Denying women the opportunity to collect garbage? That’ll cost you $179k
Gotta hand it to the folks at the EEOC — they’ll take on cases that cover the entire spectrum of job descriptions.
A federal judge recently ruled in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in a sex discrimination lawsuit against a Louisiana staffing firm.
The EEOC had charged that Workplace Staffing Solutions, LLC, which operates an office in Gulfport, MS, violated federal law when it failed to hire six women for residential temporary trashcan collector (RTCC) positions in Harrison County, MS, because of their gender.
Chief U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr. ordered Workplace Staffing to pay $179,000 in total monetary damages, according to the default judgment entered earlier this month.
EEOC initially filed suit against Workplace Staffing in October 2015, charging that in September 2012, Workplace Staffing prevented qualified females, including Jonika Walton, from applying for an open RTCC position.
Walton was told by a company representative the position was a “male-only” job.
The court also found that Workplace Staffing denied at least five other qualified women the opportunity to apply for such positions because of their sex. Workplace Staffing told one woman it had only “industrial jobs that are usually for men,” while another was told that the RTCC job was “more of a job for a guy.”
The EEOC suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi after settlement efforts failed.
After being served with notice of EEOC’s suit, the company failed to respond EEOC’s allegations, and, as a result, the court found Workplace Staffing liable for discriminatory conduct and awarded monetary relief totaling $179,000, including punitive damages, compensatory damages and back pay.
“Sex discrimination continues to be a barrier for women seeking employment,” C. Emanuel Smith, regional attorney for EEOC’s Birmingham District Office, said in a press release. “EEOC believes this is a significant problem for women who seek temporary employment through some staffing agencies. The law demands that women receive equal employment opportunities. Employers are not allowed to presume that women would not be interested in performing certain types of jobs. EEOC stands ready to stop these violations in court, if necessary.”
