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Benefits August 18, 2011
Military Contractor Sued over Picked on Male Worker
August 18, 2011 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - DynCorp International, LLC, a US-based private military contractor and aircraft maintenance company, is being sued by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for subjecting a male employee to a hostile work environment based on his gender, and by transferring him after he complained.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
According to the EEOC’s complaint, from October 2006 through January 2007, James Friso, an aircraft sheet metal/structural mechanic working in Taji, Iraq, was subjected to harassment based on his gender by a male co-worker. The lawsuit alleges the harassment included daily derogatory sex-based comments, accusations that Friso is gay and engaged in homosexual acts, and descriptions of homosexual acts.
A press release said the lawsuit alleges that despite knowing Friso is heterosexual and married, the harasser subjected him to the harassment because he did not match the gender stereotype for a man. Friso is 5’4” and of small stature.
The EEOC said DynCorp receives more than 96% of its $2 billion in annual revenues from the federal government. It employed approximately 16,800 people in 2009.
“Employers need to remember that sex discrimination includes harassment based on sexual stereotyping. Once an employee complains of sex-based harassment in the workplace, the employer is required under federal law to act reasonably to prevent further harassment,” said Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for EEOC’s Charlotte District, in the announcement.