A Merrillville, Ind., plastics product manufacturer
will pay $170,000 to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit brought by the
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
The EEOC charged in its suit (Case no. 2:09-CV-0141 in U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division) that
Polycon Industries violated federal law by refusing to promote female
employees into its higher-paying production positions. The EEOC also
charged that Polycon further violated the law by considering gender
when placing new hires into entry-level positions, to the detriment of
female new hires, who were overwhelmingly placed into lower-paying
entry-level jobs.
Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. The EEOC filed suit
after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement.
In addition to the monetary settlement, the consent decree requires
Polycon to affirmatively take action to place new hires and promote
females in a non-discriminatory manner, comply with prohibitions
against further discrimination, post and distribute a policy of
non-discrimination, train its employees and report to the EEOC.
“Despite the Commission’s 45-year existence, some employers still
make the mistake of basing job placement decisions on gender, said EEOC
Regional Attorney Laurie Young. “This settlement will send a message to
all employers that labeling jobs as ‘male’ or ‘female’ will not be
tolerated and the EEOC will take all necessary steps to prevent this
sort of gender stereotyping and ensure compliance with equal employment
opportunity laws.”