The construction firm will pay $50,000 to settle the retaliation claim

Pro Pallet, LLC, a Pennsylvania-based construction company, will pay $50,000 and provide other relief to settle a retaliation lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

According to the EEOC lawsuit, an HR manager received a sexual harassment complaint against the company’s CEO. When the human resources manager began investigating the complaint, Pro Pallet’s president and owner reprimanded her for performing that duty, reassigned important job responsibilities to other employees and excluded her from company meetings, the EEOC alleged. As a result of these retaliatory actions by Pro Pallet, the HR manager resigned.

The EEOC said the alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits retaliation against employees who object to employment practices they reasonably believe to be discriminatory, such as alleged sexual harassment.

The EEOC said it filed the lawsuit in federal court in Pennsylvania after first trying to reach a pre-litigation settlement.

=While ProPallet agreed to the terms of the consent decree, the company did not admit any liability.

In addition to requiring the company to pay the employee $50,000, the decree prohibits the company from retaliating against employees who object to employment practices it reasonably believes to be discriminatory, including sexual harassment; require the company to amend its discrimination and retaliation policies; training mandates Title VII; and requires the company to report information to the EEOC about future complaints of discrimination and retaliation for a period of three years.

TOPICS
construction