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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2023
EEOC SUES MCDONALD’S FRANCHISE FOR
SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Federal Agency Charges Young Worker Was Harassed and Forced to Quit
ST. LOUIS – A McDonald’s restaurant in Checotah, Oklahoma, operated by franchisee Arch Fellow North LLC, violated federal law when a manager sexually harassed a 17 year-old worker, and she was forced to resign, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.
According to the suit, an adult male supervisor sexually harassed a teen girl who worked under his supervision in or around November 2021. After subjecting the teenager to sexual comments and innuendo for about a month, the male supervisor grabbed her by the waist in a dark, isolated storage shed and said he could rape her. When Arch Fellow North LLC learned about the incident and other sexual harassing conduct by the supervisor, it failed to take prompt or effective remedial action to protect the girl and other workers. Instead, the company allowed the supervisor to continue supervising the victim and other teenage girls. As a result, the teenage worker had no choice but to resign and was constructively discharged.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace. The EEOC filed suit (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Arch Fellow North LLC d/b/a McDonald’s, Civil Action No. 6:23-cv-00331) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement via its conciliation process. The EEOC seeks monetary relief for the victim, an order prohibiting future sex discrimination and harassment, and other relief.
“Unfortunately, workplace sexual harassment remains a persistent problem, and teen workers are particularly vulnerable,” said Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC’s St. Louis District Office. “Young victims may lack the self-confidence to challenge unwelcome conduct, and they can be susceptible to being taken advantage of by older workers. Employers have a responsibility to protect these young employees from unlawful harassment.”
David Davis, director of the EEOC’s St. Louis District office, said, “As frequent employers of young people, fast food businesses must be vigilant to ensure teen workers are not sexually harassed by older managers.”
The EEOC’s St. Louis District Office is responsible for receiving and investigating charges of employment discrimination and conducting agency litigation in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and a portion of southern Illinois, with area offices in Kansas City, Kansas, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
More information about sexual harassment is available at https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-
The EEOC’s Youth@Work website presents information for teens and other young workers about employment discrimination, including curriculum guides for students and teachers and videos to help young workers learn about their rights and responsibilities.
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.
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September 28, 2023
CLARKSBURG JATC TO PAY $150,000 TO SETTLE EEOC SEX DISCRIMINATION CHARGE
Apprenticeship Program Conciliates Claims Alleging that Female Applicants Were Denied Admission Because of Sex
CLARKSBURG, W.V. – Clarksburg Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC), which oversees an electrician apprenticeship program in North-Central West Virginia, has agreed to pay $150,000 and provide injunctive relief to resolve charges of sex discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
The EEOC investigation found that the Clarksburg Electrical JATC denied three female applicants admission to its apprenticeship and training program because they were female; used a panel interview and rank-order selection process that caused an unlawful disparate impact against a class of female applicants for the program, which resulted in denials because of their sex; and subjected a class of female applicants to a pattern or practice of denial of admission into the apprenticeship and training program because they were female. Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Following a reasonable cause finding during the investigation, the parties engaged in the pre-litigation conciliation process, which resulted in a settlement including monetary damages; hiring an expert to recommend changes to Clarksburg Electrical JATC’s selection process; and ensuring at least two female bargaining unit members sit on the interview panel responsible for selecting apprentices until the expert’s recommendations are adopted.
As part of the settlement, Clarksburg Electrical JATC also agreed to offer automatic instatement to the three complainants into the 2023-2024 apprenticeship class and provide the opportunity for a class of female applicants to re-interview for admission into the program.
“Clarksburg Electrical JATC offers a pathway to union membership and access to a good career in the Clarksburg area,” said EEOC Philadelphia District Director Jamie R. Williamson. “The EEOC commends the apprenticeship and training program for its openness to resolving these charges in a way that will give more qualified female candidates access to these opportunities.”
By agreeing to the settlement, Clarksburg Electrical JATC has not admitted to the findings of EEOC’s reasonable cause determination and denies liability for all claims.
For more information on sex-based discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sex-
The Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over portions of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, portions of Ohio, and West Virginia. Attorneys in the Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C., and portions of Virginia.
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.
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Sept. 29, 2023
UFP RANSON, LLC TO PAY $215,000 TO SETTLE
EEOC RACE AND RELIGIOUS HARASSMENT SUIT
Settles Federal Charges Lumber Manufacturer Subjected Black Muslim Worker and Six Other Black Workers to Harassment and Fired One as Retaliation for Complaining
Martinsburg, W.V. – UFP Ranson, LLC, a subsidiary of UFP Industries, Inc. that manufactures lumber and building materials in Ranson, West Virginia, will pay $215,000 to settle a race and religious harassment lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, beginning shortly after his transfer to the lumber-treating department in July 2019 and continuing until his discharge in June 2020, UFP Ranson employees subjected a Black Muslim worker to a hostile work environment because of his race and religion.
