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 February 1 to 15, 2026.
- EEOC Announcements
- EEOC Lawsuits
- Illinois: EEOC Sues Hotel Equities for Pregnancy and Religious Discrimination, Retaliation
- Missouri: EEOC Files Subpoena Enforcement Action Against NIKE
- Tennessee: EEOC Sues StoneMor Cemetery Management Company for Racial Discrimination and Retaliation
- Texas: EEOC Files Subpoena Enforcement Action Against NAPA Auto Parts
- EEOC Settlements
- California: Feit Electric, Inc. to Pay $100,000 in EEOC Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit
- California: Fresh Venture Foods, Gold Coast Packing and Babé Farms to Pay $900,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
- Colorado: Midwest Farms, LLC and Midwest Capital Services, LLC to Pay $334,500 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
- Louisiana: Shreveport Area Restaurants to Pay $34,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
- North Carolina: Kickback Jack’s to Pay $1.1 Million for Refusing to Hire Men
- North Carolina: Wilson Logistics to Pay $50,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit
EEOC Announcements
EEOC Lawsuits
Illinois: EEOC Sues Hotel Equities for Pregnancy and Religious Discrimination, Retaliation
Allegations
Pregnancy discrimination; Religious discrimination; Reasonable accommodation
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
State
Illinois
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, in 2023, a pregnant front desk clerk at the company’s Hilton-branded hotel in Oak Lawn, Illinois requested the ability to sit at the front desk rather than stand due to medical needs related to her pregnancy. Although a coworker initially provided her with a suitable chair, company management later took it away, replaced it with a small, backless stool, and discouraged her from using it. Shortly thereafter, the company discharged her in retaliation for requesting an accommodation, according to the suit.
The lawsuit also charged that in 2023 at the same hotel, a second front desk clerk, who was also an assistant pastor at a Baptist church, requested not to be scheduled for Saturday overnight shifts because it interfered with his ability to attend and sometimes lead services at his church on Sunday mornings. Although the company expressed its approval of his request, in practice it still scheduled him on Saturday night shifts — and continued to do so even after he objected. Not long after, the company retaliated against him by cutting his hours, according to the suit.
Missouri: EEOC Files Subpoena Enforcement Action Against NIKE
Allegations
Race discrimination
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
State
Missouri
Summary
According to the EEOC’s court filing, the agency is investigating systemic allegations of DEI-related intentional race discrimination, specifically that NIKE may have engaged in “a pattern or practice of disparate treatment against white employees, applicants and training program participants in hiring, promotion, demotion, or separation decisions, including selection for layoffs; internship programs; and mentoring, leadership development and other career development programs.”
The EEOC’s investigation and subpoena sought information related to these allegations, with some requests going back to 2018. Information sought included criteria used in selecting employees for layoffs; information related to the company’s tracking and use of worker race and ethnicity data, including as a factor in setting executive compensation; and information about 16 programs which allegedly provided race-restricted mentoring, leadership, or career development opportunities. When the company failed to produce all the information sought by the subpoena, the agency filed an enforcement action in federal court.
Tennessee: EEOC Sues StoneMor Cemetery Management Company for Racial Discrimination and Retaliation
Allegations
Race discrimination
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
State
Tennessee
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, StoneMor managers at a Memphis location restricted all black employees from a breakroom while allowing access to white employees. The company also fired a burial supervisor in May 2022 after a member of his crew complained about similar racial discrimination to the corporate headquarters and threatened to complain to the EEOC. StoneMor managers initially directed the supervisor to restrain his staffer from filing those complaints, threatening him with discharge if he failed, the suit said.
Texas: EEOC Files Subpoena Enforcement Action Against NAPA Auto Parts
Allegations
Race discrimination
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
State
Texas
Summary
In May 2024, EEOC Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal filed a Commissioner’s Charge under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 against Genuine Parts. The charge stated that the company may have engaged in a nationwide failure to hire and recruit African American job candidates since 2019.
