SAIPAN SUPERMARKET CHAIN SETTLES EEOC SUIT; SEX HARASSMENT, PREGNANCY BIAS, RETALIATION ALLEGED

Women Suffered Repeated Lewd and Perverse Sexual Acts, Federal Agency Charged

SAIPAN, CNMI – 99 Cents, Inc.,  Yun's Inc., and Townhouse Inc., which own and operate various grocery markets  in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), will pay  $80,000 and provide substantial remedial relief to settle a sexual harassment,  pregnancy discrimination and retaliation case filed by the U.S. Equal Employment  Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

The EEOC’s suit, (EEOC v. 99 Cents Supermarkets, Inc., U.S.  District Court Case CV-08-0019; and Yun's Corporation and Townhouse Inc., U.S.  District Court Case No. Cv-07-0031) charged that female cashiers were sexually harassed  by a supervisor in the form of unwelcome touching (including slapping and  spanking), the touching of private parts, lifting of female employees’ skirts  and repeated lewd demands. Despite  several complaints, the employer’s management failed to take prompt corrective  action. In addition, the employment  contracts of two of the female cashiers were not renewed because of their  pregnancy.

The consent decree settling the  suit, filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, provides $80,000 in  damages to six women who were subjected to a sexually hostile work environment  at the supermarket chain in Saipan. The decree also requires the company to take  steps to ensure that harassment does not continue at the supermarket. The  remedial relief contained in the consent decree includes revision of the  company’s personnel policies and practices, training of personnel, the hiring  of an equal employment opportunity consultant, and the posting of the terms of  the decree at all of the defendant's facilities.

EEOC Regional Attorney Anna Park of  the Los Angeles District Office said“Employers need to beproactive  in dealing with discrimination complaints before the EEOC is forced to  intervene, as we had to do in this case.”

The Los Angeles District's  jurisdiction includes Southern and Central California,  Nevada, Hawaii,  Guam, American Samoa,  Wake Island and the Commonwealth of the  Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).

Timothy Riera, director of the EEOC  Honolulu Local Office, which oversees the CNMI, said, “Unfortu­nately, sexual  harassment continues to be a problem in the Marianas. The EEOC is making a major effort, through litigation  and extensive education and outreach for employers and workers, to address this  issue and ensure this trend ends.”

Other  recent EEOC settlements involving Title VII violations in the CNMI include: 

• A $205,000  settlement against Rome Research Corporation resolved EEOC’s lawsuit which  alleged that a female employee at a government facility operated by that  company on Tinian was subjected to a sexually  hostile work environment. The EEOC also  alleged that the employee was retaliated against when she attempted to oppose  the harassment.
 
• A $120,000  settlement with Rifu Apparel required the company to pay seven female garment  workers for refusing to renew their employment contracts because of their  pregnancy. Besides the monetary relief, the four-year  decrees required policy revisions, training of supervisors, and monitoring by  the EEOC.

The EEOC enforces federal laws  prohibiting employment discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC is available on the agency’s web site  at www.eeoc.gov.