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 1 to June 15, 2025.
- EEOC Lawsuits
- EEOC Settlements
- California: Elaine’s Pet Resorts Settles EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
- District of Columbia: Equinox Holdings to Pay $48,000 in EEOC Disability and Sex Discrimination Suit
- Georgia: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to Pay $50,000 and Undertake Remedial Measures in EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
- Louisiana: Bigfoot Energy Services and Iron Mountain Energy to Pay $697,500 in EEOC Race and Sex Harassment Suit
- Massachusetts: Bob’s Tire to Pay $250,000 in EEOC Sex, Race, National Origin Harassment and Retaliation Lawsuit
- Michigan: Navitas Systems to Pay $95,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
- Minnesota: Culver’s Restaurants Franchisee Settles Two EEOC Race, Sex, and Disability Harassment and Discrimination Cases for $261,000
- North Carolina: Champion Media Agrees to Pay $102,500 to Employee in EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit
EEOC Lawsuits
Alabama: EEOC Sues Ground Zero Blues Club for Sexual Harassment and Retaliation
Allegations
Sex discrimination; Sexual harassment
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
State
Alabama
Summary
The EEOC charged that one of the blues club’s co-owners subjected the assistant manager to a campaign of sexual harassment that included repeated unwanted sexual comments and multiple acts of forced sexual touching. The agency alleges that the assistant manager repeatedly complained about the co-owner’s harassment to no avail. Despite these complaints, the agency claims, the club failed to take any effective action against the co-owner to stop him from sexually harassing the assistant manager. The EEOC further asserts that the club retaliated against the assistant manager by firing her shortly after she submitted written complaints to the club’s chief financial officer against the co-owner.
Florida: EEOC Sues CEMEX Construction Materials Florida for Religious Discrimination
Allegations
Religious discrimination; Reasonable accommodation
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
State
Florida
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, CEMEX refused to allow an employee, who is an Apostolic Christian, a religious accommodation that allowed her to wear a skirt over her work pants. The company denied the accommodation because of its policy against loose-fitting clothing. The employee only wore close-fitting skirts over her work pants and was in compliance with company policy. Ultimately, the company forced the employee to choose between wearing a skirt or losing her job. The employee chose to continue wearing a skirt, which led to her termination.
South Carolina, Tennessee: EEOC Sues Carlstar for Disability Discrimination
Allegations
Disability discrimination; Reasonable accommodation
Laws Involved
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
State
South Carolina, Tennessee
Summary
According to the EEOC’s suit, since at least January 2020, Carlstar has denied opportunities to manufacturing employees when the company learned that those employees were lawfully taking certain prescription medications, including narcotics and opioids, for the treatment of disabilities, even after the employees were medically cleared to perform their job duties. The suit also alleges that Carlstar failed to consider or provide the workers with reasonable accommodations to the company’s drug testing and substance abuse policy that would enable employees to work while lawfully using their prescribed medications.
EEOC Settlements
California: Elaine’s Pet Resorts Settles EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
Allegations
Disability discrimination; Reasonable accommodation
Laws Involved
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
State
California
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, since at least 2021, Elaine’s Pet Resorts failed to hire or terminated employees who failed the company’s post-offer drug screening, despite the medications being lawfully prescribed.
District of Columbia: Equinox Holdings to Pay $48,000 in EEOC Disability and Sex Discrimination Suit
Allegations
Disability discrimination; Sex discrimination
Laws Involved
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
State
District of Columbia
Summary
According to the EEOC’s suit, Equinox rejected a female applicant with endometriosis and experience working for other fitness companies after she requested that her second-round interview for a front desk associate position be delayed by a few days due to her painful menstrual cramps. Equinox responded with an email saying she would not be hired, including that her qualifications were “excellent.” The manager who interviewed the applicant explained to her via text that she had been passed over “[o]nly because [of] the concern in the future if your absence may occur due to your monthly cycle,” according to the suit.
