Sexual Harassment and Race Discrimination Claims Against Tavern on the Green Settled for $2.2 million

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently finished prosecuting a case involving severe sexual harassment as well as gender and race discrimination against New York’s landmark restaurant, Tavern on the Green. According to the EEOC, Tavern on the Green subjected female, black, and Hispanic employees to continual lewd and degrading conduct. Female employees were allegedly forced to endure demands for sexual acts as well as various forms of groping and inappropriate touching. Black and Hispanic employees also allegedly experienced racial epithets and ridicule for their accents.

The EEOC, which brought the suit on behalf of 50 employees, was successful in securing a settlement of $2.2 million. As part of the settlement, Tavern on the Green is also required to establish a telephone hotline for employees to report discrimination complaints. In its Press Release, EEOC New York District Director Spencer H. Lewis made clear the duty that employers owe to their workers:

This case should remind employers to take seriously allegations of harassment and retaliation, especially where managers in positions of authority are involved in the misconduct.

According to Professor Marcia McCormick of Cumberland School of Law (Samford University), the lawsuit signified a victory for the EEOC’s EEOC’s E-RACE Initiative (Eradicating Racism and Colorism from Employment), which was launched in 2008 to eliminate race discrimination from the workplace by enhancing public awareness and through litigating unlawful employment practices.

For more information, please visit the New York Times’ article entitled, Tavern on the Green to Pay $2.2 Million to Settle Harassment Claim.

Job Discrimination Complaints Jump 9%

Workplace discrimination complaints by employees against private employers to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) rose by 9% last year, signifying the largest annual increase since the early 1990s. The EEOC reported that complaints increased to 75,768 during the 2006 budget year, up from 75,428 in the previous year. Discrimination complaints based on race, retaliation, and sex were the most common. Below is an overview:

Race discrimination complaints totaled 27,238; about 35.9% of all EEOC filings

Sex discrimination complaints totaled 23,247; about 30.7% of all EEOC filings

Retaliation complaints totaled 22,555; about 29.8% of all EEOC filings

Handicap discrimination complaints totaled 15,625; about 20.6% of all EEOC filings

Age discrimination complaints totaled 13,569; about 17.9% of all EEOC filings

Sexual harassment complaints totaled 12,025; about 15% of all EEOC filings

National origin discrimination complaints totaled 8,327; about 11% of all EEOC filings

Religious discrimination complaints totaled 2,541; about 3.4% of all EEOC filings

(It is not uncommon for employees to suffer more than one type of discrimination, which is why the total exceeds 100%)

Age discrimination and handicap discrimination complaints recorded double-digit percentage increases. Complaints about discrimination based on pregnancy also rose by 14% to 5,587. In 2006, the EEOC was successful in recovering $274 million in compensation for employees reporting discrimination. The Washington Post reported on these figures in an article entitled, Job Discrimination Filings Rise in 2006