EEOC settles 'women's work' complaint at staffing agency
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A West Chicago, Illinois, staffing agency will pay $800,000 to resolve two U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuits in which it was charged with categorizing jobs as “men’s work” or “women’s work” among other charges, the agency said Monday.
The EEOC said Source One Staffing Inc. was also charged with violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by assigning female employees to a known hostile environment; retaliating against two female employees who reported their supervisor was making sexual advances toward them; asking impermissible pre-employment medical questions in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act; and failing or refusing to assign employees to certain jobs because of their race and/or national origin.
Of the $800,000 settlement, $730,000 will go to a class of female employees who were not considered for certain work on the basis of their sex, and the remaining $70,000 will go to sexual harassment and retaliation victims, the EEOC said.
Under the consent decree approved last week in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Source One is also required to train its employees on employees’ rights under Title VII and the ADA, among other measures.
“While the consent decree puts an end to four years of litigation between EEOC and Source One, the matter is far from over,” said John Hendrickson, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Chicago district office, in the statement.
“The EEOC — through the appointment of an independent monitor — will keep a watchful eye on Source One to make sure it fulfills all of its obligations under the decree for the next three years. If Source One fails to adhere to the decree, the EEOC will do everything in its power to ensure compliance.”
A company official could not immediately be reached for comment.
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