Each month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) files lawsuits and settles cases covering the federal laws they are responsible for enforcing. These federal laws include:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
- The Pregnancy Discrimination Act
- The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2022 (PWFA)
- The Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA)
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA)
- Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
- Sections 102 and 103 of the Civil Rights Act of 1991
- Sections 501 and 505 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
- The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA)
Below is a list of lawsuits and settlements by the EEOC in from June 16 to June 30, 2024.
- EEOC Lawsuits
- EEOC Settlements
- Iron Hill Brewery to Pay $115,000 in EEOC Race Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit
- Weis Markets to Pay $75,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment, Disability Discrimination Suit
- Wheeler Trucking to Pay $65,000 to Resolve EEOC Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit
- Healthcare Services Group to Settle EEOC National Origin Discrimination Charge
- AMZ Manufacturing Co. to Pay $110,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit
- Tulare City School District to Pay $45,000 in EEOC National Origin Discrimination Charge
- Houchens Food Group to Pay $40,000 in EEOC Religious Discrimination Lawsuit
- Opportunities & Resources, Inc. to Pay $325,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
- Tres Hijas Berry Farms to Pay $200,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
EEOC Lawsuits
EEOC Sues Two Employers for Sex Discrimination
Allegations
Sex discrimination
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
Alabama
Summary
According to the Alabama lawsuit, Harmony fired a night auditor after management observed him styled and dressed in a manner they perceived to be feminine and that differed from management’s preferred appearance for male employees.
EEOC Settlements
Iron Hill Brewery to Pay $115,000 in EEOC Race Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit
Allegations
Race discrimination; Retaliation
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
Georgia
Summary
The EEOC suit alleged Iron Hill discriminated against an African American employee of its Buckhead, Georgia, location when it fired him because of his race and in retaliation for reporting discrimination against women and Hispanic employees. According to the lawsuit, an African American sous chef-in-training complained twice to Iron Hill that management employees were mistreating Hispanic employees and women, including a complaint that a woman was not being provided a safe, private space to express breast milk. He received an unwarranted disciplinary action and was then fired, the EEOC said.
Weis Markets to Pay $75,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment, Disability Discrimination Suit
Allegations
Disability Discrimination; Pregnancy Discrimination
Laws Involved
Sex discrimination: Sexual harassment
State
Pennsylvania
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a male supervisor at Weis Markets’ grocery store in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, subjected a female employee to a sexually hostile work environment that included unwanted physical contact and sexual comments. Another supervisor witnessed some of this conduct and failed to take action to stop it, and when the female employee reported the conduct to the general manager, Weis Markets failed to take reasonable action to end the harassment and prevent its reoccurrence, the EEOC charged.
Wheeler Trucking to Pay $65,000 to Resolve EEOC Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit
Allegations
Race discrimination; Religion discrimination; Retaliation
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
Ohio
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Wheeler subjected Charles R. Lynch, III, a Torah Observant employee at its Sheffield, Ohio, location to discrimination when they revoked his religious accommodation that would have allowed him to continue having Saturdays off to observe the Sabbath. The company also exposed Lynch, who is Israeli, to unlawful harassment that included likening him to a terrorist and mocking his religious beliefs.
Healthcare Services Group to Settle EEOC National Origin Discrimination Charge
Allegations
National origin discrimination
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
California
Summary
In a charge filed with EEOC, a woman employed as a “light housekeeper” at a nursing home facility in Concord, California, alleged that Healthcare Services Group prohibited her from speaking her native language of Spanish while in the workplace. The EEOC’s investigation found evidence confirming that her employer maintained a limited “English-only” rule.
AMZ Manufacturing Co. to Pay $110,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit
Allegations
Sex discrimination; Sexual Harassment
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
Pennsylvania
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, multiple male employees and supervisors subjected two female employees to a hostile work environment through sexually charged and demeaning sex-based comments. One of the women, a plater, endured unwelcome sexual advances, crude comments about her sexual orientation, and inappropriate touching, while a former female employee, a production planner, faced persistent catcalling, vulgar comments about the female anatomy, and was told “only if I can mount you first” when she asked a male employe to move a dry erase board. AMZ failed to take prompt and appropriate action to stop the harassment, the EEOC said.
Tulare City School District to Pay $45,000 in EEOC National Origin Discrimination Charge
Allegations
National origin discrimination
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
California
Summary
According to the EEOC, the Tulare City School District failed to promote an employee to the position of principal because of his Hispanic national origin, regardless of his qualifications and ability to do the job.
Houchens Food Group to Pay $40,000 in EEOC Religious Discrimination Lawsuit
Allegations
Religion discrimination
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
Indiana
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Houchens subjected Matthew Barnett, a Spiritualist Rastafarian, to discrimination when it refused to hire him for a position at its Hometown IGA store in Williamsburg, Kentucky because he needed a religious accommodation to the company’s personal appearance policy. Barnett’s religious observance requires that he wear his hair in dreadlocks, a style prohibited under Houchens’ personal appearance policy. When Barnett expressed his inability to cut his hair due to his religious beliefs, Houchens failed to consider an accommodation and denied him employment.
Opportunities & Resources, Inc. to Pay $325,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
Allegations
Disability discrimination
Laws Involved
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA)
State
Hawaii
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, from as early as 2015, ORI received multiple requests from Deaf employees for reasonable accommodations—such as American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters—for meetings, including critical safety meetings where ORI discussed chemical hazards and other safety precautions. ORI failed to provide sign language interpretation and failing to engage in the interactive process and employing ineffective accommodations like passing notes.
Tres Hijas Berry Farms to Pay $200,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
Allegations
Sex discrimination; Sexual Harassment; Retaliation
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
State
California
Summary
The EEOC’s suit said Tres Hijas Berry Farms subjected both female and male workers to a sexually charged hostile work environment at its Camarillo fields. Sexual harassment was perpetrated by the farm’s supervisor and included repeated, frequent and offensive sex-based remarks and unwelcome physical touching. The lawsuit also charged that even when comments were made within earshot of other supervisors and managers, none took corrective action. The EEOC said Tres Hijas Berry Farms failed to monitor the workplace, failed to properly investigate and respond to complaints, discouraged additional complaints from being filed, and retaliated against those who complained.
