EEOC Attorneys Settle Race Harassment Lawsuit

In a press release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/2-16-10.cfm , U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) attorneys announced the settlement of the EEOC’s race harassment and discrimination lawsuit against the nation’s largest broadline closeout retailer.  The settlement includes total monetary relief of $400,000 to be paid to at least five employees along with a group of unidentified class members.  The company also agreed to a two-year consent decree that calls for the implementation of new policy, training, procedures and court monitoring to address harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

According to the press release, EEOC attorneys filed the race harassment lawsuit in 2008, alleging that the company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it subjected a black maintenance mechanic and other black employees to race harassment and discrimination at a California distribution center.  As further stated in the press release, EEOC attorneys contended that an immediate supervisor and co-workers, all Hispanic, made racially derogatory jokes, comments, slurs and epithets, but the company took no steps to prevent or correct it, despite learning of the harassment. 

In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including workplace racial harassment.  In Fiscal Year 2009, the EEOC reportedly received 33,579 charges alleging race-based discrimination, accounting for about 36% of the agency’s private sector caseload.  Historically, race-based charges have been one of the most frequent types of filings with EEOC offices nationwide.  Additional information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov . 

Whether workplace race harassment and discrimination occurs in Beaumont, Galveston, Port Arthur or elsewhere, victims may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine if a race harassment lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential employment discrimination claim.