With several lawsuits totaling millions in potential damages, officials at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are reporting a rise in race harassment cases across the country.
Disability, sexual and pregnancy discrimination lawsuits have been the biggest EEOC complaints in recent years. But as offices and workplaces grapple with racial tensions after national police shootings, employers and corporations are under more scrutiny as Black and Latino workers report incidents of race harassment and retaliation on the job.
“We have seen an increase in race harassment cases across industries,” said Anna Park, regional attorney for EEOC’s Los Angeles District Office. “It is very important for employers and staffing agencies to be proactive in addressing these issues. We commend Ryder and Kimco for committing to changes and for being positive change agents in addressing race issues.”
Rosa Viramontes, the EEOC’s Los Angeles District Director, added, “It is important for employers and staffing agencies to realize that both entities have a responsibility to address harassment and retaliation in the workplace. Ryder and Kimco have put in place measures that will positively impact employees at both companies.”
In the final week of May alone, the EEOC settled three big cases involving racial discrimination and harassment in lawsuits filed against companies across the country.
One of the biggest settlements came from the prominent transportation company Ryder Integrated Logistics and its temporary staffing firm, Kimco Staffing Services. The two firms settled EEOC Race Harassment and Retaliation lawsuits for $1 million each, for a total of $2 million.
The federal agency filed a lawsuit against both firms after accusing them of subjecting their Black employees to racial discrimination.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Ryder and Kimco created a hostile working environment by allowing employees to use racial slurs and epithets toward their Black colleagues.
The EEOC charged that after an African-American employee complained about racial harassment, neither Ryder nor Kimco corrected the situation, instead firing the employee within days of reporting the harassment.
The EEOC’s suit also alleged that Ryder and Kimco discriminated against African-American workers in the terms and conditions of employment in assignment, training, promotion, discipline and termination.
“This case underscores the unfortunate reality that racial harassment and retaliation remain a problem in American workplaces,” said EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows. “Confronting these issues is of critical importance to the EEOC and our nation. The EEOC will continue to use outreach, education, and enforcement when necessary to ensure that employers — and staffing agencies — understand their obligation to prevent and correct unlawful harassment and ensure that workers can raise concerns without fear of reprisal.”
In addition to paying $1 million, Ryder entered a consent decree that aims to prevent workplace harassment, discrimination, and retaliation.
The consent decree includes the selection of an equal employment opportunity coordinator; the creation of a centralized tracking system for race-based harassment, discrimination and retaliation complaints; the review and revision of policies prohibiting discrimination; and the distribution of those policies to all employees. Additionally, Ryder will create an internal complaint process and discrimination training for all employees.
Kimco Staffing Services is also under a consent decree with the EEOC, which includes providing neutral references for the claimants along with the re-hiring of the claimants who desire to return to Kimco.
The company also will retain a bilingual third-party EEO monitor, create and implement policies and procedures to prohibit discrimination and harassment, which will then be disseminated to all employees, establish a complaint procedure, and train all employees on discrimination and harassment.
The EEOC said Kimco and Ryder will both develop protocols for handling discrimination and harassment complaints raised by temporary employees on assignment. The decrees will remain under the court’s jurisdiction for the two-year term.
In another race discrimination and harassment case, San Francisco-based Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company will pay $725,000 to settle a EEOC racial harassment lawsuit.
Hathaway served as the general contractor for the University of Southern California’s Village Construction Project. The EEOC charged that under the supervision of the general contractor, Black and Hispanic workers were exposed to racially offensive remarks and graffiti. According to the EEOC, Hathaway failed to take effective corrective action to remedy the racial harassment.
Under a court-supervised, two-year consent decree settling the suit, Hathaway will retain an external equal employment opportunity monitor to review its compliance with Title VII and the decree.
Hathaway will also review and revise its harassment and retaliation policies and procedures, provide training to all employees on racial harassment and retaliation, and establish a centralized tracking and monitoring system for racial harassment complaints and to prevent retaliation.
Hathaway also has agreed to hold subcontractors accountable by requiring them to verify having policies, procedures, and training against harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. The EEOC will monitor compliance with the agreement.
In Miami, Wild Fork Foods has agreed to Pay $130,000 to settle an EEOC race and harassment suit.
According to EEOC’s lawsuit, Wild Fork Foods violated federal law when a Hispanic female employee in its Miami corporate office was subjected to a hostile work environment based on her national origin and race and subjected to retaliation for complaining and ultimately forced out of her job.
In addition to paying $130,000 in monetary relief, Wild Fork Foods will provide specialized training on national origin and race discrimination and harassment to human resources personnel, managers and employees to ensure that employees are aware of their rights and complaint procedures, and that management and human resources personnel are aware of their obligations to prevent workplace discrimination and how to address complaints.
The decree also requires Wild Fork to provide EEOC with reports of any complaints of national origin and race discrimination and describe its actions taken in response to the complaint.
In Los Angeles, the EEOC said it has collected over $4.8 million on a Judgment in Labor Trafficking case against Maui Pineapple for 54 Thai farmworkers.
According to the judgment, some of the Thai workers were subjected to physical violence such as being slapped on the head, thrown against the wall, grabbed and punched in the face. The Thai workers were also subjected to constant threats of deportation and arrests. They were forced to live in substandard housing infested with rats, scorpions and bugs.
Some were provided insufficient or malfunctioning toilet facilities. The Thai workers regularly received inadequate food, and some fainted in the fields. Working conditions were so oppressive that some Thai workers felt that they were treated more like prisoners and slaves.
