The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a  final court judgment of $1,073,261 against Whirlpool Corporation in a race and  sex discrimination lawsuit on behalf of Carlota Freeman, an African American  former employee at the company’s LeVergne, Tenn.-based facility. The EEOC  alleged in its lawsuit that the appliance manufacturing giant failed to protect  Freeman from persistent harassment by a white male coworker, which ultimately  resulted in her being physically assaulted by him.

Following a bench trial, Tennessee District Court Judge  John T. Nixon last week awarded Freeman $773,261 in back pay and front pay, and  $300,000 in compensatory damages for nonpecuniary injuries – the maximum  allowed under federal law. During the  four-day trial, the evidence showed that Freeman reported escalating offensive  verbal conduct and gestures by the male coworker over a period of two months  before he physically assaulted her; four levels of Whirlpool’s management were  aware of the escalating harassment; Whirlpool failed to take effective steps to  stop the harassment; and, Freeman suffered devastating permanent mental  injuries that will prevent her from working again as a result of the assault  and Whirlpool’s failure to protect her.