Miami Employment Lawyer Blog

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), the federal agency charged with enforcing the federal anti-discrimination laws, filed a lawsuit in federal court last month against the Maxwell House Coffee Company alleging that the company discriminated against a female employee because it disciplined her more harshly than male employees. The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida and alleged that Francena Smith was subjected to unlawful discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when she was discharged for an incident that involved damage to coffee product. Specifically, the EEOC alleged that at least six male employees who were involved in similar incidents that damaged coffee product were not discharged, but were simply given minor discipline, such as verbal warnings. All of the male employees had comparable disciplinary records as Smith. In fact, the complaint alleges that on the day of the incident involving Smith, another male co-worker was also involved in an incident that damaged coffee product, but that male co-worker was just given a verbal warning. Smith, however, was discharged.

Disciplining female employees more harshly than male employees for the same or similar conduct constitutes sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ("Title VII"). Under Title VII, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against an employee because of that person's sex. Therefore, if female employees are treated differently than male employees with respect to terms and conditions of employment, the employer may be in violation of Title VII. In the Smith case, the company had a policy of progressive discipline whereby an employee is first be given a verbal warning, followed by a written warning, suspension and then finally termination if the conduct is not corrected. The EEOC alleged that the company failed to follow this progressive discipline policy in Smith's case, particularly because she had had not been disciplined for over two years and should have been given a verbal warning rather than termination.

Treating employees differently because of other factors may also be illegal and a violation of federal law. For example, treating older employees differently than younger employees could be a violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and treating disabled employees differently than non-disabled employees could be a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.