Female Employee Physically and Verbally Harassed By Supervisors, Federal Agency Charged
DALLAS - G2 Corporation, doing business as Screen Tight, has agreed to pay $55,000 and furnish significant relief to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
The EEOC charged that a female worker in the patio screen door fabrication warehouse in Corsicana, Texas was subjected to unwelcome physical and verbal sexual harassment from her production manager and another company official. Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) which prohibits employers from discriminating based on sex. The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (EEOC v. G2 Corporation d/b/a Screen Tight, Civil Action No. 3:18-cv-01524), after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
"We commend top management of the G2 Corporation for addressing the concerns and acknowledging the benefit of the various remedial approaches embodied in the settlement agreement, including the importance of training employees and managers on their employment rights and responsibilities under Title VII," said EEOC Trial Attorney Joel Clark. "We believe this consent decree demonstrates G2's commitment to taking proactive steps to educate and empower employees on their Title VII rights."
A five-year consent decree settling the suit was signed by U.S. District Court Judge A. Joe Fish on July 17, 2019. In response to the EEOC's investigation and civil suit, the South Carolina-based company has agreed to terminate the Corsicana production manager who engaged in physical aggression and intimidation. In addition to paying $55,000 in monetary relief to the female worker, the decree enjoins G2 Corporation from engaging in sex harassment in the future. The company has also agreed to provide training on sex discrimination to its managers and employees, post a notice of employee rights under Title VII, and report future complaints of sex harassment to the EEOC.
"It can be a challenge to oversee the environment of a particular facility when corporate managers operate at a distance and their plants or facilities are entrusted to persons with whom they do not spend significant face-time," added EEOC Dallas District Office Regional Attorney Robert A. Canino. "Making sure to have policies and procedures in place and to communicate them top-down to all employees on a regular basis is a big first step to preventing unlawful conduct and deterring deviation from a company's positive core values."
Preventing workplace harassment through systemic litigation and investigation is also one of the six national priorities identified by the Commission's Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP).
