AGREES TO PAY $200,000 TO SETTLE EEOC CLAIMS
The Cleaning Authority-Fox Valley – a Wisconsin cleaning-service provider – recently settled a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for $200,000.
Apparently, because the company allowed its female workers to be subjected to “sexual advances, unwanted touching and sexual comments,” one employee was forced to quit, while others who voiced complaints were terminated.
Believing that such conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, (EEOC v. Nekimi Holdings, LLC d/b/a The Cleaning Authority-Fox Valley, Case No:1:23-cv-01293-WCG.), seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.
In addition to the $200,000 payment, the company has agreed to modify its employment and training related practices.
By way of a written statement, Gregory Gochanour, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Chicago District Office noted that, “All employees have a right to a work environment free of sexual harassment …. In a predominantly female workforce, like the cleaning service industry, a failure to enforce anti-harassment policies can render all workers in the company vulnerable to offensive and harsh treatment—especially if the sexual harasser is in a position of authority. Just like the harassment itself, terminating workers who complain about sexual harassment is unacceptable and unlawful.”
Think they felt dirty after that?
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