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Dive Brief:
- A Pennsylvania-based construction company agreed to pay $50,000 to settle allegations by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that it retaliated against a human resources manager for investigating complaints of sexual harassment against the company’s CEO, the agency announced Wednesday.
- Pro Pallet allegedly punished the HR manager for investigating the complaint; reassigned major parts of his work to others, such as hiring and posting positions, writing reports, and completing time and attendance tasks; and excluded her from company meetings, which led to her resignation, according to court documents. Neither Pro Pallet nor its attorney could immediately be reached for comment.
- Under the consent decree, the company cannot retaliate against workers who object to company policies they believe are discriminatory; must modify its discrimination and retaliation policies; must provide training on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and must report future complaints of discrimination and retaliation to the EEOC for the next three years, according to court documents.
Diving knowledge:
EEOC alleged that the company retaliated against the HR manager because he investigated complaints that the newly hired CEO threatened to “corner” a female employee in the break room and pressed her body against the his. The HR manager looked into this complaint, as well as complaints that the general manager left the door open while using the restroom and exited the bathroom with his pants unbuttoned, in full view of an employee’s desk. sue EEOC.
Allegedly, the company president only interviewed the CEO about the conduct and told the human resources manager to suggest that the female worker who was cornered change the way she dressed for work. He also told the human resources manager to “put to bed” the break room complaint, ordered her to stop the investigation and stopped talking to her, the EEOC alleged.
The EEOC said the alleged conduct violates Title VII, which prohibits retaliation against employees who challenge employment practices.
EEOC filed suit against Pro Pallet in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on July 2 US EEOC v. Pro Palletafter first trying to reach a pre-litigation settlement.
“This settlement provides fair compensation to the injured employee and will benefit Pro Pallet and its workforce in the future. This case underscores the importance of keeping workplaces free of retaliation, especially for human resources staff charged with protect other workers from discrimination,” EEOC Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence said in a statement.
