U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission News (Sept. 2017)

Company Discharged Employee Because She Requested Religious Accommodation, Federal Agency Charged

DETROIT – A Michigan-based franchisee of Tim Hortons Cafe and Bake Shop will pay $22,500 to settle a religious accommodation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Oppor¬tunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC’s lawsuit charged that Sleneem Enterprises, LLC violated federal law by firing Amanda Corley after she requested a religious accommodation. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, in 2015, Corley was hired by Sleneem to work at the Tim Hortons cafe in Romulus, Mich. On Nov. 16 of that year, Corley requested that she be permitted to wear a skirt instead of pants, in accordance with her Pentecostal Apostolic religious beliefs. Corley attempted to present a letter from her pastor, explaining her need to wear a skirt. Rather than allow Corley to wear a skirt, Sleneem fired her, the EEOC said.

Such alleged conduct violates Tile VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees based on their religious beliefs. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Sleneem Enterprises, LLC, dba Tim Hortons Cafe and Bake Shop, No. 2:17-cv-12337) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

The consent decree settling the suit, in addition to providing for the award of monetary relief to Corley, prohibits any similar discrimination in the future and requires Sleneem to train its shift supervisors and managers on all forms of discrimination prohibited by Title VII, including the obligation to provide reasonable religious accommodations.

“Under federal law, an employer has an obligation to fairly balance an employee’s right to practice religion with operating its business,” said Miles Uhlar, trial attorney for EEOC’s Detroit Field Office. “When this obligation is not met, the EEOC will step in and protect workers.”

The EEOC’s Detroit Field Office is part of the agency’s Indianapolis District Office, which oversees Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and parts of Ohio.

Sports Fashion Chain Refused to Hire or Promote African-Americans and Hispanics Into Management Positions and Harassed Black Employees, Federal Agency Charges

CHICAGO – City Sports, a chain of sports fashion stores with over 20 locations in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, violated federal civil rights laws by failing to hire and promote African-Americans and Hispanics into management positions in favor of hiring Koreans to fill management roles, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today. City Sports also subjected three black salespeople to harassment because of their race, the EEOC charged.

Julianne Bowman, the district director of EEOC’s Chicago office, said that the EEOC’s pre-suit investigation revealed that while most of City Sports sales staff were African-American or Hispanic, very few managers were. Generally, when the company hired managers, it hired Korean individuals from outside the company, passing over for promotion black or Hispanic salespeople who had worked for the com¬pany for years, not even giving them the chance to apply for a promotion.

Company officials’ explanations for why they favored hiring Koreans for management positions revealed they held negative stereotypes about the suitability of African-Americans and Hispanics for management roles. In addition, the investigation showed that a Korean store manager harassed Dorian Hudson, Curtis Ingram and D’Andre Brown because of their race, by subjecting them to repeated racial slurs.

Race and national origin discrimination and harassment violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed today’s suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The case (EEOC v. Palm USA, Inc. dba City Sports, et al., Civil Action No. 17-cv-6692 was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division and assigned to Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer. The EEOC is seeking full relief, including back pay, instatement or promotion for affected individuals, compensatory and punitive damages, and non-monetary measures to correct City Sports’ practices going forward.

“Denying employment opportunities based on ugly, negative racial and ethnic stereotypes is illegal and wrong,” said Greg Gochanour, regional attorney of the EEOC’s Chicago District Office. “Title VII’s guarantee of equal employment opportunity is not fulfilled simply by hiring people of a particular race or ethnicity into entry-level positions. Every qualified employee, regardless of race or national origin, must be given the opportunity to compete for high-level positions. That opportunity was denied here, and we hope this suit will lead to fair consideration of black and Hispanic candidates for management jobs in the future.”

The City Sports locations covered by the suit include 18 stores in Chicago, and stores in Joliet, Bolingbrook, North Riverside and West Chicago.

The EEOC’s Chicago District Office is responsible for processing charges of employment discrimination, administrative enforcement and the conduct of agency litigation in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and North and South Dakota, with Area Offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

Gym Subjected Female Employees to Unwanted Touching and Sexual Advances, Fired Employee Who Complained, Federal Agency Charges

CHICAGO – Lincoln Park gym Lakeshore Sport and Fitness violated federal law when it fired an employee in retaliation for her complaints about sexual harassment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today. The federal agency charged Lakeshore with failing to protect its female restaurant employees at its Lincoln Park location from unwelcome comments and touching by one of its male restaurant employees.