The EEOC charged that employees repeatedly called the worker various offensive, race- and religion-based epithets; told him that members of the Ku Klux Klan worked at the facility; threw objects at him while he was engaging in daily prayers; sought to block and intimidate him when he sought to access the time clock and shoulder-checked him when he attempted to pass; and required him to perform tasks by means that were unnecessarily onerous. The EEOC charged that one employee menaced the worker by making overt and implied threats of violence. The EEOC also alleged that the supervisor of the lumber-treating department offered a subordinate a pay raise if he agreed to harass the worker until he voluntarily resigned.
The Black Muslim worker and a second employee, the EEOC alleged, reported the harassment multiple times to their departmental supervisor and the facility manager, among others, but UFP Ranson failed to investigate their reports and took no action to stop the ongoing harassment. Finally, the EEOC said, 12 days after the Black Muslim worker told his departmental supervisor that he intended to contact the EEOC, UFP Ranson fired him.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, UFP Ranson employees also subjected six other African American workers to a hostile work environment because of their race. The EEOC charged, among other things, that employees repeatedly used offensive, race-based epithets in the workers’ presence, refused to help them complete work-related tasks that they helped other coworkers complete, and ordered them not to touch work equipment. The EEOC said that supervisors who personally witnessed or were later notified of the racial harassment took no action to stop it.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits harassment and discrimination because of race and religion. Title VII also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees because they opposed harassment or discrimination, or because they participated in any investigation, proceeding, or hearing under Title VII. The EEOC filed suit (U.S. EEOC v. UFP Ranson, LLC, Civil Action No. 3:21-CV-00149-GMG) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia in Martinsburg after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
On Aug. 17, the federal court denied UFP Ranson’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that the EEOC had presented sufficient evidence of racial harassment to warrant a jury trial, including evidence of frequent use of the epithet “n****r” in the workplace. The EEOC and UFP Ranson subsequently agreed to settle the case before trial and any findings concerning EEOC’s claims, and on Sept. 28, the federal court approved the agreed two-year consent decree resolving the litigation.
In addition to paying $215,000 to the class of seven claimants, UFP Ranson is prohibited from engaging in race or religious discrimination or retaliation in the future. The company must designate a management-level official to serve as an onsite local equal employment opportunity administrator. UFP Ranson must create and disseminate a revised anti-discrimination policy and distribute procedures to appeal the company’s handling or resolution of religious harassment and discrimination or retaliation complaints. The company must also provide training on Title VII to the local EEO administrator and other employees with authority to investigate or take corrective action in response to employee complaints of harassment or discrimination.
“Fostering workplaces free of unlawful harassment requires, among other things, that employers establish clear, accessible avenues for employees to report suspected harassment or discrimination, and that onsite supervisors and managers are trained to handle those reports,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence. “Employers need policies that clearly tell employees how to report such abuses. The law requires employers to exercise reasonable care to prevent and correct harassment.”
EEOC District Director Jamie Williamson said, “Too often, employers write anti-discrimination policies that look good on paper, but that are not implemented in any serious way. When employees report alleged harassment and discrimination in the ways that those policies tell them to, employers have a duty to deal with it promptly.”
For more information on race and color discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/
The EEOC’s Pittsburgh Area Office is a component of the Philadelphia District Office, which has jurisdiction over West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Attorneys in the EEOC Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C., and parts of Virginia.
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.
The EEOC attorneys who conducted the litigation received invaluable assistance from U.S. Department of Justice attorneys on the staff of William J. Ihlenfeld, II, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of West Virginia has initiated a Civil Rights Program to enforce federal laws protecting the civil rights of individuals in a broad range of areas. Information concerning the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Civil Rights Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/
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Sept. 29, 2023
EEOC SUES JACOBSON HOSPITAL IN NORTH DAKOTA HOSPITAL FOR RETALIATION
Employer Fired African American Employee in Retaliation Six Days After She Reported Racial Harassment, Federal Agency Charges
BISMARCK, N.D. – Jacobson Memorial Hospital Care Center, a critical access hospital in Elgin, North Dakota, violated federal law when it discharged an African American employee after she reported an incident of racial harassment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.
According to the lawsuit, in May 2019, a nursing aide reported to Jacobson that a co-worker called her the “n-word.” Six days later, Jacobson fired her in retaliation for making her complaint.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who attempt to assert their right to report what they reasonably believe is discriminatory treatment. The EEOC sued in U.S. District Court of North Dakota, Western Division, Civil Action No. 1:23-CV-00192, after first trying to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The case was assigned to U.S. District Magistrate Judge Clare R. Hochhalter. The agency seeks back pay and compensatory damages on behalf of the terminated employee as well as an injunction against future discrimination.
“Title VII makes it clear that employers must not punish employees filing harassment complaints,” said Greg Gochanour, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Chicago District Office. “Employees should not have to tolerate racially hostile name-calling in the workplace, nor should employers punish employees who speak up about such conduct.”
Diane Smason, acting director in the EEOC’s Chicago District Office, said, “The EEOC will heartily defend an employee’s right to speak up without fear of losing their job and hold employers accountable when they retaliate against their employees.”
For more information on retaliation, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/
The EEOC’s Chicago District Office is charged with enforcing federal employment discrimination laws in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa.
The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.
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