This is the type of case where preventive training could have helped. If the employees would have complained to the right persons it may have stopped it before it became so egregious. Are you aware of the affirmative defenses that are available to employers if proper training is conducted?
Pharmacy giant Omnicare, Inc. will pay $195,000 to a class of five female sex discrimination victims under a consent decree entered by Magistrate Judge Stephen Crocker on December 21, 2010 in federal court in the Western District of Wisconsin.
According to the EEOC’s suit, a pharmacy manager engaged in repeated, egregious acts of sexual harassment toward female employees, such as unwelcome touching that included approaching female employees from behind and grinding his crotch on them, and making sexually explicit and demeaning comments to female employees. According to the EEOC, women complained about the manager’s behavior repeatedly, but no action was taken by Omnicare to put a stop to it.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it unlawful to harass employees based on sex, including sexual harassment, and prohibits retaliation against someone who complains about discrimination. The EEOC filed suit ( EEOC v. Omnicare, Inc. d/b/a Pinnacle Pharmacy, Case No. 10 cv 364) on June 30 in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
Under the terms of the two-year consent decree settling the suit, Omnicare will pay $195,000 to the class of five women. In addition to monetary damages, the decree provides for injunctive relief enjoining Omnicare from maintaining a sexually hostile work environment or engaging in retaliation. The decree also requires the company to distribute its policy against sexual harassment along with a confidential survey assessing the company’s complaint reporting system, provide annual sexual harassment training for employees, and provide periodic reports to the EEOC.