Is there a way the employer below could have avoided this problem?
SKMATCH, Inc., the operator of a Subway
restaurant in Wilmington, N.C., will pay $55,000 and furnish other
relief to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the EEOC.
The EEOC had charged that two female employees were subjected to a
sexually hostile work environment at one of SKMATCH’s Subway restaurants
in Wilmington.
According to the EEOC’s complaint, from around December 2008 through
May 7, 2009, the male assistant manager at the Subway store where Helena
Miller worked, subjected her to repeated sexual comments, sexual
propositions and name calling and sexual touching. At the time of the
sexual harassment, Miller was only 18 years old, and the assistant
manager who harassed her was ten years older than her. Miller complained
to other managers about the sexual harassment, the EEOC said, but no
action was taken in response to her complaints. The harassment was so
intolerable that Miller was forced to quit her job in order to avoid
being harassed.
In addition to the $55,000 in compensatory damages to be divided
between Miller and a second victim, the five-year consent decree
resolving the lawsuit includes injunctive relief that requires SKMATCH
to (1) refrain from engaging in sexual harassment or retaliation; (2)
revise its sexual harassment policy to include procedures for reporting
and resolving sexual harassment complaints; (3) conduct
anti-discrimination training; (4) post a notice about the settlement;
(5) distribute its revised policies prohibiting sexual harassment; and
(6) report certain complaints of harassment to the EEOC for monitoring.
Editor's note: How can an employer efficiently train and distribute policies to its employees? We can help employers do both via HR Classroom, http://www.hrclassroom.com.