Employers behaving badly pay dearly to EEOC

The Phoenix District Office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which covers Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and part of New Mexico, recently obtained two substantial settlements in lawsuits the agency filed on behalf of aggrieved employees. One case reminds us that, 60 years after its passage, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 remains a necessary tool for remedying workplace harassment based on race, national origin, and other protected characteristics. The other involves claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).

Alleged harassment results in $500K settlement

Phoenix-based Schuff Steel Company operates a steel fabrication plant in Eloy, Arizona. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the plant manager created a hostile and offensive work environment by routinely using racial slurs and epithets. The complaint details numerous examples of the manager’s offensive conduct, including:

·     Using the n-word toward the African-American employee who filed the complaint and calling him “KFC” on multiple occasions;