©2024 Seyfarth Shaw LLP EEOC-INITIATED LITIGATION: 2043 EDITION | 39 Colorado in the future, it will review and revise its anti-discrimination policies to prevent unlawful sexual harassment, including sexual harassment by residents. SAVA will also provide training to its employees in Colorado on how to properly care for and report residents who engage in hostile behavior or unwelcome sexual behavior. EEOC v. Roark-Whitten Hospitality 2, LP., d.b.a. Whitten Inn, et.al., Civil Action No. 1:14-cv-00884 (D.N.M.) The Company, a hotel, settled a Title VII lawsuit brought be the EEOC alleging that Hispanic employees were subjected to discrimination and a hostile work environment, including disparate treatment and racial slurs and comments. The EEOC charged that the Whitten Inn enforced a discriminatory no‑Spanish policy and a name-changing policy that made employees with ethnic-sounding names use an anglicized name instead. Several of the employees were fired or forced to quit in retaliation for complaining about the discrimination or refusing to anglicize their names or to stop speaking in Spanish to customers who spoke in Spanish. The two settlement agreements filed with and approved by the court require Whitten Inn to pay $65,000 and SGI to pay $22,000 in compensatory damages to the aggrieved individuals who were harmed by the discrimination in this matter. EEOC v. Circle K Stores Inc. (Conciliation Agreement) Circle K Stores Inc. entered into a nationwide conciliation agreement to pay $8,000,000 to resolve an investigation concerning disability, pregnancy, and retaliation discrimination charges concerning alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VII, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The EEOC had determined it had reasonable cause to believe Circle K denied reasonable accommodations to both pregnant employees and those with disabilities. The investigation also included allegations that employees were subjected to actions such as involuntary unpaid leave, requirements that employees be completely healed to return to work, and terminations. The settlement includes a class fund to compensate aggrieved individuals and covers impacted individuals employed at Circle K from 2009 to 2022. Circle K also agreed to: update its policies as needed; appoint a coordinator to provide oversight on pregnancy-related disability policies, requests for accommodations, and maintenance of records; conduct climate surveys and exit interviews with specific attention to the accommodation process; conduct anti-discrimination training for all employees, including management; and require performance evaluations of managers, including consideration of compliance with equal employment opportunity laws. The terms of the agreement are in effect for four years.
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