Julianne Bowman, the EEOC’s district director in Chicago who managed the federal agency’s pre-suit administrative investigation, said that the EEOC’s investigation revealed that a male super-visor subjected restaurant employees Shelita Bridges and Shayleaf Alsberry to unwanted touching and sexual advances.

Bridges repeatedly complained about the sexual harassment she had experienced, Bowman said. Rather than responding to Bridges’s complaints by investigating them and possibly disciplining the harasser, Lakeshore instead chose to fire Bridges, Bowman said.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment and retaliation in employment. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. LHC Operating LLC d/b/a Lakeshore Sport and Fitness, Civil Action No. 17-cv-6803 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Sept. 20th after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Sara L. Ellis. The EEOC is seeking full relief, including reinstatement, back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, and non-monetary measures to correct Lakeshore’s practices going forward.

Gregory Gochanour, regional attorney of the EEOC’s Chicago District Office, said, “Lakeshore had the opportunity to stop the harassment and chose not to. By looking the other way, Lakeshore put its employees in harm’s way and its company at risk for this lawsuit.”

According to company information, Lakeshore promotes health and fitness services in the Chicago metropolitan area and employs over 500 people.

Vessel Company Discharged Deckhand With ‘Situational Depression’ Because It Perceived Him to be Disabled, Federal Agency Charged

NEW ORLEANS — An oil and gas vessel company doing business in the Larose, La., area violated federal law by firing an employee because it perceived him to be disabled, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleged in a lawsuit filed yesterday.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Gulf Logistics discharged deckhand Jason Gunderson after seeking assistance from the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) because the company perceived him to be disabled due to his “situational depression” even though he was able to perform the essential functions of his job without any restrictions. The suit further alleged the company did not conduct any intensive individualized assessment of Gunderson’s mental impairment, as the law requires, to determine if it affected his ability to perform the essential functions of the position as mandated by the law before discharging him.

Additionally, the EEOC asserts that forcing Gunderson to seek a medical release to return to work because he asked for a referral to the company’s EAP constituted an illegal medical inquiry or exam under the law.

Disability discrimination violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No. 2:17-cv-09362) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The EEOC is seeking a permanent injunction prohibiting the company from engaging in employment discrimination and retaliation, as well as back pay, compensatory damages, pecuniary losses and punitive damages for Gunderson.

“It is clearly and plainly unlawful to discharge an employee due to biases about that employee’s ability to perform his or her job because of a medical condition,” said Keith Hill, field director for the New Orleans office.

Rudy Sustaita, regional attorney for EEOC’s New Orleans and Houston offices, said, “No employee should be subjected to unlawful stereotyped decisions based on his or her medical health and attempts to seek assistance to cope with difficulties in their lives.”

Michelle Butler, senior trial attorney for the New Orleans Field Office, added, “Mr. Gunderson was performing his duties without any restrictions. Gulf Logistics fired him based on an unsubstantiated determination that he was not able to perform his duties. When this happens, the EEOC will step in to defend such people’s rights.”

According to company information, Gulf Logistics operates a fleet of offshore workboats for the Gulf of Mexico oil and gas industry. Its vessels support a multitude of projects for companies engaging in oil and gas exploration and production. Its corporate office is in Larose, La.

Casino Violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by Refusing Time Off for Cancer Surgery, Federal Agency Charges

CHICAGO – Rivers Casino in Des Plaines violated federal law prohibiting disability discrimination by denying an employee’s request for additional leave to get cancer treatment and then firing him, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today.

According to Julianne Bowman, the EEOC’s district director in Chicago, the EEOC’s pre-suit investigation revealed that Rivers Casinos wrongfully denied Donnan Lake’s request for a reasonable accommodation of a few additional weeks of leave to have surgery related to his cancer. Lake suffers from sarcoma and has required chemotherapy and surgery to treat his cancer.

Such alleged conduct violates the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for otherwise qualified employees with disabilities, include providing medical leave if does not present an undue burden to the employer.

The EEOC filed yesterday’s suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The case (EEOC v. Midwest Gaming LLC, dba Rivers Casino, Civil Action No. 17-cv-6811 was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division and assigned to Judge Rubin Castillo.

“Employers need to be reminded that a limited request for medical leave can be a reasonable accommodation and employers risk violating the law if they summarily deny such requests,” said Greg Gochanour, regional attorney of the EEOC’s Chicago District Office. “Mr. Lake was a good employee who just needed a little more time to fight his cancer. It is unfortunate that Rivers ignored its obligations under the ADA and fired him while he was trying to fight his cancer.”