Florida Walmart Settles Sexual Harassment Lawsuit with EEOC
When an employee complains that another employee has made unwanted sexual comments, the employer must act quickly to remedy the situation. Federal law requires the employer to act on behalf of the employee who is making the complaint and take some action to remedy the situation. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits sexual harassment in the workplace. In one case, a Florida Walmart in DeFuniak Springs faced a lawsuit filed by the EEOC after failing to act when a female employee reported that a male employee was making sexual comments about her body. She complained about the conduct to several managers, but the male employee was never disciplined. Nor was any corrective action taken by her managers. Walmart now must pay the female employee $30,000 to settle the lawsuit with the EEOC.
Understanding the lawsuit
The employee contended that another employee made unwanted sexual comments about her body. She reported the conduct to her managers who did not act to quell the illegal behavior. As a result, the employee filed a complaint with the EEOC and the EEOC took up her case. They were able to recover $30,000 in damages from Walmart to be paid to the employee who suffered the sexual harassment.
In addition to paying the employee $30,000, Walmart will also be required to train supervisors and managers at the DeFuniak Springs Store on anti-sexual harassment initiatives and how to appropriately respond to a complaint of sexual harassment. All employees at the store will receive copies of harassment policies. A representative of the EEOC said that all “Employers should foster an atmosphere where sexual harassment is not tolerated.”
Ultimately, a simple failure like not following up on a complaint can result in serious consequences for an employer. In this case, the employer was required to pay the employee $30,000 and sign a consent decree that would prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
Sexual harassment lawsuits
The aforementioned is a pretty standard sexual harassment lawsuit. A male employee makes unwanted sexual comments to a female employee and she reports the conduct to managers. At this point, the business is in no danger of being sued. It’s only until after they neglect to act on the female employee’s complaint that the matter becomes actionable. In this case, Walmart failed to act on a credible complaint that a female employee was being sexually harassed by another employee of the store. At that point, the matter becomes actionable, and the EEOC filed suit on the employee’s behalf.
Talk to a Tampa, FL Sexual Harassment Attorney Today
Florin Gray Bouzas Owens, LLC represents the interests of employees who have endured sexual harassment in the workplace. If you filed a complaint with your employer, and they failed to act on that complaint, you have enough to pursue a sexual harassment lawsuit against them. Call our Tampa employment lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your claims right away.
Source:
theamericangenius.com/business-news/florida-walmart-settles-eeoc-sexual-harassment-lawsuit/
