18th Annual Workplace Class Action Report - 2022 Edition

42 Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report: 2022 Edition industry. The company agreed to refrain from entering or enforcing no-poach agreements with competitors and will not agree with any competitor to in any way refrain from, request that any competitor refrain from, or pressure any competitor in any way to refrain from soliciting, recruiting, or otherwise competing for employees. 7. United States, et al. v. Baltimore County , Maryland, No. 19-CV-2465 (D. Md. May 19, 2021). The Court granted settlement approval in a class action alleging that Baltimore County’s written examinations for selecting entry-level police officers and cadets had a disparate impact on African-American applicants and were not job-related and consistent with business necessity. Under the terms of the settlement, Baltimore County was enjoined from using the challenged exams and the results any written exam as part of the selection process for entry-level police officers or cadets in any manner that resulted in a disparate impact upon African-American applicants and was not shown to be job-related and consistent with business necessity. Baltimore County also agreed to adopt and use a new selection device, developed by a third-party test developer, that had no statistically significant adverse impact on the basis of race, or, if it had such impact, it must demonstrate it to be job-related for the police officer and cadet position and consistent with business necessity. Additionally, the settlement provided that 20 priority hires would receive: (i) an award of retroactive seniority; (ii) a hiring bonus in lieu of retroactive pension benefits; and (iii) vacation days granted upon graduation. 8. EEOC v. Route 22 Sports Bar, Inc. , Case No. 21-CV-7 (N.D. W.Va. Oct. 20, 2021). The Court granted the entry of a consent decree in an EEOC lawsuit alleging that the male spouse of an owner of two restaurants subjected a female bartender and other employees to severe, unwanted, and offensive sexual harassment, including luring female employees to his secluded office, propositioning certain female workers for sex, and subjecting them to unwanted sexual touching and comments. In addition to monetary relief, the restaurants will provide significant equitable relief, including prohibiting the owner’s male spouse from holding any supervisory position and having any direct contact with employees while acting on behalf of either restaurant; adopting robust sexual harassment and anti-retaliation policies; establishing a complaint procedure for employees to report harassment or retaliation; providing specialized training on conducting sexual harassment investigations; and consenting to EEOC compliance monitoring and reporting requirements. 9. EEOC v. Chicago Meat Authority , Case No. 18-CV-01357 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 11, 2021). The Court approved a consent decree in an EEOC lawsuit against a meat processor who allegedly favored hiring Hispanic employees over African-American employees, even though the company is located in a largely Black neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. In addition to monetary relief, the consent decree mandated the hiring of rejected applicants who still want jobs at the company, required the company to make good faith efforts to reach hiring goals for Black employees, and mandated the implementation of anti-harassment training and policies. 10. State Of California v. Amazon.com Services LLC , Case No. 34-2021-00311063 (Cal. Super. Ct. Nov. 16, 2021). Following an investigation by the California Attorney General into Amazon’s pandemic safety policies, the parties entered into a stipulation for entry of final judgment that includes an array of injunctive relief provisions relative to workplace safety. In addition to monetary relief of $500,000, Amazon agreed to inform warehouse workers in California about safety protocols and COVID-19 outbreaks in its facilities within 48 hours. Further, it requires Amazon to allow the Attorney General to monitor communications relative to COVID-19 notifications.