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The Great EEOC Roundup: May 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 caught my eye this month.


O'Reilly Automotive Stores Sued for Sexual Harassment & Retaliation

Earlier this month, the EEOC filed suit against O'Reilly Automotive Stores on the grounds that the company subjected a class of female employees at a store in Orlando to sexual harassment and retaliated against one female employee and forced her to quit after she complained of the harassment.  According to the suit, a supervisor at the Orlando store subjected female employees to a hostile work environment by making sexually charged comments.  After several female employees complained directly to the supervisor, O'Reilly managers allegedly laughed and retaliated against the employees that complained.  The suit claims that one female employees was subjected to abusive conduct and retaliation after she complained which culminated in her being forced to resign.  This alleged conduct is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits employers from fostering a hostile work environment and retaliating against employees that complain about harassing conduct.



A school district in Kansas, the Unified School District 245 LeRoy-Gridley (USD 245), has agreed to settle an Equal Pay Act suit for $11,250.00, brought by a former principal of an elementary school in its district.  The suit alleged that the principal, a female, was paid $5,000.00 less than her male predecessor.  After serving as principal for nearly a year, she complained about the unequal pay and was given a $1,500.00 raise.  When she left her position a year later, the school district apparently paid her male replacement the same salary as the prior male principal.  The EEOC proceeded to file suit on the grounds that the school district violated the Equal Pay Act of 1963 by paying male and females unequally for doing the same job with the same required skill, effort, responsibility, and working conditions.



A Chicago fitness club was sued after a claim was made that the employer allowed a female employee to be sexually harassed by another employee while working at the fitness club's restaurant.  The female employee claimed her complaints were subsequently ignored and she was ultimately terminated for making the complaints.  (Two other female employees at the fitness club also stated that they were sexually harassed by the same employee.)  This alleged conduct is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Similar to the O'Reilly case, above, an actionable claim for sexual harassment can exist whether the harasser is a supervisor or a fellow employee.  Employers, use this settlement as an example of why it is important to take claims of sexual harassment in the workplace seriously.

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