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Welcome to the EEOC's Virtual Newsroom, which offers a wide range of information and materials on the Commission's history, functions, procedures, programs, actions and staff, on the statutes we enforce, and on related research, data and statistics. We encourage everyone to browse and search through our continually updated Press Kit, which provides extensive background and context for virtually any question.

To contact The Office of Communications, please phone 202-921-3191 or send an e-mail to newsroom@eeoc.gov. Please note, this e-mailbox is intended for reporters, news producers, those writing for news publication and broadcasts, and other people working on news programs or stories.

If you are seeking information about the EEOC, please call 1-800-669-4000 or e-mail info@eeoc.gov.

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Press release

JUDGE APPROVES $5 MILLION SETTLEMENT OF JOB BIAS LAWSUITS AGAINST WOODWARD GOVERNOR

EEOC Said Global Engine Systems and Parts Company Discriminated Against Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and Women at Illinois Facilities

ROCKFORD, Ill. – A federal judge has given final approval to a $5 million settlement resolving two consolidated class action employment discrimination lawsuits against a global engine systems and parts company, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.

     

The litigation began on May 8, 2003, when a group of employees filed a

February 20, 2007

Press release

APPEALS COURT ORDERS TRIAL OF EEOC DISABILITY SUIT AGAINST WAL-MART

Eighth Circuit Says Lower Court Erred in Dismissing Case

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit today ruled that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) may continue its disability discrimination lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (EEOC v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Case No. 06-1583), reversing a lower court’s dismissal of the case.

The EEOC filed suit against Wal-Mart in January 2004 on behalf of Steve Bradley

February 13, 2007

Press release

HILL BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION TO PAY $225,000 FOR SAME-SEX HARRASSMENT AGAINST MEN

EEOC Obtains Favorable Jury Verdict in Lawsuit Against Faulkner Company

 

OXFORD, Miss. -- A federal jury here returned a $225,000 verdict Friday against Hill Brothers Construction Company and Engineering Company, Inc. (Hill Brothers) in a rare same-sex harassment lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of male employees who were sexually harassed by other men.   

The EEOC charged in its lawsuit that Hill Brothers discriminated against Scott Beasley

February 12, 2007

Press release

JOB BIAS CHARGES EDGED UP IN 2006, EEOC REPORTS

Race and Sex Discrimination, Retaliation Most Frequently Filed Cases

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) last year received a total of 75,768 discrimination charges against private sector employers, the first increase in charge filings since 2002, the federal agency reported today as part of its Fiscal Year 2006 data.

     

The year-end statistics, available online at http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/enforcement.html, show that charges based on race (27,238), sex (23,247), and retaliation (22,555)

February 1, 2007

Press release

AK STEEL CORPORATION TO PAY $600,000 TO SETTLE EEOC RACE HARASSMENT LAWSUIT

Fortune 500 Company Subjected African Americans to Nooses, Threats, Nazi and KKK Messages, Agency Charged

 

PITTSBURGH C  AK Steel Corporation will pay $600,000 to settle a racial harassment lawsuit  brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency  announced today. The EEOC had charged that  the Fortune 500 company violated federal law at its Butler, Pa.,  facility by creating and condoning a racially hostile work environ­ment for a  group of African American

January 31, 2007

Press release

TARGET CORP. TO PAY $775,000 FOR RACIAL HARASSMENT

EEOC Settles Suit for Class of African American Employees; Remedial Relief Included

       

PHILADELPHIA -- Target Corporation, the Minneapolis-based retail sales giant, has agreed to pay $775,000 to a group of black workers as part of a litigation settlement of a race discrimination and retaliation case brought by U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.  The settlement also includes employer training and other remedial relief.

     
January 26, 2007

Press release

EEOC, Quietflex Manufacturing Company, L.P., and Others Announce Final Approval of Settlement with Hispanic Employees on Discrimination Claims

     

HOUSTON – U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal granted final approval yesterday to the settlement of discrimination claims against Quietflex Manufacturing Company, L.P. (the company).  Under the terms of the settlement, the company's insurer will pay $2.8 million to 78 current and former Latino employees.  In addition, the company has agreed to implement policies and practices to advance equal employment opportunity. 

       

The lawsuit was filed in October 2001 when

January 24, 2007

Press release

MATERNITY STORE GIANT TO PAY $375,000 TO SETTLE EEOC PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION LAWSUIT

Motherhood Maternity Refused to Hire Pregnant Applicants and Fired Assistant Manager for Complaining, Agency Charged

   

MIAMI – A Philadelphia-based maternity clothes retailer will pay $375,000 to settle a pregnancy discrimination and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.  The EEOC had charged that Mothers Work, Inc., doing business as Motherhood Maternity, refused to hire qualified female applicants because they were pregnant. 

     

According

January 8, 2007

Press release

EEOC RESOLVES SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING SUIT AGAINST TRANS BAY STEEL FOR AN ESTIMATED $1 MILLION

Federal Agency Says 48 Thai Welders Forced to Work Without Pay in Squalid Conditions

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a major litigation settlement with Trans Bay Steel, Inc. for an estimated $1 million in total monetary relief and compensation for 48 welders of Thai descent who were discriminated against and exploited due to their national origin.

