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EMPLOYMENT LAW — 7/18/06

Car wash to pay $125,500 for same-sex harassment

A Glenview, Illinois car wash will pay $125,500 to end a same-sex harassment lawsuit filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of a class of current and former employees (EEOC v Glenview Car Wash, Inc, NDIll, no 05 C 5568).

The EEOC alleged that Glenview Car Wash, Inc violated Title VII by subjecting male employees to unwanted sexual touching, grabbing and propositions by a male manager. According to the employees, their manager would: (1) grope them; (2) follow them into the restroom; and (3) offer them money for sex, to expose themselves or to grab their coworkers. Three employees who filed the underlying charges are represented by attorneys Marisel Hernandez and Sylvia Rios of the law firm of Jacobs, Burns, Orlove, Stanton and Hernandez located in Chicago.

The two-year consent decree, entered on June 7, 2006 by Judge Ronald A. Guzman from the Northern District Court of Illinois, provides $125,500 in monetary relief for five current and former employees. The decree also enjoins the car wash from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, including sexual harassment, and requires the car wash to post a notice regarding the consent decree, train all its managers, supervisors and employees on Title VII and report any complaints of sex bias to the EEOC.

"Not only have five victims of harassment received compensation as a result of the entry of this decree, but current and future employees will be trained on their rights under Title VII," said EEOC Regional Attorney in Chicago, John Hendrickson. "This, we expect, will change the culture in that workplace." Hendrickson added, "Historically, many employees of the car wash have been Hispanic immigrants who tolerated the harassment out of fear for their jobs and fear of becoming involved in immigration-related troubles. Now they — and others — have seen that the EEOC was able to protect them from intimidation based on immigration status and to secure meaningful, real-world relief."

For more information on this and other topics, consult CCH Employment Practices Guide or CCH Labor Relations.

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