Dive Brief:
- Aaron's Inc. has agreed to pay $425,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claiming that black employees at a New York City warehouse were subjected to a race-based hostile work environment.
- The mistreatment included the "regular and open use" of racial slurs by warehouse managers who also directed other "vulgar language toward black employees," EEOC said. Black workers also were allegedly assigned more difficult tasks and longer delivery routes than others at the warehouse.
- In addition to the monetary settlement, Aaron's agreed to maintain an anti-discrimination policy, provide EEO training to all of its employees in the New York City area, and report future complaints of race discrimination to EEOC.
Dive Insight:
Discriminatory or harassment-filled work environments — even those that don't rise to the level of that alleged in the instant complaint — can get employers into trouble. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a plaintiff need not prove a "hellish" workplace to establish a hostile work environment. The court also noted that a supervisor's use of racially toxic language in the workplace is much more serious than a co-worker's.
The 7th Circuit also upheld a lower court's ruling for a former Costco employee who said she was stalked by a male customer. The court ruled that harassment need not be "overtly sexual" to create a hostile work environment under Title VII. Similarly, the 4th Circuit recently ruled that a false rumor that a female employee slept with her male boss to obtain a promotion could be legally actionable.
Still, petty slights, annoyances and isolated incidents generally will not rise to the level of a hostile work environment. According to EEOC guidance, the conduct must create a work environment that is "intimidating, hostile, or offensive to reasonable people."
HR can adopt several strategies to prevent and address hostile workplace claims. Experts generally suggest that HR provide anti-harassment training for employees and managers, institute robust reporting mechanisms and obtain visible buy-in from senior leadership to correct culture failings. And when it comes to preventing lawsuits, conducting good-faith investigations and creating thorough documentation is crucial.