the company is enjoined from engaging in retaliation, must instate a new policy on retaliation, and provide two hours of Title VII (including retaliation) training to all personnel in Little Rock. As background, the EEOC filed suit against operators New Indianapolis Hotels LLC and Noble Management LLC in September 2010, alleging that their Hampton Inn fired African-American housekeepers because of their race and in retaliation for complaints about race discrimination. Other African-American employees were subjected to racial harassment, such as a White supervisor placing a hangman's noose on a piece of machinery. EEOC v. Whirlpool Corp., No. Despite complaining to management, the African-American employee's compensation remained the same until she resigned. 1981), which were consolidated for purposes of settlement. Should Maritime reopen and reactivate its Maryland facilities, it shall be enjoined from creating or maintaining a hostile work environment and inferior economic terms and conditions of employment on the basis of national origin or 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. In addition, one of the individuals on the interview panel stated that the Selectee was not completely qualified for the position. Despite at least eight years of efforts by the EEOC, which included two EEOC charges, three prior lawsuits and contempt proceedings and three consent decrees Danny's continued to discriminate against the dancers. According to the EEOC's lawsuit, the company refused to hire a Black job applicant for a deckhand position because of his race in violation of Title VII. 2000e-2(a)(2) requires only that the transfer had a "tendency to deprive a person of employment opportunities," but concluded that there was "[n]o evidence" in the record to make the requisite showing in this case. For example, "circle dots" referred to the clients that preferred Caucasian caregivers. Via this law, it is illegal to discriminate against these employees in various matters of employment. filed Sep. 29, 2012). One week before the class was to graduate, the third and last Black student was removed from the program. 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?" The employees complained to several supervisors and the Human Resources Department, and the offending employees were occasionally warned, but the hostile environment continued. The EEOC ordered the BOP, among other things, to consider disciplinary action against the supervisor and to pay the job seeker damages. 4:13-cv-92(SA)(JMV) (N.D. Miss. EEOC v. AA Foundries Inc., No. 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. During the first month of 2020, EEOC has settled nineteen discrimination lawsuits. In addition to the monetary settlement, the company agreed to terminate the harassers and make significant policy changes to address any future discrimination. In June 2013, the EEOC and J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. settled a race discrimination charge alleging the nationwide transportation company engaged in unlawful race discrimination by rejecting a Black truck driver applicant because of a prior criminal conviction unrelated to his prospective job duties. 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. 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. The lawsuit further charged that the company suspended and then fired all three employees for complaining about the harassment. Tenn. Jan. 29, 2015). 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. 2, 2017). 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. Within hours of his final complaint, the coater was fired, allegedly in retaliation for his complaints of racial harassment.