A grocer in Merrillville, Indiana will be $200,000 lighter after paying a class of women who were allegedly denied positions because of their sex.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit against Ultra Foods after it violated a provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by rejected female applicants for a night crew stock position from January 2010 to June 2014 and illegally disposed of hiring records it should have maintained.
“Ultra Foods adhered to antiquated gender-based notions of how it should fill its night-crew stocker position,” said Laurie Young, EEOC regional attorney, in a statement. “This resulted in Ultra Foods hiring only two females and more than 65 males in over four and a half years at its Merrillville store.”
A consent decree resolving the suit, to remain in effect until July 2018, requires that Ultra Foods not discriminate or retaliate in the future, keep all hiring records, and train managers. The store location must also offer one of every four night-crew stocking positions to a woman who was involved in the lawsuit.
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As part of an agreement, Roto Rooter agreed to pat $100,000 to settle a disability discrimination charge related to the treatment of an Iraq War veteran, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The EEOC said an investigation revealed Plymouth, Minnesota-based Roto Rooter fired an employee after denying him reasonable accommodations for service-related disabilities from the Iraq War. The EEOC believed this Roto Rooter location violated the Americans with Disabilities (ADA) Act.
The EEOC said it appreciate Roto Rooter’s cooperation to resolve the charge before litigation. Julianne Bowman, district director of the EEOC’s Chicago District said: “Firing a war veteran for his disabilities incurred serving his country is just plain wrong and clearly violates federal law.”
Roto Rooter agreed to provide training on the ADA and report employee requests for reasonable accommodation to the EEOC.
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Hospman, a hospitality management services company that operates hotels in the Fort Myers, Florida area, faces a lawsuit filed by the EEOC.
The company allegedly violated federal law by firing black employees of the Four Points by Sheraton Fort Myers Airport, based on their race.
Hospman fired several black employees in August 2012. EEOC alleges Hospman CEO Jose Carvalho ordered housekeeping supervisor Tinica Jones to terminate all of the housekeepers—each are non-Hispanic and all but one of whom were black—because he did not work with “those people.” Carvalho also allegedly asked Jones about her race and, upon learning that she was black, and not Hispanic, fired her as well.
Risha Stewart, the only black front desk attendant, was also terminated, while other non-black front desk workers were allowed to continue their employment, said the EEOC.
Robert Weisberg, regional attorney for the Miami District Office, said: “This suit is a reminder that race discrimination in the workplace persists. EEOC takes its duty to protect workers against such injustice very seriously and will zealously prosecute employers that deprive people of employment opportunities simply because of their race or national origin.”
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The EEOC said it has filed a lawsuit against a nationwide provider of janitorial and facilities-management services for allegedly violating the Civil Right Act of 1964 by not keep records related to its use of an applicant’s criminal history to make hiring decisions.
Crothall Services Group of Wayne, Pennsylvania is in violation of federal law requiring it to maintain records or other information that will disclose the impact its employee selection procedures have on equal employment opportunities, said the EEOC.
“Federal record-keeping requirements ensure that certain employers make and keep records that disclose the impact of their selection procedures,” said Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence of EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office. “EEOC’s enforcement of the record-keeping requirements is important to the agency’s commitment to eliminating discriminatory barriers in the workplace.”
The company fails to make and keep required records to keep track of the impact that its criminal history assessments have on persons identifiable by race, sex or ethnic group, the agency charged.
The agency is seeking injunctive relief requiring the company to comply with the federal record-keeping requirements.
Chad Hemenway is Managing Editor of Advisen News. He has more than 15 years of journalist experience at a variety of online, daily, and weekly publications. He has covered P&C insurance news since 2007, and he has experience writing about all P&C lines as well as regulation and litigation. Chad won a Jesse H. Neal Award for Best Single Article in 2014 for his coverage of the insurance implications of traumatic brain injuries and Best News Coverage in 2013 for coverage of Superstorm Sandy. Contact Chad at 212.897.4824 or [email protected].
