EEOC Resolves Sex Cases, Files Disability Bias Suit
May 15, 2017
In separate announcements, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported that it has settled unrelated lawsuits raising allegations of sex discrimination and sexual harassment, and filed a new lawsuit claiming disability discrimination against an applicant who is a paraplegic.
EEOC v Special Education Associates Inc. The provider of educational services to students with developmental and learning disabilities in New York City agreed to pay $57,000 and provide other relief to settle a sex discrimination suit alleging the company violated Title VII when its CEO asked a job applicant out on a date and suggested that she "party" with him right after he offered her a job at the company. After the applicant declined and said she hoped "we can move forward in a strictly professional manner," the company declined to hire her, and the CEO conducted additional interviews and hired a male candidate instead, according to the EEOC.
EEOC v El Chaparro, Inc. The Tex-Mex restaurant in Covington, Georgia, will pay $20,000 and furnish other relief to settle a sexual harassment suit claiming that the restaurant violated Title VII when one of its owners sexually harassed four female servers at its Greensboro, Georgia, location. The general manager/co-owner allegedly showed the servers pictures and videos containing sexual images, talked about the servers' sex lives, and showed the servers shirtless photos of himself on a regular, sometimes daily, basis. Although the servers complained about the sexual harassment to the restaurant's other owner, El Chaparro failed to take any action to stop the harassment, the EEOC said.
EEOC v Asurion, LLC The new agency lawsuit asserts that the customer service support provider for electronic devices violated the ADA by refusing to hire an applicant at its former Meridian, Mississippi, location because she is a paraplegic. The applicant sought a customer care representative position online. After reviewing her application, Asurion telephoned the applicant to discuss her interest in and availability for a position at its Meridian location. When the interviewer learned applicant was paralyzed from the waist down, the interviewer abruptly ended the interview without inquiring into her skills and relevant work experience, according to the EEOC. Asurion purportedly rejected the applicant for the position shortly thereafter.
