The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") has settled a case of employment discrimination against Nordstrom Department Stores in Florida. In that case, which was filed on September 27, 2007 in the Southern District of Florida, Palm Beach Division, the EEOC brought suit on behalf of 10 former employees. See EEOC v. Nordstrom, Inc., Case No. 07-80894-Civ-Ryskamp/Vitunac. The EEOC charged that a department store manager harassed Hispanic and black employees based on their national origin, race, and color, and retaliated against those who complained about the harassment.
According to the EEOC's lawsuit, an alterations department manager had complained that she "hate[d] Hispanics," and that Hispanics were "lazy" and "ignorant." Hispanic tailors were allegedly chastised by the alterations manager for speaking to each other in Spanish. The same manager made other derogatory remarks such as "I don't like blacks" and "you're black, you stink."
The employees complained to Nordstrom about the harassment, but the harassment allegedly continued. Furthermore, the alteration's manager allegedly retaliated against those who complained by continuing the racially offensive comments, unfairly berating employees and citing them for alleged performance problems.
Nordstrom agreed to settle the case for $292,500 in damages, as well as agreeing to (i) provide harassment training, (ii) distribute its policy addressing unlawful harassment to all employees in the Wellington and Palm Beach stores, and (iii) submit semi-annual reports to the EEOC on all harassment complaints received during the next two years.
Upon announcing the settlement, the EEOC stated that "[e]mployers must act swiftly to correct harassment and prevent abusive conduct. Instead of dealing with the despicable racial and ethnic comments, Nordstrom management allowed the harasser to retaliate against the complaining employees for complaining."
If you are a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace and you want to protect your rights, contact Santiago Padilla, Law Offices of Santiago J. Padilla, P.A. as soon as possible. Based in Miami, Florida, we represent workers throughout South Florida in sexual harassment cases. To set up a free initial consultation, you can contact us through the Internet or call us a (305) 358-1949.
