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CHICAGO – Blackwell Security Services, Inc. will pay $70,000 and provide other relief to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC charged in its suit that Blackwell refused to accommodate an employee’s religious practice, needlessly forcing him to choose between his religion and his livelihood. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the employee, who worked as a concierge in Chicago, Illinois, is

DES MOINES, Iowa – Walmart will pay $60,000 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.

The EEOC charged in its suit that Walmart refused to promote an employee to a department manager position at its Ottumwa, Iowa store based on sex stereotypes about women with young children. According to evidence presented by the EEOC, when the employee asked

CHICAGO - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that following an investigation, the EEOC and Groupon, Inc. (Groupon) have entered into a voluntary agreement in which Groupon has agreed to contribute $350,000 toward establishing an educational fund dedicated to improving primary and secondary STEM education for Black students and awarding scholarships to Black students pursuing advanced degrees in STEM fields. 

Groupon also has expanded its annual equal employment opportunity (EEO) training for

CHICAGO – A federal judge ruled in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on November 7, 2023 that Urbana School District No. 116 in Illinois violated federal law by applying a discrim­inatory provision of a collective bargaining agreement to limit the compensation of teachers age 45 and older.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the Urbana school district limited the salary increases of Charles Koplinski and a group of other teachers over 45

MINNEAPOLIS – Union Pacific Railroad, a freight-hauling railroad headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska that operates rail lines in 23 states, covering most of the western two-thirds of the United States, violated federal law when it terminated conductors and locomotive engineers on the basis of perceived disability, used unlawful qualification standards to screen out individuals with disabilities, and subjected the employees to unlawful medical examinations and inquiries, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a

BISMARCK, N.D. – Jacobson Memorial Hospital Care Center, a critical access hospital in Elgin, North Dakota, violated federal law when it discharged an African American employee after she reported an incident of racial harassment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the lawsuit, in May 2019, a nursing aide reported to Jacobson that a co-worker called her the “n-word.” Six days later, Jacobson fired her in retaliation

CHICAGO - Alliance Ground International, LLC, a cargo logistics and handling company, violated federal anti-discrimination law by refusing to hire a qualified applicant for a mail handler position at its Chicago facility because he was deaf, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to the lawsuit, a deaf applicant sought a position working in a warehouse through Skills for Chicagoland’s Future, a job training and placement not-for-profit. The

DAVENPORT, Iowa – Los Agaves, Inc., which operates restaurants in Iowa and Illinois, violated federal law when it subjected female employees to sexual harassment and retaliation, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC’s suit, female employees at the Los Agaves restaurant in Davenport, Iowa, endured serious and widespread sexual harassment by male supervisors and co-workers. The harassment included unwanted sexual touching and groping, sexual solicitation

CHICAGO – Blackwell Security Services, Inc., a hotel and condominium staffing company, violated federal law when it refused to accommodate an employee’s religious practice, forcing him to choose between his religion and his livelihood, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the employee, who worked as a concierge in Chicago, Illinois, is a practicing Muslim who wears a beard as required by his religious

CHICAGO – Voyant Beauty, LLC violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it fired a production line worker because she is deaf, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.  

The EEOC’s suit alleges that Voyant terminated the employee on her first day of work at its facility in Countryside, Illinois, upon learning she is deaf, even though she was qualified for the job and could have performed

CHICAGO – United Parcel Service (UPS) violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by maintaining a discriminatory policy of refusing to hire or reasonably accommodate deaf or hearing-impaired individuals for driver positions of vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds, even when the Department of Transportation (DOT) had authorized the practice, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.  

