Oklahoma printing company ordered to pay $47,000 after employee was called a monkey

Worldwide Printing and Distribution, Inc., doing business as ResourceOne, a commercial printing, direct mail and direct marketing company in Tulsa, Oklahoma, will pay $47,500 and provide other relief to settle a harassment lawsuit filed by the Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) of the US. , the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC lawsuit, in August 2022, a ResourceOne employee showed her supervisor the results of an at-home DNA test kit indicating the employee’s Cameroonian and Congolese ancestry. After that, the supervisor repeatedly called her “monkey” and “Congo”. The supervisor also made fun of the employee, saying she was “swinging in the trees” and that she was a “monkey princess” looking for a “king.” The employee asked the supervisor to stop, but the harassment continued, the EEOC said.

When the employee complained to a senior manager, he asked the employee if she preferred to be called “monkey” or “Congo” and did nothing to stop the supervisor’s conduct. The EEOC charged that the harassment was so intolerable that the employee resigned. Following the employee’s forced resignation, the supervisor obtained her phone number and sent her a text message calling her “Congo,” the EEOC charged.

ResourceOne’s conduct violated the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which prohibits discrimination and harassment in the workplace based on genetic information, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination and harassment in the workplace based on national origin and of race. The agency filed suit (EEOC v. Worldwide Printing and Distribution d/b/a ResourceOne, Civil Action No. 23-cv-00419) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma after trying to reach a settlement through its conciliation process.

The consent decree settling the lawsuit, which runs until March 31, 2027, requires ResourceOne to pay $47,500 in monetary damages to the former employee and to adopt and maintain policies and procedures designed to prevent future discrimination. They must also provide training to employees regarding GINA and Title VII compliance. The decree requires ResourceOne to notify employees of their right to be free from discrimination and harassment based on race, national origin and genetic information.

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Oklahoma