Settles Federal Lawsuit Charging That Supervisor Called Employee ‘Ape’ and ‘Congo’ After Learning of African Heritage
TULSA, Okla. - Worldwide Printing and Distribution, Inc., doing business as ResourceOne, a Tulsa commercial printing, direct mailing and direct marketing company, will pay $47,500 and furnish other relief to resolve a harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, in August 2022, a ResourceOne employee showed her supervisor results from an at-home DNA test kit indicating the employee’s ancestry from Cameroon and the Congo. Afterward, the supervisor repeatedly called her “ape” and “Congo.” The supervisor also mocked the employee, saying she was “swinging through the trees” and was an “ape princess” looking for a “king.” The employee asked the supervisor to stop but the harassment continued, the EEOC said.
When the employee complained to a higher-level manager, he asked the employee if she preferred to be called “ape” or “Congo” and did nothing to stop the supervisor’s conduct. The EEOC charged the harassment was so intolerable the employee resigned. Following the employee’s forced resignation, the supervisor obtained her phone number and sent her a text message calling her “Congo,” the EEOC charged.
ResourceOne’s conduct violated the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which prohibits discrimination and harassment in the workplace based on genetic information, and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits workplace discrimination and harassment based on national origin and race. The agency filed suit (EEOC v. Worldwide Printing and Distribution d/b/a ResourceOne, Civil Action No. 23-cv-00419) in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma after attempting to reach a settlement through its conciliation process.
The consent decree settling the suit, which runs through March 31, 2027, requires ResourceOne to pay $47,500 in monetary damages to the former employee and to adopt and maintain policies and procedures designed to prevent future discrimination. They must also provide employee training regarding compliance with GINA and Title VII. The decree requires ResourceOne to notify employees about their right to be free from discrimination and harassment based on race, national origin and genetic information.
“Ethnic slurs are abhorrent anywhere, and they can never be tolerated in the workplace,” said Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC’s St. Louis District office. “Employers are obligated to protect their workers from this kind of conduct, and the consent decree entered by the court today will help ensure that ResourceOne’s workers are protected from harassment.”
David S. Davis, director of the EEOC’s St. Louis District office, said, “This consent decree not only requires ResourceOne to proactively work to prevent discrimination and harassment, but it also requires the company to educate employees about their rights. Educating workers is key to ending on-the-job harassment.”
For more information about these types of discrimination, please visit:
https://www.eeoc.gov/genetic-information-discrimination
https://www.eeoc.gov/harassment
https://www.eeoc.gov/national-origin-discrimination
https://www.eeoc.gov/racecolor-discrimination.
The EEOC’s St. Louis District Office is responsible for addressing discrimination charges and conducting agency litigation in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and a portion of southern Illinois.
The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.