During its investigation, the EEOC issued a subpoena to Genuine Parts, requiring, among other things, data and documents evidencing its hiring and recruitment practices, including information about its job applicants and employees, identification of company locations and positions available, material showing its hiring and recruitment procedures, and any related complaints of discrimination at the company. The charge remains under investigation, and EEOC filed suit in federal court after Genuine Parts failed to comply with the subpoena.
EEOC Settlements
California: Feit Electric, Inc. to Pay $100,000 in EEOC Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit
Allegations
Sex discrimination; Pregnancy discrimination
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act; Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)
State
California
Summary
According to the lawsuit, workforce provider Eastridge Workforce Solutions assigned a female employee to work at Feit Electric at its Pico Rivera, California warehouse location, where she was subjected to sex discrimination when she was discharged because of her pregnancy.
California: Fresh Venture Foods, Gold Coast Packing and Babé Farms to Pay $900,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
Allegations
Sex discrimination; Sexual harassment; Retaliation
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
State
California
Summary
The EEOC’s lawsuit charged that since at least 2016, male employees of Fresh Venture Foods and different staffing agencies subjected a class of female workers at the Santa Maria facility to ongoing verbal and physical sex harassment, which included frequent, unwanted groping of their bodies; unwelcome sexual advances and comments about their appearance; propositions for sex; and repeatedly asking them out on dates. The suit also alleged that the defendants failed to adequately respond to multiple complaints of sexual harassment, some of the female employees were subjected to retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment, and some employees quit because the working conditions were so intolerable.
Colorado: Midwest Farms, LLC and Midwest Capital Services, LLC to Pay $334,500 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
Allegations
Sex discrimination; Sexual harassment; Retaliation
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
State
Colorado
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a group of female farmworkers were repeatedly sexually harassed by a male employee who made regular sexual comments, propositioned female employees for sex and frequently attempted to hug, touch and grab the female employees without their permission. A male farm manager also entered the women’s dressing room on at least three separate occasions without knocking while female employees were either undressed or undressing.
Despite the employees’ multiple and persistent reports of harassment, the EEOC said, the company took no action for several years to curb the harassment, and it retaliated against at least one female employee by docking hours from her timecard after she reported the sexual harassment. This same employee eventually resigned due to the untenable working conditions.
Louisiana: Shreveport Area Restaurants to Pay $34,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
Allegations
Sex discrimination; Sexual harassment
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
State
Louisiana
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a male cook at Minden Seafood repeatedly sexually harassed a female cashier by making unwanted and inappropriate sexually suggestive comments to her, propositioning her, and following her into the women’s bathroom, where he exposed himself to her. She reported the cook’s behavior to a manager and requested working hours to avoid being with him. However, the manager took no steps to protect her from his sexually harassing conduct, and the female employee felt forced to resign in November 2021. She was also denied employment at Dorcheat Seafood and Grill, a sister restaurant to Minden Seafood, according to the suit.
North Carolina: Kickback Jack’s to Pay $1.1 Million for Refusing to Hire Men
Allegations
Sex discrimination
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
State
North Carolina
Summary
According to the EEOC’s suit, Kickback Jack’s restaurants systematically refused or failed to hire male applicants for non-managerial front-of-house positions, including server, bartender and host positions, dating back to at least December 2019. Between Dec. 1, 2019, and Feb. 18, 2022, of the more than 2,100 people employed in those positions at 19 locations across North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, approximately 3% were male, and some restaurants had no male servers at all. The suit alleged that Battleground had no legitimate business justification for failing to hire males in these positions and that the companies failed to comply with Title VII’s recordkeeping regulations.
North Carolina: Wilson Logistics to Pay $50,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit
Allegations
Disability discrimination
Laws Involved
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
State
North Carolina
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the applicant called Wilson Logistics seeking work as a truck driver. He possessed a commercial driver’s license, had relevant experience and an exemption from regulatory hearing requirements by the U.S. Department of Transportation. When the applicant spoke to Wilson through a video relay service, the company’s representative told him the company does not hire individuals who communicate through sign language. He also told the applicant that the company would not hire someone who could not read, write, and speak English.