According to the EEOC’s suit, the UPS policy is an illegal

SAMMAMISH, Wash. — Chipotle has agreed to pay $400,000 to three former crew members at its Sammamish, Washington, restaurant location, and will provide other relief to resolve a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Chipotle permitted the three young crew members, including one who was only 17 years old at the time, to be harassed by their 29-year old

NEWPORT, Ore. –JC Market, Inc., doing business as JC Market Thriftway, a Lincoln County, Oregon grocery chain, has agreed to provide $50,000 in compensatory damages, backpay, and furnish other injunctive relief to resolve a charge of disability discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC investigation found the applicant interviewed for a position with the owner of JC Market and was given a job offer and

TACOMA, Wash. – Hoyle Enterprises LLC, doing business as Lady Luck Steakhouse (“Lady Luck”), a local restaurant in Tacoma, Washington, has agreed to the terms of a conciliation agreement following the investigation of a charge of discrimination filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

According to the EEOC, Lady Luck fired a newly-hired pregnant worker after completing a single shift. Lady Luck’s management team also had a practice of

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — Elevation Labs, LLC, formerly known as Northwest Cosmetics Labs, violated federal law by retaliating against an employee for raising allegations of race discrim­ination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed in federal court today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, when Rachel Robertson Johnson started working as a cosmetic chemist at Elevation Labs’ Idaho Falls location in 2014, she was one of the company’s few Black

SEATTLE — Covius Services, LLC, a provider of services, solutions and technology for financial companies, violated federal law by rejecting a qualified applicant for a position in Spokane Valley, Washington because of her disability and need for prescribed medication, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed June 29, 2023.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Covius promptly scheduled Kelli Ebert for a job interview after an outside recruiter identified her as

MADISON, Wis. – Verona Area School District will pay $450,000, raise salaries, and furnish other relief to settle a pay discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to EEOC’s lawsuit, the school district violated civil rights law by paying nine female special education teachers and one female school psychologist lower wages than more recently hired male employees doing the same work. All nine special education

CHICAGO – Lacey’s Place LLC Series Midlothian, doing business as Lacey’s Place, which owns and operates more than 30 video gaming parlors in Illinois, will pay $92,964 and furnish other relief to settle a pay discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to EEOC’s lawsuit, female district managers were paid less than their male coworkers with similar experience and education since at least

MINNEAPOLIS – R & G Endeavors, Inc., a fast-food franchisee doing business as Culver’s Restaurants of Cottage Grove, violated federal law when it subjected employees to a hostile work environment based on race, sex, sexual orientation, and disability, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in two lawsuits filed today. The litigation also charges the Minnesota company with denying a long-serving employee with a disability equal pay and pay raises because of his disability

TACOMA, Wash. — Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Washington has agreed to pay $140,000 to an African American employee at its Tacoma Medical Center and provide other relief to resolve a racial harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Kaiser permitted an African American employee to be harassed by her coworker’s repeated use of a version of the n-word, even after

CHICAGO, Ill. – Sunnybrook Education Association, IEA-NEA, (“Sunnybrook Union”), a labor union representing teachers and educational support personnel in the Sunnybrook School District, violated federal civil rights law by blocking the promotion of an African American custodian to the role of head custodian because of his race, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

The EEOC said that Sunnybrook Union grieved the promotion of a Black employee of Sunnybrook School

GRAND FORKS, N.D. – LM Wind Power Blades, Inc, a wind turbine blade manufacturer, violated federal law when it subjected an African American employee to a racially hostile work environment and then retaliated against him for complaining, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed May 4, 2023.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the African American employee was the target of sustained racial hostility from white employees and supervisors, which included

CHICAGO – Symphony Deerbrook, LLC will pay $400,000 and furnish other relief to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over conduct at its Symphony of Joliet facility, the federal agency announced today.

In its lawsuit, the EEOC charged that Symphony, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, imple­mented a policy requiring employees to inform the company of any pregnancy and to obtain a note from their doctor releasing

LONGVIEW, Wash. – R & SL, which does business as Total Employment and Management (TEAM), an employment firm based in Washington and Oregon, has agreed to pay $276,000 and take other actions to conciliate a national origin discrimination and retaliation charge filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

According to the EEOC, TEAM imposed a no-Spanish rule, without adequate business justification to support it. The agency also alleged five