Sexual Harassment Complaint Retaliation

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (”EEOC”) New Orleans Field Office announced in a Press Release at http://www.eeoc.gov/press/10-2-09.html that agency attorneys filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against a Metairie, Louisiana transportation company, contending that the company violated federal law by creating a sexually hostile work environment for a female employee and then fired her in retaliation for complaining.  Sexual harassment and retaliation for complaining about it violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  According to the October 2, 2009 Press Release, EEOC attorneys charge in the harassment and retaliation lawsuit that a bus driver was subjected to repeated unwelcome touching, sexually explicit remarks and jokes, and requests for sexual favors by the company’s owner.  As stated in the Press Release, EEOC attorneys further contend that the owner fired the employee after she refused to engage in sexual activity with the owner.  The company provides a bus service for the New Orleans Metropolitan area, and, in this regard, the EEOC charged as well that the owner subjected other female employees to the same sexually hostile work environment.  An attorney for the EEOC’s New Orleans and Houston Offices stated, in part, that the EEOC will protect these employees from sexual harassment in the workplace.  EEOC attorneys filed the lawsuit in Louisiana after first attempting to reach a voluntary out of court settlement.  Further information about the EEOC and the laws enforced by the federal agency may be found in the EEOC’s website at www.eeoc.gov .