19 Million Reasons to Follow the Law
One of the best ways to stay out of court is to (1) keep tabs on what the EEOC is suing employers for and then (2) don’t do those things.
Over the holidays, the EEOC announced a settlement with a national restaurant chain that requires it to pay $19 million and to provide significant remedial relief.
According to the EEOC, the company discriminated against “thousands of women at hundreds of its corporately-owned restaurants nationwide.” The EEOC alleged that female employees hit a glass ceiling that prevented them from getting promoted to higher-level management positions. Among other things, the EEOC contended that women were denied favorable job assignments that were required for employees to be considered for promotions.
In addition to paying $19 million, the company agreed to a four-year consent decree requiring it to:
- create a new “Vice President of People” position;
- implement an online application system for employees interested in management positions;
- retain a consultant for two years to analyze hiring data to determine whether potential discrimination is occurring; and
- report to the EEOC every six months on progress under the decree.
“There are still too many glass ceilings left to shatter in workplaces throughout corporate America,” said EEOC’s Acting Chair, Stuart Ishimaru. “The EEOC will continue to bring lawsuits like this one against employers who engage in gender discrimination on a systemic scale. Hopefully this major settlement will remind employers about the perils of perpetuating promotion practices that keep women from advancing at work.”
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Article by Mark Toth, Chief Legal Officer of Manpower’s North American operations, and courtesy of Manpower Employment Blawg. Mark also serve as Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President of Franchise Relations and serve on our Global Leadership Team, North American Lead Team, Executive Diversity Steering Committee and Sarbanes-Oxley Steering Committee.
