Benefits June 3, 2004

EEOC Reaches Settlement in Immigrant Discrimination Case

June 3, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced a $600,000 settlement in a discrimination lawsuit involving 10 Mexican immigrants.
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The immigrants alleged they faced racial slurs when they worked at the University of Colorado Hospital’s Fitzsimons campus in 1999 and 2000 for Phase 2 Co., a drywall and steel-framing contractor , the Associated Press reported. To settle charges brought by the immigrants, the company entered into a consent decree, signed by U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham, without admitting or denying wrongdoing.

Per terms of the settlement, Phase 2 agreed to pay $600,000 in compensatory damages and back pay to the men. Additionally, the company will pay $150,000 to other workers who experienced retaliation or harassment relating to their nationalities in 1999 and 2000.

Important in this case, as noted by attorneys for the workers and the EEOC, is that even if the immigrants were undocumented, U.S. labor laws still apply.

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