• 25
  • November
    2011

A non-profit corporation will pay $65,000 in order to settle a retaliation lawsuit filed against it by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The lawsuit accuses the non-profit of firing an employee after he complained about sexual harassment and discrimination occurring at the company.

The EEOC lawsuit alleges that the male worker was repeatedly harassed by a female supervisor, who made offensive remarks and touched him inappropriately. When he resisted her advances, he clams the supervisor punished him by forcing him to perform demeaning tasks that he would not normally have been assigned given his position. The EEOC claims that he was terminated when he complained about the supervisor's behavior.

In addition to providing the worker with legal lees and $65,000 in damages, the non-profit will be required to make sure its managers and supervisors are properly briefed in company policy regarding workplace harassment and discrimination. The company must also implement procedures making it easier for employees to report sexual misconduct and establish a system for investigating such reports. The company must also post information regarding the importance of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace and forbids employers from retaliating against employees that complain about such misconduct.

An official with the EEOC explained that while workplace sexual harassment often affects women, men may be targeted as well and that sexual discrimination is not gender-specific. He added, "All employees should be allowed to perform their jobs without being subjected to abuse or to retaliation for reporting it." Another official with the agency described the settlement as a success, saying it properly compensated the victim and forced the corporation to take steps to prevent similar misconduct in the future.

Source: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "Mobile Community Action To Pay $65,000 To Settle EEOC Retaliation Suit," Nov. 10, 2011