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WASHINGTON –The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed lawsuits against two companies to enforce Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the federal agency announced today.

“Harassment in the workplace based on gender identity is sex discrimination, and it’s against the law,” said EEOC General Counsel Karla Gilbride. “Transgender people have the same rights as everyone else to be safe at work and to have their humanity respected. Employers who

MIAMI – Divine Boiling Group, LLC, doing business as Crab Knight, a family-style seafood restaurant in Daytona Beach, Florida, will pay $30,000 and other relief to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the lawsuit, over a period of several weeks, the restaurant’s kitchen manager made repeated discriminatory comments about an employee’s age and finding someone younger to replace her, before

MIAMI – Advance Auto Parts, an automotive parts retail chain, violated federal law when it allowed its employees and customers to subject gay and Black employees to hostile work environments based on their race and sex, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the lawsuit, employees at Advance Auto Parts refused to follow instructions from an assistant manager because she is gay, calling her derogatory names targeting

CLEVELAND — Strategic Systems Inc., a technology services provider based in Dublin, Ohio, will pay $15,000 to settle a sex discrimination charge, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.

The settlement resolves allegations that Strategic Systems denied women employment opportunities based on their sex, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, stemming from an EEOC investigation which found reasonable cause the company engaged discriminatory hiring practices since or

CLOVIS, N.M. – Allen Theatres, Inc., which operates a chain of movie theaters across New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado, violated federal law when it discriminated against its older employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the lawsuit, Allen Theaters discriminated against Abby Parrish, a manager at the Clovis, New Mexico location, when the president of the company forced him to retire in September 2020, and refused

WASHINGTON – Inova Surgery Center, LLC, which operates outpatient surgery centers in Northern Virginia, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) by firing an employee because of her disability and age, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a suit filed today. 

According to the lawsuit, when a 52-year-old radiologic technician requested an extension of her medical leave to recover from carpal tunnel surgery, Inova

SAN ANTONIO – Benson Enterprises, Inc., the operator of multiple automotive dealerships including Ingram Park Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, violated federal law by subjecting two female employees to sex-based discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed in federal court today.

The EEOC’s lawsuit claimed a male manager for Ingram Park Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram created and maintained a hostile work environment by subjecting a female fleet

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Battleground Restaurants, Inc., and Battleground Restaurant Group, Inc., North Carolina-based corporations that operate Kickback Jack’s restaurants, violated federal law when they refused to hire male applicants for non-managerial front of house positions, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the lawsuit, Battleground had, and continues to have, a policy or practice of intentionally failing to hire male applicants for front-of-house positions because of their

DETROIT – Specialized Staffing Solutions, a South Bend, Indiana-based staffing agency that places temporary employees with business clients across various industries, resolved a charge of national origin, race, sex and disability discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC, Specialized Staffing Solutions granted client preferences for temporary workers based on their race, sex, national origin, and disability. Specialized Staffing Solutions disputed the allegations but

RALEIGH, N.C. – Balfour Beatty Infrastructure, Inc., a highway construction company incorporated in Delaware and doing business in Craven County, North Carolina, will pay $80,000 and provide other relief to settle a sexual harassment, hostile work environment and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.  

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, for over a year, a female truck driver working at Balfour Beatty was subjected to

CLEVELAND – The Laurels of Athens, a nursing and rehabilitation facility in Athens, Ohio, owned and operated by Laurel Heath Care Company, Athens LTC, Inc., Ciena Healthcare Management, Inc., and Ciena Group, LLC, will pay $150,000 and provide other relief to settle an age and sex discrimination case filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the lawsuit, a physical therapy assistant was fired in 2020 after

SEATTLE — SmartTalent, LLC, a Kirkland, Wash.-based staffing agency that places temporary employees with business clients across various industries, will pay $875,000 and provide other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sex discrimination lawsuit, the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC lawsuit charged that SmartTalent engaged in a pattern of discrimination against women in hiring and job assignments since at least 2015. When the staffing agency received requests for male workers

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Gardena-based laundry facility Radiant Services Corporation will pay $1.1 million and furnish extensive injunctive relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) discrimination lawsuit, the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC’s related suit against BaronHR recently settled for $2.2 million and extensive injunctive relief remedies, bringing the total settlement to be distributed to class members to $3.3 million.

