EEOC Garners $1.5 Million Settlement Against Auto Dealer
January 13, 2010

In this new era of aggressive enforcement by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), on January 6, 2010 the EEOC and Arapahoe Motors Inc. (“Arapahoe”) entered into a $1.5 million settlement of a sex and age discrimination lawsuit. Ten former employees will share the settlement. Along with the monetary penalty, under a consent decree Arapahoe must provide current supervisors with four hours of EEO training annually and new hires must receive such training within ten days of employment. Training must be provided for non-supervisory employees in a similar manner. Arapahoe must also report its compliance with the consent decree to the EEOC at defined intervals.

The lawsuit brought by the EEOC claimed that Arapahoe fired older males because of their age, and sexually harassed female employees and discriminated against them because of their sex. Specifically, the lawsuit alleged that females were subjected to offensive sexual remarks and physical touching by male employees and female employees were treated less favorably than men in promotions, demotions, transfers, and pay. As to the age claim, the EEOC claimed that Arapahoe terminated males in their 60s, and replaced them with younger, less experienced workers or younger workers with lower sales numbers.

The EEOC’s Acting Chairman commented that “sexual harassment and sex discrimination against women in traditionally male-dominated industries, such as the auto industry, are still unfortunate realities. Auto dealers take heed: the EEOC has just told you that, as a “traditionally male-dominated industry,” you can expect stricter scrutiny and greater attention from the EEOC. The Acting Chairman also said that older workers continue to experience age discrimination despite their experience, productivity, and qualifications and that “the EEOC is here to find and fight this unlawful mistreatment.”

With stepped up enforcement at the Department of Labor and the EEOC, employers should take heed from Arapahoe’s alleged missteps. Now is the time to review internal mechanisms for uncovering and remedying discrimination complaints, and to train or re-train supervisors on the law. One of the first questions the EEOC will ask if you do come under investigation is what have you done to prevent discrimination.

The foregoing is not intended as legal advice and should not be construed as such. If you need assistance with your policies and procedures or training related to harassment prevention in the workplace, please feel free to contact Frank Laws or Donna Glover at (410) 752-2468.