Iron Hill Brewery Pays $115,000 in Race Discrimination and Retaliation Lawsuit

Iron Hill Brewery, LLC, a chain of breweries and restaurants that operates across several states, has agreed to pay a former employee $115,000 and furnish other relief to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over race discrimination and retaliation. The EEOC alleged that Iron Hill discriminated against an African American employee at its Georgia location when the company fired him because of his race and in retaliation for reporting discrimination against women and Hispanic employees.

According to the EEOC’s allegations, an African American sous chef-in-training complained twice to Iron Hill that management employees were mistreating Hispanic employees and women. In one case, he contended that a woman was not being provided a safe private space to express her breast milk. He immediately received an unwarranted disciplinary action and was subsequently fired, according to the EEOC.

This conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits retaliation for engaging in protected activity, such as voicing concerns about the discriminatory treatment of employees in your workplace. The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

In addition to paying the former employee $115,000, Iron Hill Brewery was forced to sign a three-year consent decree that requires it to provide nationwide training to its employees regarding Title VII’s prohibitions against racial discrimination and retaliation. Iron Hill Brewery is also required to implement an anti-retaliation policy that will provide employees with examples of unlawful retaliation in the workplace. The consent decree also requires Iron Hill Brewery to post a notice which describes the general requirements of Title VII.

Analyzing the lawsuit 

In this case, the employee was fired shortly after bringing discriminatory policies to the attention of management. The EEOC saw through the pretense and forced the company to pay the employee for the unlawful firing. Employees may not be fired for reporting discrimination to their bosses. If they are, this is a clear violation of Title VII’s anti-retaliation prohibitions. Similarly, Employees may not be demoted or transferred either, simply because they reported discrimination to their bosses.

If you have ever been in a situation where you brought discriminatory conduct to the attention of a supervisor or HR, and they retaliated against you for reporting the discriminatory conduct  to them, then you would be entitled to sue your employer under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

These prohibitions are here for a reason.  Despite knowing the rules, they are still occasionally broken by companies thinking that they are above the law.

Talk to a Tampa, FL Employment Discrimination Lawyer Today 

Florin Gray represents the interests of employees who have been discriminated against in the workplace, fired, demoted, or subjected to a hostile work environment. Call our Tampa employment lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your case right away.

Source:

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