 

EEOC charged that the class of Thai nationals, contracted under H2B

December 8, 2006

Press release

EEOC RECEIVES THIRD CONSECUTIVE 'UNQUALIFIED OPINION' ON ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Performance and Accountability Report Shows Clean Fiscal Bill of Health

WASHINGTON  The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has earned an unqualified opinion on its 2006 financial statements, the third straight year in which independent auditors have performed an extensive examination of the EEOC's financial records and reported a clean fiscal bill of health for the federal agency. 

The audit report is a focus of the EEOC's Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) which the agency

December 7, 2006

Press release

FREEDOM TO COMPETE AWARD DEADLINE EXTENDED TO FEB. 13

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will extend the application deadline for this year's Freedom to Compete Award to Feb. 13, 2007. Chair Naomi C. Earp will present the third annual award in June 2007 to employers, organizations, or other entities that have demonstrated results through best practices in promoting fair and open competition in the workplace.

The award is part of the EEOC's Freedom to Compete Initiative, a national outreach, education

November 28, 2006

Press release

EEOC AND CHASE REACH $2.2 MILLION SETTLEMENT IN DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION CLAIM

CHICAGO – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (Chase) today announced the $2.2 million settlement of a claim brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against Bank One Corporation.

The EEOC issued an administrative determination on March 11, 2004, finding that there was reasonable cause to believe that Bank One violated the ADA by failing to properly accommodate a group of employees who were medically released to return

November 22, 2006

Press release

APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS EEOC SEX DISCRIMINATION CLAIM AGAINST DIAL

Women Rejected for Jobs at Armour Sausage Plant Because of 'Strength Test'

DES MOINES, Iowa – A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court's decision that a pre-employment "strength test" discriminated against female applicants for jobs at the Dial Corporation's Armour Star sausage-making plant in Fort Madison, Iowa.  The decision also affirmed the award of approximately $3.3 million to 52 rejected female job applicants.  The case arose from a lawsuit by the U.S. Equal

November 20, 2006

Press release

MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR JURY VERDICT FOR EEOC IN SEXUAL HARASSMENT CASE AGAINST CUSTOM COMPANIES

 

$2,355,000 Awarded to Three Saleswomen for Sexual Harassment  and Retaliation By Northlake, Ill. Trucking Company

   

CHICAGO -  A federal court jury this afternoon returned a $2.355 million verdict in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and three saleswomen who experienced sexual harassment and retaliation while employed by The Custom Companies, a Northlake, Ill. trucking company.  The verdicts included punitive damages in the amount of $2.05 million and compensatory damages

November 17, 2006

Press release

JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS SWEARS IN EEOC CHAIR EARP, VICE CHAIR SILVERMAN, GENERAL COUNSEL COOPER

     

WASHINGTON – Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, a former Chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), on Monday formally swore in EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp, Vice Chair Leslie E. Silverman, and General Counsel Ronald S. Cooper at the Commission’s downtown Washington headquarters.

     

Monday’s ceremony marked the EEOC leaders’ official public installations, though they have each been serving for several weeks.  Chair Earp and Vice Chair

November 14, 2006

Press release

TYSON FOODS AGREES TO RESOLVE RACE HARASSMENT AND RETALIATION LAWSUIT

Settlement by EEOC and Private Plaintiffs Mandates Systemic Changes

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a major litigation settlement with Tyson Foods for $871,000 on behalf of black workers who alleged that they were racially harassed and retaliated against at a chicken processing plant in Ashland, Alabama.  The three-year consent decree entered today by U.S. District Court Judge Karen O. Bowdre also includes significant injunctive relief that will foster

November 7, 2006

Press release

EVERDRY WATERPROOFING TO PAY $585,000 FOR TEEN HARASSMENT; JURY RETURNS VERDICT IN EEOC SEX BIAS SUIT

                             

Federal Agency said Class of Young Women Subjected to Verbal and Physical Sexual Abuse

     

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – A jury in federal district court here has returned a $585,000 verdict in a major sexual harassment lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against a national residential basement waterproofing company on behalf of a class of

October 27, 2006

Press release

ALLSTATE'S REHIRE POLICY ADVERSELY AFFECTED OLDER AGENTS; EEOC RECEIVES FAVORABLE RULING

Court Says Jury Should Decide Whether Policy was Reasonable or Unlawful

     

ST. LOUIS – A federal court ruled today in a nationwide lawsuit that Allstate Insurance Company's one-year moratorium on rehiring its former sales agents had an adverse impact on older agents, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced.

         

Judge E. Richard Webber, of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri in St

October 19, 2006

Press release

EEOC LAUNCHES WEBSITE SECTION ON "LEAD" INITIATIVE

Boosts Effort to Increase Number of Federal Employees with Targeted Disabilities

WASHINGTON – Giving greater presence to a pressing – and largely unknown – problem, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today launched a website section on its LEAD Initiative, designed to address the declining number of employees with severe disabilities in the Federal workforce.

The section, on EEOC's website at www.eeoc.gov/initiatives/lead/index.html, offers basic information on the initiative and on the declining number

October 4, 2006

Press release

EEOC ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS FOR 2007 FREEDOM TO COMPETE AWARD

Honors Best Practices that Promote Fair and Open Competition in the Workplace

     

WASHINGTON – Naomi C. Earp, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), today launched the EEOC's third annual Freedom to Compete Award application process, announcing that the agency will accept nominations through Dec. 13.  The Chair will present the award in June 2007 to employers, organizations, or other entities that have demonstrated results through best practices in promoting

October 2, 2006