Dive Brief:
- An Ithaca, New York, manufacturer has agreed to pay $93,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit alleging it subjected workers to "an ugly mix of sexism, racism and national origin discrimination," the agency announced March 3.
- A former plant manager for Porous Materials "used racial slurs" and made "crude racist remarks to the only black employee involving a noose," EEOC alleged. The manager also called foreign-born employees "terrorists," said he was "sick" of immigrants stealing American jobs, mocked employees for speaking other languages and urged immigrant employees to leave the country, the commission said, adding that he was "similarly abusive toward women." The owner also treated female employees more harshly than males rather than attempting to put a stop to the behavior, EEOC said.
- The settlement also requires that the company provide extensive training to its owner, managers and employees, modify its anti-discrimination policy and have an outside organization investigate complaints.
Dive Insight:
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids discrimination based on race, national origin and sex. "Slights, annoyances, and isolated incidents (unless extremely serious)" are not illegal, and a workplace must be truly "intimidating, hostile, or offensive to reasonable people" for an employer to be liable for discrimination including harassment, the EEOC has said. One court, for example, found that a few incidents over the span of multiple years was not enough to substantiate an employee's claims of hostile work environment, disparate treatment, retaliation and constructive discharge.
HR should make sure that a robust reporting system in place, experts say. Moreover, complaint procedures should allow employees to report concerns to more than one person, in case an immediate supervisor or HR rep is the alleged harasser, EEOC has said. Employers should follow up on employee complaints with a prompt and good faith investigation of allegations likely to land an employer in court and take swift and appropriate action where needed, according to employment law attorneys.
Failing to investigate and take action can create a culture of noncompliance and lead to lawsuits, while appropriate action can clear employers of legal liability. A Pei Wei Asian Diner restaurant in Arkansas, for example, was recently sued by EEOC for allegedly ignoring complaints that two managers were sexually harassing employees. Separately, a court recently held that an employer was not liable for harassment alleged by three truck drivers even though extensive evidence was presented of a hostile work environment because it took prompt remedial action sufficiently calculated to stop the harassment. When harassment was reported, the employer tried, within 24 hours, to separate the complainant from the accused and took a number of other actions to resolve the problem.
Compliance training also may be crucial for preventing discrimination and harassment claims. Experts suggest that employers conduct harassment training at least once a year, with separate sessions for managers and employees.