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The Great EEOC Roundup: August Edition


As always, there are some EEOC cases that jump out at me when I review developments on that front.  Below are a couple EEOC cases and settlements that stand out.


The University of Wisconsin System Hit With Age Discrimination Suit

At the start of the month, the EEOC announced that an age discrimination suit had been filed against the University of Wisconsin System after a 53 year old former employee applied for six different positions, and although apparently well qualified with 25 years of experience, the University instead hired a 23 year old candidate with less than 2 years of experience.  The suit alleged that the University refused to hire the former employee because of her age.  If this conduct is proven to be true, it would be in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 which prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee or applicant on the basis of their age.


EEOC Files Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Suit Against Piggly Wiggly

According to a lawsuit filed by the EEOC, Rockdale Grocery, Inc. d/b/a Piggly Wiggly, subjected two female employees to lewd sexual comments and sexual advances from a male employee.  Although this conduct was reported to a store manager on several occasions, the company apparently failed to take any action to stop the harassment.  Instead, the suit alleged that the company cut the hours of one of the female employees after she complained and later fired both employees after they filed a written complaint about the harassment.  Readers might have concluded that this conduct, if proven to be true, is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits sexual harassment and bars employers from retaliating against employees that report this harassment.



Recently, the EEOC and Coca-Cola announced a settlement agreement that had been entered into to improve the company's policies and practices for accommodation of employees with disabilities.  With this settlement, it resolves nine charges of discrimination that alleged the company had failed to properly accommodate employees with disabilities.  The settlement agreement includes Coca-Cola improving accommodations to employees that have returned to work after disability related absences.  As well, the agreement provides monetary payments totaling $2.25 million to those particular employees that filed charges of discrimination against the company.

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