Dive Brief:
- Staffing agency WorkSmart has agreed to pay $150,000 and provide other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sex discrimination lawsuit, according to a Monday news release from EEOC.
- The Greenville, South Carolina-based company was charged with failing to hire or refer women for laborer positions on the basis of gender from Aug. 1, 2020, to Aug. 8, 2023. According to the EEOC complaint, “a client told WorkSmart that it would only accept male laborers at the facility,” and WorkSmart agreed to follow the discriminatory instructions.
- In an official statement released to HR Dive by Autumn Allred, marketing operations coordinator, WorkSmart said it had resolved the matter with EEOC. “We deny any wrongdoing, and believe this resolution allows us to move forward so that we remain focused on serving our clients, employees and community,” WorkSmart said.
Dive Insight:
The lawsuit was filed in 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, and EEOC said in Monday’s release that formal charges were only filed “after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement” through an administrative conciliation process.
“Staffing agencies should not comply with discriminatory requests from their clients,” Marsha Rucker, regional attorney for EEOC’s Birmingham District, said in a statement. “Federal law clearly prohibits sex-based discrimination in the workplace and staffing agencies are not exempt from compliance with Title VII.”
WorkSmart’s alleged actions violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on sex.
“As a woman-owned company with a long-standing commitment to fairness and opportunity, we will continue to ensure that we abide by lawful, inclusive hiring practices,” WorkSmart said. “WorkSmart upholds the highest standards of integrity across our operations."
EEOC has filed similar lawsuits in the past, indicating an interest in enforcement against staffing agencies that allegedly discriminate based on client requests.
In 2024, Anaheim, California-based staffing firm BaronHR settled an EEOC discrimination complaint for $2.2 million, which alleged that BaronHR repeatedly screened candidates based on race and gender. The staffing firm also allegedly discriminated against people with disabilities. Following the settlement, BaronHR wound down business operations and filed for bankruptcy.
EEOC settled a complaint against Buffalo, New York-based Staffing Solutions in 2022 for $550,000. That lawsuit alleged that the staffing firm “either refused to hire highly qualified Black applicants or placed them in the lowest paying, least desirable jobs.” That case also alleged that Staffing Solutions rejected pregnant applicants and agreed to clients’ preferences regarding race and gender.
“Employers should remember that Title VII prohibits refusing to hire or assign a worker because of their sex,” acting EEOC Birmingham District Director Linda Sales-Long said in Monday’s statement. “A staffing agency can also violate Title VII if it complies with a client’s request that is based on unlawful discrimination.”