Georgia: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to Pay $50,000 and Undertake Remedial Measures in EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
Allegations
Disability discrimination; Reasonable accommodation
Laws Involved
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
State
Georgia
Summary
The EEOC charged in its suit that, in March 2021, CHOA rescinded a job offer to an applicant who had sought a disability-related exemption to CHOA’s flu vaccination requirement. After receiving a job offer from CHOA for a registration associate position, the applicant requested an exemption from the flu vaccination requirement based on a severe allergy to eggs, which are often contained in the standard flu vaccination. Despite the applicant indicating a willingness to take an alternate form of the flu vaccine, CHOA rescinded the applicant’s job offer because of her disability, and instead filled the position with an internal candidate who had “no issue” receiving the flu vaccine.
Louisiana: Bigfoot Energy Services and Iron Mountain Energy to Pay $697,500 in EEOC Race and Sex Harassment Suit
Allegations
Race discrimination; Sex discrimination; Harassment; Retaliation
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
State
Louisiana
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the companies’ employees, including management, frequently used the “n-word” and other racially derogatory terms when referring to black employees. Additionally, the companies failed to remedy the conduct of male employees who frequently engaged in sexually demeaning conduct, including sharing demeaning pornographic images of women and making sexually offensive comments. The day after a male truck driver complained about the sexually harassing conduct, he was fired. Other drivers were fired within days of complaining about workplace use of the “n-word,” the EEOC said.
Massachusetts: Bob’s Tire to Pay $250,000 in EEOC Sex, Race, National Origin Harassment and Retaliation Lawsuit
Allegations
Race discrimination; National origin discrimination; Sex discrimination; Retaliation
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
State
Massachusetts
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Navitas maintained a policy which required any employee returning from medical leave to be 100% free from restrictions. An employee suffered severe injuries to his left arm; his doctor temporarily restricted him from using his left arm but cleared him to return to work using his other arm. The employee could have completed the essential functions of his position using only one arm, but Navitas applied its policy, refused to allow him to return to work and fired him.
Michigan: Navitas Systems to Pay $95,000 in EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
Allegations
Disability discrimination
Laws Involved
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
State
Michigan
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Navitas maintained a policy which required any employee returning from medical leave to be 100% free from restrictions. An employee suffered severe injuries to his left arm; his doctor temporarily restricted him from using his left arm but cleared him to return to work using his other arm. The employee could have completed the essential functions of his position using only one arm, but Navitas applied its policy, refused to allow him to return to work and fired him.
Minnesota: Culver’s Restaurants Franchisee Settles Two EEOC Race, Sex, and Disability Harassment and Discrimination Cases for $261,000
Allegations
Race discrimination; Sex discrimination; Sexual orientation discrimination; Disability discrimination; Harassment
Laws Involved
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
State
Minnesota
Summary
According to the EEOC’s lawsuits, multiple workers endured harassment and discrimination at Culver’s Restaurants of Cottage Grove, Minnesota. Managers and other employees subjected a gay and African American employee to racial and homophobic slurs, including calling him the n-word and the f-slur frequently. They also commented on his body and sex life, among other offensive conduct.
A class of female employees also faced sex harassment at Culver’s, including unwelcome touching, stalker-like behavior, sexual propositions, unwelcome pet names and creepy gifts from adult employees targeting teenage girls.
The EEOC alleged in a second suit that Culver’s Restaurants of Cottage Grove also subjected a worker with an intellectual disability to harassment through frequent name-calling, derogatory language, unfair discipline and hostility, as well as underpaying him compared to other employees. The company failed to address the hostile work environment and discrimination even after receiving complaints, the EEOC alleged.
North Carolina: Champion Media Agrees to Pay $102,500 to Employee in EEOC Disability Discrimination Suit
Allegations
Disability discrimination; Reasonable accommodation
Laws Involved
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
State
North Carolina
Summary
According to the lawsuit, a deaf job applicant applied for a job at Champion Media’s printing facility in Lumberton, North Carolina. After participating in an initial conversation over the phone and with the assistance of a video relay service, the applicant, who met the requirements for the position, was selected for an in-person interview. The applicant requested that Champion Media provide a sign language interpreter as an accommodation for the interview. Instead of providing an interpreter, Champion Media canceled the interview and did not hire the applicant for the job, the EEOC said.
