Each month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) files lawsuits and settles cases covering the federal laws they are responsible for enforcing. These federal laws include:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
- The Pregnancy Discrimination Act
- The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2022 (PWFA)
- The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
- Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
- Sections 102 and 103 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991
- Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)
Below is a list of lawsuits and settlements by the EEOC in from September 1 to September 15, 2024.
- EEOC Lawsuits
- Colorado: EEOC Sues Three Employers for Workplace Harassment
- Florida: EEOC Sues Three Employers for Workplace Harassment
- Georgia: EEOC Sues Two Companies for Disability Discrimination
- Indiana: EEOC Sues Wabash National for Pregnancy Discrimination
- Illinois: EEOC Sues Helia Healthcare for Sexual Harassment, Disability Discrimination and Retaliation
- Minnesota: EEOC Sues FedEx For Disability Discrimination
- Tennessee: EEOC Sues Two Companies for Disability Discrimination
- Texas: EEOC Sues Dallas Barber and Stylist College for Pregnancy Discrimination
- Virginia: EEOC Sues Three Employers for Workplace Harassment
- EEOC Settlements
- Florida: ABC Pest Control, Inc. Conciliates Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Charge
- North Carolina: Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc. to Pay $80,000 to Settle EEOC Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Suit
- Washington: Monson Fruit to Pay $250,000 in EEOC Sex Harassment Lawsuit
- Washington: Boxlight Settles EEOC Charge Alleging Female Manager Was Intentionally Paid Less Than Male Managers
EEOC Lawsuits
Colorado: EEOC Sues Three Employers for Workplace Harassment
Allegations
Race discrimination; National origin discrimination; Harassment
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
Colorado
Summary
The agency filed suit against the airline after a manager harassed an employee who was born in Mongolia by calling him a “chink,” grabbing his arm to inspect his identification badge, and asking if he liked working for United before slapping him on the back and walking away. The harassment took place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when Asian Americans were experiencing increased public hostility and violence. United failed to investigate for months, which led to the worker’s resignation.
Florida: EEOC Sues Three Employers for Workplace Harassment
Allegations
Sex discrimination; Sexual harassment
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
Florida
Summary
The agency filed suit against the restaurant after one of its owners subjected female employees to a sexually hostile work environment. One of the restaurant’s owners, who owns the bar with two of his brothers, openly and on a daily basis, made sexually charged comments, propositioned his female employees to have sex with him, and touched and groped female employees without their consent. The other two owners witnessed the conduct but failed to take action. When a female employee complained about the harassment, she was terminated.
Georgia: EEOC Sues Two Companies for Disability Discrimination
Allegations
Disability discrimination; Reasonable Accommodation
Laws Involved
Americans with Disabilities Act
State
Georgia
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the applicant for a registration associate position requested a disability-related exemption to CHOA’s flu vaccination requirement based on a severe allergy to eggs, which are contained in the standard flu vaccination. The applicant provided medical documentation to support the accommodation request, but CHOA failed to provide a reasonable accommodation of a vaccine exemption or an egg-free flu vaccine. Instead, the EEOC said, CHOA rescinded its offer of employment based on the applicant’s disability and filled the position with an internal candidate who had “no issue” receiving the flu vaccine.
Indiana: EEOC Sues Wabash National for Pregnancy Discrimination
Allegations
Sex discrimination; Disability discrimination; Pregnancy discrimination
Laws Involved
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act; Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Americans with Disabilities Act
State
Indiana
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Wabash denied a pregnant employee’s accommodation request to transfer to a role that did not require lying on her stomach. Instead, the company forced her to take unpaid leave and ultimately gave her no choice but to return to her position without modification. The company’s decision to deny the accommodation request caused her to fear for the health of her pregnancy, the EEOC said, and she was forced to resign nearly eight months pregnant.
In response to her request, the company also unlawfully required medical documentation, and failed to accommodate even though it could have provided changes similar to those the company provides for non-pregnant workers with similar limitations, according to the suit.
Illinois: EEOC Sues Helia Healthcare for Sexual Harassment, Disability Discrimination and Retaliation
Allegations
Sex discrimination; Sexual harassment
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
Illinois
Summary
According to the suit, a nurse who worked at Helia’s rehabilitation center in Salem, Illinois, was sexually harassed by the director of nursing, which included unwanted physical contact, and she reported the harassment to management.
Also, when the nurse needed a short leave of absence in connection with planned foot surgery, Helia failed to provide leave or make any other accommodation. Instead, the company told her the only option was to quit and reapply for her job, if available. After the employee stated that she believed the failure to accommodate her leave of absence was retaliation for her sexual harassment complaints, Helia banned her from the premises, the EEOC said.
Minnesota: EEOC Sues FedEx For Disability Discrimination
Allegations
Disability discrimination; Reasonable accommodation
Laws Involved
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
State
Minnesota
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, since Nov. 29, 2019, FedEx maintained and enforced a 100%-healed policy against ramp transport drivers, who drive a tractor-trailer and operate mechanical equipment to load and unload pallets or containers loaded with freight. When FedEx learned a ramp transport driver had medical restrictions, FedEx put the driver on a 90-day temporary light-duty assignment. At the end of that light-duty assignment, if the driver still had medical restrictions, FedEx would place the driver on unpaid medical leave that expired after one year unless the driver qualified for short- or long-term disability benefits.
