Classifying assignments as ‘men’s work’ and ‘women’s work’? Really?
Quick tip: Employers who categorize jobs as “men’s work” and “women’s work” are likely to put a frown on the faces of our friends at the EEOC.
For that and other bias law violations, Chicago-area staffing agency will pay $800,000 under a consent decree resolving two discrimination lawsuits filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
In two separate lawsuits, the EEOC charged that Source One Staffing, Inc:.
- assigned female employees to a known hostile work environment
- retaliated against two female employees who reported that their supervisor was making sexual advances toward them
- categorized jobs as “men’s work” or “women’s work” and assigned employees accordingly
- asked impermissible pre-employment medical questions in violation of the ADA, and
- failed or refused to assign employees to certain jobs because of their race and/or national origin.
The EEOC filed the suits federal district court in Illinois, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process in both cases.
$730k for assignment bias
The consent decree settling the suits provides $800,000 in monetary relief. Of that, $70,000 will go to the sexual harassment and retaliation victims. The remaining $730,000 will be distributed evenly to a class of female employees who were not considered for certain work on the basis of their sex.
The decree also requires Source One to take the following affirmative steps:
- train its employees on employees’ rights under Title VII and the ADA
- report complaints of discrimination during the decree’s three-year term
- change its employment policies and practices to conform to federal bias law, and
- post a notice of the decree at all of its locations.
The settlement won’t mean the EEOC is going away, officials were quick to point out. “While the consent decree puts an end to four-years of litigation between EEOC and Source One, the matter is far from over,” said John Hendrickson, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Chicago District. “The EEOC — through the appointment of an independent monitor — will keep a watchful eye on Source One to make sure it fulfills all of its obligations under the decree for the next three years. If Source One fails to adhere to the decree, the EEOC will do everything in its power to ensure compliance.”
