$160,000 To Settle Racial Harassment Suit; Training Required
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Thursday, August 10, 2017 |
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Taylor Shellfish will pay $160,000 and implement other relief to settle a federal lawsuit filed by the EEOC, the federal agency announced. According to the EEOC's suit, a black maintenance mechanic at the Taylor Shellfish's Samish Bay Farm faced repeated demeaning comments about his race, including the use of the "N word," "spook" and "boy." His direct supervisor commented that his father used to run "your kind" out of town. When the mechanic reported this behavior to management, the supervisor retaliated against him and Taylor Shellfish simply advised him to "put his head down and do what he was told," the EEOC said. After being wrongly accused and disciplined for insubordination, he felt he had no other choice but to quit his job.
Racial harassment and retaliation violate Title VII of Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington (EEOC v. Taylor Shellfish Company, Inc., 2:16-CV-01517), after an investigation by EEOC Investigator Elizabeth Cannon and after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement through its conciliation process.
Under the consent decree resolving this case, Taylor Shellfish has agreed to implement new policies, conduct extensive training for employees and management, post an anti-discrimination notice at the workplace and report compliance to the EEOC for a three-year period.
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