FedEx would not discuss reasonable accommodations with the driver that would have allowed them to keep working, such as getting assistance from other employees or using motorized equipment to help with moving freight. Instead, the EEOC said, FedEx kept them on unpaid leave until the drivers could prove they could work without any restrictions or their leave expired, at which time they were terminated.
The initial complainant, who filed the charge that initiated EEOC’s investigation, was a ramp transport driver working out of a FedEx facility in Minneapolis. She had sustained injuries that limited her ability to lift. FedEx placed her on temporary light duty, then unpaid medical leave, and ultimately fired her because she could not return to work without restrictions, even though she would have been able to perform her job with accommodations, the EEOC said.
Tennessee: EEOC Sues Two Companies for Disability Discrimination
Allegations
Disability discrimination; Reasonable Accommodation
Laws Involved
Americans with Disabilities Act
State
Tennessee
Summary
According to the EEOC, Berry Global violated federal law by forcing a disabled employee to take leave under the Family Medical Leave Act when it discovered the employee used three days of accrued personal time off (PTO) to manage her depression. Berry Global did not allow the employee to return to work without a doctor’s note, while also penalizing her with attendance points for her absences. When the employee could not quickly produce a doctor’s note, Berry Global failed to follow its own attendance policy, which allows for attendance points adjustments for employees with disabilities, and later fired the employee.
In a separate case, the EEOC charges that HHS unlawfully fired a blind employee two days after he fell at work, even though he was uninjured. Despite his exemplary performance for more than a year, HHS made no effort to reassess the employee’s capabilities after the fall before firing him, in violation of its own company policy. HHS discharged the employee solely due to his disability, despite his ability to perform the essential functions of the job, according to the suit.
Texas: EEOC Sues Dallas Barber and Stylist College for Pregnancy Discrimination
Allegations
Sex discrimination; Pregnancy discrimination
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
Texas
Summary
According to the suit, a pregnant woman applied for a hair braider position and performed a skills test for Dallas Barber with satisfactory results, but the company’s owner then informed the applicant that it already had a pregnant employee and did not want two pregnant women at its school. The lawsuit alleges Dallas Barber indicated it did not want to deal with the pregnant woman’s “condition,” referring to her pregnancy.
Virginia: EEOC Sues Three Employers for Workplace Harassment
Allegations
Race discrimination; Harassment
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
Virginia
Summary
The agency filed suit against the restaurant and its successor company after the owner subjected a Black general manager to numerous derogatory racial comments, telling him that he “look[ed] like [he] spoke thug language” and referring to him as the n-word; made frequent disparaging remarks about Black customers and employees—calling them “not smart,” “ignorant,” “ghetto,” and “riff-raff;” and canceled live music and karaoke events that attracted predominately Black patrons. Because of the persistent racism and lack of a complaint procedure or a human resources department, the general manager was forced to resign.
EEOC Settlements
Florida: ABC Pest Control, Inc. Conciliates Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Charge
Allegations
Pregnancy discrimination; Reasonable Accommodation
Laws Involved
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
State
Florida
Summary
In the charge, an employee alleged that ABC Pest Control fired her after she requested a reasonable accommodation to attend monthly medical appointments for her pregnancy. The termination violated the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which went into effect on June 27, 2023.
As part of the conciliation agreement, ABC Pest Control will provide $47,480 in damages to the former employee. In addition, the company will appoint an EEO coordinator, revise its employment policies to include making reasonable accommodations under the PWFA, provide training to both management and non-management employees, and provide quarterly reporting on requests for accommodations and complaints of discrimination.
North Carolina: Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc. to Pay $80,000 to Settle EEOC Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Suit
Allegations
Sex discrimination; Sexual harassment
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
North Carolina
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, for over a year, a female truck driver working at Balfour Beatty was subjected to harassment by several male coworkers. One coworker asked the victim to “talk dirty” to him, send pictures of her breasts and sit on his lap. He also sent her sexually explicit text messages. After the victim complained, the coworker’s conduct escalated. The victim was also subjected to a hostile work environment because she is female. The male coworkers called her sexually derogatory names on a regular basis, told her to “shut the f* up you stupid b**”, and told her “This is a man’s world . . . if you can’t handle it then go work for Walmart.” After the victim complained, she was denied an opportunity for advancement she was expecting and transferred to an undesirable work location.
Washington: Monson Fruit to Pay $250,000 in EEOC Sex Harassment Lawsuit
Allegations
Sex discrimination; Sexual harassment; Retaliation
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
Washington
Summary
According to the EEOC’s complaint, a Latina agricultural worker faced sexual harassment including repeated unwelcome advances and requests for sex from a manager in 2019. After she rejected his propositions and reported the conduct, her coworker husband was fired in retaliation, the agency alleged. The lawsuit also said that Monson management failed to act on reports of the harassment.
Washington: Boxlight Settles EEOC Charge Alleging Female Manager Was Intentionally Paid Less Than Male Managers
Allegations
Sex discrimination; Equal pay
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Equal Pay Act of 1963
State
Washington
Summary
In her charge, the complainant alleged that over a period of several years, she was paid less than her male counterparts despite having duties requiring substantially equal skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions. The EEOC’s investigation confirmed that for at least three years, not only was the complainant paid less for the same work, but that Boxlight knew and allowed the discrimination to continue.
