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EEOC Sues Three Employers for Workplace Harassment

Friday, September 13, 2024 9:00 AM | Anonymous member (Administrator)

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has filed a trio of lawsuits alleging that discriminatory mistreatment in the workplace created illegal hostile work environments in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

EEOC v. United Airlines, Inc.

  • The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.
  • The EEOC filed suit against the airline after a manager allegedly harassed an employee who was born in Mongolia by calling him a “chink,” grabbing his arm to inspect his identification badge, and asking if he liked working for United before slapping him on the back and walking away.
  • Allegedly, United failed to investigate for months, which led to the employee’s resignation.

EEOC v. Epiq Food Hall Woodbridge, LLC

  • The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
  • The EEOC filed suit against the restaurant after the owner allegedly subjected a Black general manager to numerous derogatory racial comments, telling him that he “looked like he spoke thug language” and referring to him as the n-word; made frequent disparaging remarks about Black customers and employees—calling them “not smart,” “ignorant,” “ghetto,” and “riff-raff;” and canceled live music and karaoke events that attracted predominately Black patrons.
  • Because of the alleged persistent racism and lack of a complaint procedure or a human resources department, the general manager resigned.

EEOC v. Rivers Edge Enterprises, LLC d/b/a River’s Edge Bar and Grill

  • The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
  • The EEOC filed suit against the restaurant after one of the owners allegedly subjected female employees to a sexually hostile work environment. One of the restaurant’s owners, who owns the bar with two of his brothers, openly and on a daily basis, made sexually charged comments, propositioned his female employees to have sex with him, and touched and groped female employees without their consent. The other two owners witnessed the conduct but failed to take action.
  • When a female employee complained about the harassment, she was terminated.

These companies’ alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination, harassment, and retaliation against employees who complain about unlawful conduct. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process in each of the three cases.

Last fiscal year, the number of charges the EEOC received involving harassment jumped more than 28% to 31,354, the highest since the Agency started monitoring harassment charge numbers in fiscal year 2010. Charges involving retaliation reached more than 46,000, a 31-year high.

Employers need to remain vigilant in preventing discrimination, harassment, and retaliation in the workplace. Employers must act promptly in investigating allegations and must immediately take steps to stop harassment and take appropriate disciplinary and remedial actions. SESCO has a long history of assisting employers with (1) training to ensure their workplace is free of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation; and (2) defending against administrative and court actions alleging they have engaged in discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

If any CATA Dealers have any questions or concerns, we recommend they contact us to ensure compliance.  For free assistance, contact SESCO at 423-764-4127 or by email at sesco@sescomgt.com.

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