Benefits June 12, 2009

Dillard's Settles Same-sex Harassment Suit for $110K

June 12, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that national retail giant Dillard's, Inc. will pay $110,000 and provide significant remedial relief to settle a same-sex harassment lawsuit involving two male victims.
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According to the EEOC’s suit, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Dillard’s permitted a sexually hostile work environment for men at its Fashion Square Mall store in Orlando, Florida. The EEOC charged that a male supervisor engaged in verbal and physical sexual harassment of a male sales associate and a young dockworker when the supervisor exposed himself, propositioned the men, and made sexually explicit and derogatory comments, the announcement said.

In addition, the EEOC said the company ignored complaints about the harasser.

In addition to paying $110,000 to the two male victims, the consent decree provides that the Dillard’s Fashion Square Mall store will distribute policies to the workforce on preventing sexual harassment and retaliation; conduct sexual harassment and anti-discrimination training for all employees; train employees who are responsible for investigating sexual harassment complaints; submit to monitoring throughout the decree’s three-year duration; and post a notice about the resolution of the case. Additionally, any future sexual harassment complaints will become part of the alleged harasser’s permanent work file.

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