©2025 Seyfarth Shaw LLP EEOC-INITIATED LITIGATION: 2025 EDITION | 38 37 | EEOC-INITIATED LITIGATION: 2025 EDITION ©2025 Seyfarth Shaw LLP KEY SETTLEMENTS SECURED IN FY 2024 EEOC v. Covenant Woods Senior Living, LLC and BrightSpace Senior Living, LLC, Case No. 4:24-cv00022 (M.D. Ga.) In its suit, the EEOC claims that in February 2022, the company fired a long-tenured, 78 year old receptionist, despite recognizing the employee’s contributions just a month prior. Her termination came shortly after the employee required a brief hospitalization. Upon her return to work, the general manager asked how long she intended to continue working, whether she needed to work, and whether she might prefer to travel and see family rather than work. Despite expressing her desire to continue working the general manager informed her that the company “lost confidence” in her work abilities due to her hospitalization. She was terminated the next day and replaced by substantially younger employees. Resolving the suit, the company agreed to provide $78,000 in relief to the victim, revise its ADEA and ADA policies, post a notice in the workplace informing employees of the settlement, and train all employees and supervisors on their rights and responsibilities. Moreover, the company agreed to provide the EEOC with periodic reports regarding future complaints of age or disability discrimination and a description of each employee’s allegations and the company’s response. EEOC v. RSPS Holdings LLC, SRS Milledgeville LLC d/b/a Shane’s Rib Shack, 5:24-cv-00049 (M.D. Ga.) According to the EEOC’s suit, a female employee—who was a college freshman at the time—was sexually harassed by a male manager from September to December 2021. During that time, on a daily basis, the manager made unwanted comments about the employee’s physical appearance, his romantic feelings toward her, spread false sexual rumors about her, and cornered her in areas of the restaurant demanding a hug or attention before allowing her to pass. The employee reported the behavior to her supervisor multiple times, but no effective remedial action was taken and her employment was terminated shortly thereafter. The company agreed to pay $56,500 and provide other relief to settle the lawsuit. KEY CASES FILED IN FY 2024 EEOC Equal v. Sanmina Corp., 5:24-cv-1317 (N.D. Ala.) The EEOC brought suit on behalf of an employee with osteoarthritis and other conditions that made movements such as walking across the company’s parking lot difficult and painful. During the pandemic, the employee worked from home without any negative impact on her performance. After the pandemic, the company began requiring all workers to return to working in person. The employee requested an accommodation of continuing to work from home. The company granted the employee’s accommodation request until further notice however, several months later, it terminated the employee’s employment due to her accommodation of working from home resulting from her disability status. EEOC Birmingham District Office DISTRICT PROFILE Director: Bradley A. Anderson Regional Attorney: Marsha Rucker Merit Cases Filed in FY 2024: 6 Average Days Between Determination Letter & Failure to Conciliate: 19 Average Days Between Failure to Conciliate & Complaint: 82 Average Days Between Determination Letter & Complaint: 118 MS AL FL Birmingham ©2025 Seyfarth Shaw LLP KEY SETTLEMENTS SECURED IN FY 2024 EEOC vs. TCI of Alabama LLC, 4:23-cv-1200 (N.D. Ala.) The EEOC filed suit alleging that the employer retaliated against a manager in violation of Title VII after a female job applicant filed a charge against the company. During the company’s internal investigation into the charge, a manager explained that the company had a practice of not hiring female laborers dating back to its founding. Allegedly, the company’s president pressured the manager to change his story, but the manager refused and was terminated. To resolve the suit, the company will pay $90,000 to the affected employee, implement and distribute an anti-retaliation policy to its employees and any staffing agencies, post a notice to employees concerning the settlement, and provide annual, mandatory training to owners, managers, and employees on Title VII’s protections. KEY CASES FILED IN FY 2024 EEOC v. Champion Media LLC, 7:24-cv-707 (E.D.N.C.) According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, a deaf applicant met the qualifications and applied for a job at the employer’s printing facility. After participating in an initial conversation over the phone and with the assistance of a video relay service, the applicant was selected for an in-person interview. The applicant then requested that the company provide a sign language interpreter as an accommodation for the interview. In place of providing an interpreter, the company canceled the interview and did not hire the applicant for the job. EEOC v. Epiq Food Hall Woodbridge LLC, 4 Brothers Props. LLC, 1:24-cv-1518 (E.D. Va.) The EEOC filed suit, alleging that the owner of the restaurant subjected a Black general manager to numerous derogatory racial comments, such as telling him that he looked like he spoke “thug language,” referring to him as the n-word, and making frequent disparaging remarks about African American individuals. Because of the persistent racist commentary and lack of a complaint procedure or a human resources department, the general manager was forced to resign. KEY SETTLEMENTS SECURED IN FY 2024 EEOC v. Suncakes, LLC d/b/a IHOP, 3:23-cv-00274 (W.D.N.C.) The EEOC filed suit on behalf of a former employee asserting claims for religious discrimination and failure to accommodate. Originally, the employee requested and was granted an accommodation of not working on Sundays in accordance with his religious beliefs. However, after a change in management, his new manager scheduled him to work on two Sundays. After working these days, the employee refused to work any further Sundays and the general manager precluded him from working his next shift and terminated him. The EEOC further EEOC Charlotte District Office DISTRICT PROFILE Director: Betsy Rader Regional Attorney: Melinda Dugas Merit Cases Filed in FY 2024: 7 Average Days Between Determination Letter & Failure to Conciliate: 114 Average Days Between Failure to Conciliate & Complaint: 65 Average Days Between Determination Letter & Complaint: 177 VA SC NC Charlotte ©2025 Seyfarth Shaw LLP
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