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Press Release 08-07-2009

CHARLESTON TEMP FIRM AND CONSTRUCTION COMPANY SUED BY EEOC FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT

Women Subjected to Sexual Comments, Sexual Propositions and Touching by Male Supervisor and Employees, Federal Agency Charged

ORANGEBURG,  S.C. – Alternative Staffing, Inc., a  Charleston, S.C.-based temporary employment staffing firm, and Clancy &  Theys, a construction company headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., violated federal  law by subjecting a class of female employees to a sexually hostile work  environment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a  lawsuit announced today. The EEOC’s  further charged that Alternative Staffing  forced three female employees out of their jobs because of their sex. Finally,  the EEOC said, Clancy & Theys interfered with the equal employment  opportunities of its female employees.

According to the EEOC’s suit, from  June 2006 through at least July 12, 2006, Shequann Singleton, Tasha Collier,  Tomeka Sanders and other similarly situated female employees were subjected to  sexual harassment. Singleton, Collier  and Sanders were employed by Alternative Staffing and assigned to work at  Clancy & Theys’ work site in Orangeburg,  S.C. The sexual harassment included inappropriate  sexual comments, requests for sex, and unwelcome touching of the women’s  breasts and buttocks. The women were allegedly  harassed by a labor foreman of Clancy & Theys who supervised Singleton,  Collier and Sanders, and by employees of a third-party contrac­tor performing  work at Clancy & Theys’ work site.  The women complained about the sexual harassment to Alternative  Staffing’s office manager and asked to be transferred to another work site  because of the harassment, but their request was denied. The women also complained to Clancy & Theys’  foreman.

Despite  the women’s complaints, the EEOC said, the harassment continued. In addition, after the women complained, a  manager of Clancy & Theys said he did not want the women to return to work  for Clancy & Theys. As a result of  the harassment, the women were forced to resign.

Sexual harassment violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Alternative Staffing, Inc. and Clancy  & Theys Construction Co., Civ. No. 5:09-cv-2067-MBS-JRM) in U.S. District Court for the  District of South Carolina after first attempting to reach a voluntary  settlement.

The EEOC seeks an injunction to stop Alternative  Staffing, Inc. and Clancy & Theys Construction Co. from engaging in any  employment practice which discriminates  on the basis of sex. The suit also seeks  monetary damages for Shequann Singleton, Tasha Collier, Tomeka Sanders and  other similarly situated female employees.

Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney of the EEOC’s  Charlotte District Office, said, “This case is a reminder to employers that  they must provide a harassment-free environment for their employees, regardless  of who the perpetrators of the harassment are.  Third parties can create a sexually hostile work environment for a  company’s employees, and that is just as illegal.”

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.