CARIBOU, MAINE SETTLES DOJ LAWSUIT CONCERNING SEX DISCRIMINATION

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
City of Caribou, Maine, Agrees to Settle Justice Department Lawsuit Alleging Sex Discrimination

The Justice Department announced today that it has agreed to enter into a consent decree with the city of Caribou, Maine, that, if approved by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine, will resolve allegations that Caribou discriminated against a female employee based upon her sex, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The department’s complaint alleges that Caribou discriminated against a female city employee when she was regularly subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace by the city’s former Fire Chief, Roy Woods.  According to the complaint, the sexual harassment of the victim included both unwanted touching and comments, culminating in Mr. Woods sexually assaulting the victim.  At the time of the assault, the victim was 18 years old and worked for Caribou under Mr. Woods’ supervision.  Mr. Woods was 66.

According to the department’s complaint, Caribou did not take reasonable steps to prevent Woods’ unlawful acts.  For instance, supervisory employees with Caribou knew that Woods had a history of sexually harassing women in the workplace but Caribou never took any action to stop his harassment.  Caribou did not take any corrective action at all until Dec. 27, 2011, after Woods had assaulted the victim.  The victim was never provided with Caribou’s sexual harassment policy and was unaware of the process for reporting Woods’ illegal conduct before it escalated to an assault.  The department’s complaint was based on a charge of discrimination filed by the victim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Maine Human Rights Commission that was forwarded to the department by the EEOC’s Boston Office.

Under the terms of the consent decree, once approved by the district court, Caribou is required to review and revise its sexual harassment policies in order to protect its employees from sexual harassment in the workplace.  Caribou must provide training to its employees on its newly revised policies for the prevention of sexual harassment.  The consent decree also requires Caribou to pay the victim a monetary award of $85,000.

“All Americans are entitled to a workplace that is free of unlawful harassment based upon sex,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division.  “The early resolution of this case, without contested litigation, was in the best interests of all parties concerned.”

The United States is represented in this case by Civil Rights Division attorney Allan Townsend.

DOJ FILES SEX DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT AGAINST COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA AND STATE POLICE

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Justice Department Files Lawsuit Alleging Sex Discrimination Against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania State Police

The Justice Department announced the filing of a lawsuit today against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania State Police, alleging that the defendants are engaged in a pattern or practice of employment discrimination against women in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.   Specifically, the lawsuit challenges the state police’s use of two physical fitness tests to screen and select entry-level state troopers.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, alleges that the physical fitness tests used by the state police between 2003 and the present excluded qualified women from consideration for hire as entry-level state troopers by testing for physical skills that are not required to perform the job.  The department also alleges that, during the relevant time period, the defendants’ use of physical fitness tests as part of a multi-step employment selection process disproportionately screened out female applicants, resulting in a disparate impact against those applicants.

Title VII prohibits both intentional discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin and religion as well as employment practices that result in a disparate impact upon a protected group, unless the practices are job-related and consistent with business necessity.   The department alleges that the defendants’ use of the challenged physical fitness tests violates Title VII because that use does not meet this standard and does not identify the best qualified applicants for entry-level state trooper jobs.

“The Department of Justice is deeply committed to eliminating artificial barriers that keep qualified women out of public safety work,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.   “The Justice Department will continue to challenge discriminatory hiring practices that unnecessarily exclude qualified applicants on account of sex.”

In the lawsuit, the department seeks a court order that would require the Pennsylvania State Police to stop using the challenged physical fitness tests, develop hiring procedures that comply with Title VII and provide make-whole relief, including offers of hire, retroactive seniority, and back pay to individual women who have been harmed as a result of the defendants’ use of the challenged physical fitness tests.

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT REACHES AGREEMENT WITH CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DISTRICT OVER SEXUAL ASSAULTS AND HARASSMENT

FROM:  U.S. EDUCATION DEPARTMENT    
U.S. Department of Education Reaches Agreement with West Contra Costa Unified School District in California to Address & Prevent Sexual Assault, Harassment of Students
NOVEMBER 6, 2013

The U.S. Department of Education announced today that its Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has entered into an agreement with the West Contra Costa Unified School District (district), in Richmond, Calif., to ensure compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX). OCR proactively initiated the investigation to examine whether the district responded promptly and effectively to instances of sexual harassment and sexual violence.

OCR’s investigation revealed that sexually harassing, student-on-student behavior permeated the educational environment at school sites and that the district has not undertaken school-wide or district-wide initiatives sufficient to address it.

Evidence included verbal and physical conduct by students, including sexual assaults, unwelcome touching, demands for sexual favors, and the use of sexually derogatory language created a hostile environment at district schools. OCR also found that students had been subjected to sexual harassment by employees. In addition, the district was not in compliance with the procedural requirements of Title IX, which include adoption and publication of grievance procedures providing for prompt and equitable resolution of complaints of sex discrimination and designation of at least one employee to coordinate compliance with Title IX.

“I am dismayed by the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault occurring at elementary and secondary schools in West Contra Costa,” said Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights. “Although the district frequently reported known incidents of sexual assaults to law enforcement for prosecution, the district did not fully comply with its legal obligations under Title IX to take immediate actions to eliminate the harassment, prevent its recurrence, and address its effects, and to put proper procedures and protocols in place.  OCR stands ready to work with the district to help it realize its commitments to preventing sexual harassment and sexual violence in its schools through satisfaction of this agreement.”

The agreement, in part, commits the district to take the following actions:

Designate a Title IX coordinator and ensure that grievance procedures comply with Title IX requirements;

Hire a consultant with expertise in the area of sexual harassment prevention and training;

Revise its policies, procedures, and practices for preventing, promptly investigating, and remediating sexual harassment and sexual violence;
Develop guidance to help ensure the effectiveness of remedial actions and conduct annual assessments of the climate at district schools to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions being taken, the students’ attitudes, knowledge and experiences around sexual harassment, and to inform future proactive steps to ensure a safe environment for students;

Take interim measures to ensure the safety of victims, reporting students and the school community; and address any ongoing harassment and prevent retaliation;
Create a task force composed of parents, students, community members and representatives of community-based organizations to identify strategies to improve the school climate, and prevent sexual harassment and sexual violence;

Develop a comprehensive plan for educating students, parents and employees to ensure that they are aware of Title IX’s prohibition against sex discrimination, including the right to be protected from sexual harassment; how to recognize it when it occurs and how to report incidents. The plan will take into account the results of the climate assessments and recommendations of the task force;

Provide annual training to all district staff and school resource officers and age-appropriate instruction to students;

Increase supervision of students at school sites and at all school-sponsored after-school activities, whether held on campus or off campus;

Implement systems for tracking reports that may constitute sexual harassment, even when no formal complaints are filed, to ensure that incidents are promptly and impartially investigated and resolved; and assess the effectiveness of its efforts to prevent and address sexual harassment and sexual violence.

OCR will closely monitor the district’s implementation of the terms of the resolution agreement.

A copy of the resolution letter can be found here: http://www2.ed.gov/documents/press-releases/west-contra-costa-california-letter.doc