HSS Security to Pay $35,000 in EEOC Sex Discrimination Lawsuit

HOUSTON – HSS Security, LLC, a company that provides security services to hospitals in Texas, will pay $35,000 and provide other relief to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

In the lawsuit, the EEOC charged that after initially offering a highly qualified female applicant a job as a security supervisor, HSS Security unlawfully rescinded the offer and refused to hire her because of her sex. According to the EEOC, the evidence showed that the female applicant possessed more than the requisite qualifications for the position.

After the female applicant accepted the job offer, two male HSS Security managers took issue with her hiring upon meeting her. Although she assured them of her skills and abilities and described her actual experience in such situations, the managers denied her employment. The company later offered the security supervisor position to two male applicants, neither of whom was more qualified than the female applicant.

Such alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating against job applicants and employees based on their sex. The EEOC filed suit (U.S. EEOC v. HSS Security, LLC, Civil Action No. 4:24-cv-03663) in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

On July 7, the district court entered a consent decree resolving the litigation. In addition to $35,000 in damages, the three-year decree requires HSS Security to train its hiring managers, recruiters and human resources personnel annually on federal laws prohibiting sex discrimination; revise its equal employment opportunity policies and procedures to address workplace discrimination; post notices to employees of their right to work free of discrimination; and report to the EEOC all complaints of discrimination in hiring that the company receives during the three-year term of the decree.

“Making employment decisions based on sex stereotypes and assumptions is impermissible discrimination,” said Rudy Sustaita, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Houston District Office. “Such discrimination will not be tolerated or ignored.”

Claudia Molina-Antanaitis, a senior trial attorney in Houston and attorney-in-charge for the case, said, “Sex discrimination in hiring remains a persistent problem. The law entitles all workers, women and men, to be judged fairly based on their qualifications and abilities. We encourage anyone who believes they have experienced such discrimination in hiring to come forward and file a charge with the EEOC.”

For more information on sex-based discrimination, visit: https://www.eeoc.gov/sex-based-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Houston District Office has jurisdiction over southeast Texas, as well as all of Louisiana.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division; the EEOC is responsible for investigating charges against state and local government employers before referring them to DOJ for potential litigation. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.