Not only must employers not discrimate against protected class employees, be it gender, sexual, national origin, race, creed, hostile work environment, etc., employers are also forbidden to retaliate if a worker files a workers' comp claim. That means, the employee may not be demoted, punished in any way or fired . So, exactly WHAT should an employer do — OBEY THE LAW. ,A major farm growers' cooperative with processing plants in three states violated federal law by subjecting a class of female employees to pervasive harassment based on gender, and national origin and subjecting the women to a sexually hostile work environment by male coworkers. In retaliation for complaining about it the employer fired one employee, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit. The perpetrators allegedly engaged in unrelenting sexual harassment, including: making sexual advances to female employees; asking them to expose their breasts; asking them on dates; and making vulgar sexual comments. The male coworkers also engaged in threatening behavior, such as using the forklift to chase women or blocking them with their bodies or a broom while they walked down the hall. The EEOC also charges the women were subjected to unlawful harassment because of their Mexican national origin. Employees allegedly yelled and cursed at the class members, threw things at them and pushed them. The EEOC said even when the class members repeatedly complained about the sexual and national origin harassment to supervisors and managers, the employer failed to take prompt and effective action to stop the harassment. Instead, the agency said, the harassment intensified or continued. In addition, the employer retaliated against employees opposing the harassment by disciplining three of them for conduct that other employees routinely engaged in and were not disciplined for, and terminating one Mexican female employee. "This is another tragic example of an employer failing to stop cruel, humiliating, and illegal victimization of vulnerable employees," said EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart Ishimaru. "Worse yet, here the employer even punished the victims for speaking out against their mistreatment. The EEOC is focused on protecting the rights of farm workers and migrant workers to be free from employment discrimination and retaliation. That is why we're filing this lawsuit." The EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No. 09-cv-1811) in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement. The EEOC seeks injunctive relief to end the discriminatory practices, plus back pay and compensatory and punitive damages to compensate the victims for their monetary losses and emotional pain and suffering. (workersxzcompxzkit) "Unfortunately, farm worker women are often especially vulnerable to unlawful sexual harassment," said District Director Marie Tomasso of the EEOC's Philadelphia District Office, which oversees Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia, Maryland, and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. "The EEOC is committed to addressing the pervasive problem of sexual harassment of farm worker women and other low-income workers."
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers' Compensation costs, including airlines, health care, manufacturing, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. He can be contacted at: [email protected] or 860-786-8286.
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