Newsroom

New Fact Sheets Part of Agency's Ongoing Efforts to Prevent Backlash Discrimination

WASHINGTON --  U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Cari M. Dominguez today announced the availability of two new fact sheets, for employers and employees respectively, addressing frequently asked questions about the employment of Muslims, Arabs, South Asians and Sikhs.  These materials represent EEOC's latest in a series of efforts to proactively prevent September 11-related workplace backlash against people who are, or are

Nationwide workshops launched under New Freedom Initiative

WASHINGTON - As part of President George W. Bush's New Freedom Initiative, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Cari M. Dominguez today announced a series of workshops designed to share information on the employment of individuals with disabilities with small businesses nationwide.  This free, flexible outreach program will target

ST. LOUIS - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that the agency and attorneys for a class of over 5,000 women have reached an agreement in principle with Rent- A-Center, Inc. to settle two lawsuits alleging class-wide sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  The company has agreed to pay a cash settlement of $47,000,000 and to begin making wide-ranging institutional changes.  Rent-A-Center, based in

ROANOKE, Va. -  The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a $1 million settlement of a class action race and gender discrimination lawsuit against Optical Cable Corporation, a high-tech employer and publicly held company that manufactures fiber-optic cables.  EEOC's suit alleged that Optical Cable violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that a $6.8 million consent decree with retail giant Wal-Mart Stores was signed today by Federal District Court Judge Garland Burrell in Sacramento, Calif. The decree resolves the EEOC's lawsuit, Case No. S-99-0414-GEB DAD, which alleged that Wal-Mart's pre-employment questionnaire, "Matrix of Essential Job Functions," violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Parties to the decree also have agreed to settle 12 other ADA lawsuits

ST. LOUIS - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8^th Circuit opposing a tentative settlement for $12.2 million in a sex discrimination case against Rent-A-Center, Inc. in a suit pending in Kansas City, Missouri. The EEOC says the tentative settlement has obvious and significant deficiencies, and there are serious unresolved questions about whether the women who settled the case can fairly

TUCSON and PHOENIX - Beginning this week, and for the next two weeks, ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates in Arizona will air a 60-second commercial in Phoenix and Tucson featuring two young men who are deaf telling about their experience filing a lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and later working for Wal-Mart.  Jeremy Fass and William Darnell will talk about their experience using American

Voluntary Agreement Resolves Allegations of Discrimination

HOUSTON  -- The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Eagle Global Logistics f/k/a Eagle U.S.A. Airfreight, Inc., announced today that they have reached a $9,000,000 voluntary settlement which has been submitted for approval by U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Hughes in Houston, Texas.  The settlement through a Consent Decree avoids protracted litigation by the EEOC on behalf of a class of  African-Americans, Hispanics, and female employees and applicants

PHOENIX - A federal court in Tucson held Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in contempt and imposed sanctions on the company on June 13, 2001, for failure to comply with a court order resolving claims that Wal-Mart refused to hire Jeremy Fass and William Darnell because they are deaf, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Today, the court approved an amended consent decree resolving the contempt action negotiated with the U.S. Employment

TAMPA, Fla. - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida awarded $2.2 million to Dena Zechella, a former employee of Outback Steakhouse.  The jury found that Outback paid Zechella - a female - considerably less than a similarly situated male employee who performed the same job duties.  The jury also found that Outback had subjected Zechella to

Hundreds May Receive Compensation For Alleged             Race And Sex Bias By Leading Area Employer

ROCKFORD, Ill. - Federal District Court Judge Philip G. Reinhard today approved a $1.8 million Consent Decree resolving a major

PHOENIX - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has filed suit against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), accusing the world's largest retailer of failing to reasonably accommodate an employee with a disability at its Peoria, Arizona, store.  The suit is EEOC's

Retail Giant to Pay $750,200 in Fines, Produce TV Ad, Reinstate Deaf Worker, Provide ADA Training

PHOENIX - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced that Judge William D. Browning of the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona has held Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in contempt of court and ordered the nation's largest retailer to pay $750,200 in fines, produce and air an explanatory television

NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today filed a race discrimination lawsuit against TIC - The Industrial Company (TIC) and TIC Holdings, Inc. (TICH), one of the nation's largest industrial construction firms, alleging discrimination in recruiting and hiring on behalf of a class of up to 600 African-American construction workers nationwide.

EEOC's lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, charges TIC with violating Title VII

PHOENIX - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has asked Judge William D. Browning of the Federal District Court in Tucson, Arizona, to hold Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, the nation's largest retailer, in contempt of court and to sanction the company because it failed to comply with the terms of a January 2000 Consent Decree settling an EEOC lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).  A hearing on

Jury Verdict Results in $430,000 Award for Fired Older Workers

MADISON, Wis. - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it received a favorable jury verdict in a lawsuit against the University of Wisconsin (UW) Press, a book publishing division of the Graduate School of UW-Madison, filed under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA).  As a result of the verdict, four

MINNEAPOLIS - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced the filing of a nationwide class lawsuit against Northwest Airlines, Inc. (NWA), based in Eagan, Minnesota, under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.  The suit charges NWA with disability discrimination through its adoption of a company-wide policy barring the hiring of persons for certain laborer positions if they have seizure disorders or other disabilities that may pose the

MIAMI -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida has issued an Order on Remand in the case EEOC v. Joe's Stone Crab finding that the landmark Miami Beach restaurant engaged in intentional discrimination against women in the

ST. LOUIS - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today filed a motion to intervene in a nationwide sex discrimination class action lawsuit against Rent-A-Center, Inc.  The Commission claims that Rent-A-Center unlawfully fired women or forced them to quit, refused to hire women, and discriminated against females in the terms and conditions of their employment.  The Commission also alleges that Rent-A-Center failed to keep proper employment records as required by federal law

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today issued new enforcement guidance clarifying how the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 apply to contingent workers - those workers placed in job assignments by staffing firms, such as temporary employment agencies or contract firms.  The guidance explains that these workers frequently qualify as the employees of both the staffing firm and its client. Therefore, both entities have

DALLAS - A speak-English-only policy implemented by Premier Operator Services, Inc., a former long distance operator service, constitutes national origin discrimination, Magistrate Judge Paul D. Stickney has ruled, awarding 13 Hispanic employees over $700,000 in damages.  The decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, represents the largest monetary award ever obtained by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in a lawsuit for English-only violations.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has settled a lawsuit filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against Landers Auto Sales, Inc. (Landers), part of the United Auto Group, for discriminating against Steven Hart, a former sales manager who has quadriplegia due to a severe diving accident. The suit alleges that Landers violated the ADA by failing to provide reasonable accommodations for Mr

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Mondrian Hotel have settled a lawsuit filed by the EEOC on behalf of a group of former valet/bellmen terminated from the Hotel in late 1996.  Pursuant to the settlement, Mondrian will pay $120,000 to each valet/bellman.

The lawsuit arose when the current

ADA Policy Guidances and Status Report Issued, Commission Meeting To Be Held

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today issued two major guidances and a status report on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as part of its commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the landmark civil rights law.  The three documents, which