Sunrooms and More Design Center to Pay $150,000 in EEOC Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Lawsuit

OKLAHOMA CITY –— Sunrooms and More Design Center, LLC, an Edmond, Oklahoma home improvement and design company, will pay $150,000 to three former employees and provide other relief to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, since November 2021, one of the company’s co-owners harassed female employees almost daily, including making sexually-charged comments and touching female employees without their consent. The unwelcome conduct was reported to another owner, but the company took no action to address the complaints. Instead, the owners withheld one female employee’s bonuses in retaliation for her complaints, leading to her constructive discharge.

“Business owners who harass their employees are not above the law,” said Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC’s St. Louis District. “No one should have to tolerate sexual harassment or retaliation in the workplace — whether from a coworker, a manager, or an owner of the company.”

The alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex-based discrimination and retaliation. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Sunrooms and More Design Center, Case No. 24-cv-1016-PRW) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

The three-year consent decree settling the suit provides monetary damages to three former female employees who endured the owner’s sexual harassment, including the employee who was retaliated against after reporting the unlawful treatment. In addition to the monetary relief, the consent decree enjoins Sunrooms from discriminating on the basis of sex, requires it to create and distribute a sexual harassment policy, train its owners, managers, and employees to prevent sexual harassment, and report future sex harassment and retaliation complaints to the EEOC.

David Davis, director of EEOC’s St. Louis District said, “The EEOC is committed to eradicating unlawful employment practices and advancing equal opportunity for all. Protecting employees’ ability to report harassment, or any unlawful employment discrimination, is essential to the agency’s mission. When employees speak up, problems can be addressed early and workplaces become safer for everyone.”

For more information on discrimination by sexual harassment and retaliation, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sexual-harassment and https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.

The EEOC’s St. Louis District Office has jurisdiction over Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and a portion of southern Illinois.

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 also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.