Transportation Company Pays $70,000 to Resolve EEOC Lawsuit

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

CHICAGO – A transportation company will pay $70,000 to resolve a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC sued the company in March 2010 on behalf of female employees who alleged they were sexually harassed by a senior manager.

The company provides patient transportation services in the city of Chicago. The EEOC’s lawsuit alleged the company’s former director of operations harassed several women under his supervision. The alleged harassment included quid pro quo advances where the director of operations demanded sex in exchange for pay raises, scheduling changes or continued employment. One of the discrimination victims in the lawsuit alleged the company terminated her on pretextual grounds, rehired her, and then subjected her to adverse terms and conditions of employment as retaliation for her prior complaints.

The company moved to dismiss EEOC’s lawsuit in April 2010 on the ground that the company is not the successor in liability of the corporation that owns it for the employment discrimination violations alleged in EEOC’s complaint. On Sept. 2, 2010, U.S. District Judge William J. Hibbler denied the company’s motion to dismiss, concluding that “[t]he EEOC…pleaded facts that make it plausible to infer that (the company) may be liable for the corporation’s obligations. It need do nothing more.”

Judge Hibbler entered a consent decree resolving this litigation on October 4, 2011. The decree provides $70,000 of monetary relief to five women. Two of the women who alleged egregious harassment will receive $25,000 each. Under the terms of the decree, the company is also enjoined from further subjecting any employee to a hostile work environment or retaliating against any employee who opposes discrimination. The company must post a notice about the EEOC’s lawsuit in a conspicuous location for two years and train its managers on employment discrimination laws.

“This case alleged (the company) allowed a high-ranking manager to abuse his position of power by demanding sex in exchange for promotions, schedule changes, and job security,” said John Hendrickson, the EEOC’s regional attorney in Chicago. “Title VII imposes strict liability when an employer terminates someone who rejects such demeaning quid pro quo proposals.”

“This consent decree requires (the company) to train its managers and other supervisory employees on anti-discrimination laws on three separate occasions over the next two years,” Hendrickson added. “It is in (the company’s) best interests to take these training sessions and the other non-monetary provisions  in this decree very seriously.”

In addition to Hendrickson, the EEOC’s litigation team from its Chicago District Office included Supervisory Trial Attorney Greg Gochanour and Trial Attorneys Brad Fiorito and Grayson S. Walker. The Chicago District Office is responsible for processing charges of discrimination, administrative enforcement, and the conduct of agency litigation in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and North and South Dakota, with Area Offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws against employment discrimination. Further information is available at www.eeoc.gov.

To learn more about the latest employment discrimination laws and to protect your company from potential liability, please contact Berkshire Associates at 800.882.8904 or email bai@berkshireassociates.com.