The EEOC’s lawsuit charged that since at least 2015, Radiant failed

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – HCL America, Inc. violated federal law when it refused to hire a qualified, 61-year-old Indian job applicant for a sales director position based on his age and national origin, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the lawsuit, HCL America interviewed an applicant for a sales director position in July 2021. Although the applicant met the job qualifications, the hiring manager emailed the

TRENTON, N.J. – Hatzel & Buehler, Inc., a commercial electrical contractor with branch locations in eight states and the District of Columbia, will pay $500,000 to settle an age discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the company’s New Jersey branch, the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, since at least November 2020, the vice president of Hatzel & Buehler’s New Jersey branch engaged in age discriminatory

OAKLAND, Calif. – Fremont-based contractor Superior Automatic Sprinkler Company has agreed to provide monetary and injunctive relief to a construction worker following an investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. 

The worker, who is openly transgender and identifies as queer, filed a charge with EEOC alleging his supervisors and coworkers targeted him with verbal harassment and physical threats due to his gender identity and sexual orientation. He also alleged

ST. LOUIS – Dollar General Stores will pay $295,000 and furnish other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) age discrimination, harassment, and retaliation lawsuit, the federal agency announced today.

According to the lawsuit, from July 2016 until January 2018, a newly hired Dollar General regional director in Oklahoma harassed district managers who were in their 50s and older by calling them “grumpy old men,” telling them he was building “a millennial

MOBILE, Ala. and CHICAGO – Harmony Hospitality LLC, which operates a Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel in Dothan, Alabama, and LAS Hardwoods, a hardwood flooring company in the Chicago area, violated federal civil rights law when they each discriminated against an employee because of his sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or failure to adhere to gender stereotypes, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in two separate lawsuits filed today.

According to the Alabama lawsuit

ATLANTA – Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Smithfield Fresh Meats Sales Corporation (together, “Smithfield Foods”), which operate a food processing business that specializes in pork production, violated federal law when they fired a senior sales employee because of her age, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the lawsuit, the employee worked for Smithfield Foods for over 10 years before she was fired at the age of 59

NEW YORK – Maximum Security NYC, Inc., a security company headquartered in Queens, New York, will pay a former employee $22,500 and implement an anti-discrimination policy and training program to resolve an age- and disability-discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today. 

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Maximum Security had given a 57-year-old employee numerous assignments at client hotels where he was responsible for assisting with evacuations

ATLANTA – Covenant Woods Senior Living, LLC and BrightSpace Senior Living, LLC (together, “Covenant Woods”), which operate the Covenant Woods retirement community in Columbus, Georgia, will pay $78,000 to settle an age and disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC charged in its suit that, in February 2022, Covenant Woods fired a long-tenured receptionist, despite having recognized the 78-year-old employee as one of its

ST. LOUIS – Vicars Powersports, a McAlester, Oklahoma retailer of motorsports vehicles, will pay $75,000 and furnish other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sex discrimination lawsuit, the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC suit charged that Vicars Powersports fired a female sales manager, who was satisfactorily performing her job, because she is a woman, falsely telling her that her sales manager position was being eliminated. Weeks later, the dealership posted

CHICAGO – Urbana School District No. 116 agreed to pay $206,301 to settle an age discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the Urbana School District limited the salary increases of Charles Koplinski and a group of other teachers over the age of 45 because of their age, due to a provision of a collective bargaining agreement between the school district and

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Gregg Orr Auto Collection, Inc., a group of car dealerships, has agreed to pay $325,000 and provide other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) lawsuit alleging that the Texarkana, Texas-based company fired a senior sales executive to avoid medical costs related to his cancer diagnosis, the federal agency announced today.

According to the lawsuit, Greg Orr Auto fired the 65-year-old employee in February 2020 without prior warning and