EEO-1 Reports Due in September

The Employer Information Report EEO-1, otherwise known as the EEO-1 Report, is required to be filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's EEO-1 Joint Reporting Committee.

The EEO-1 Report – formally known as the "Employer Information Report" – is a government form requiring many employers to provide a count of their employees by job category and then by ethnicity, race and gender. The EEO-1 report is submitted to both the EEOC and the Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

The filing deadline for the 2009 EEO-1 Survey is September 30, 2009. Notification letters were mailed to employers beginning in July 2009.

According to the US EEOC, the preferred method for completing the 2009 EEO-1 reports is the web-based filing system. Online filing requires you to log into your company's database with a Login ID and Password. All companies should receive 2009 EEO-1 filing materials by mail no later than mid August 2009.

For more information, see the EEOC's EEO-1 FAQ's.

EEOC Wins $267,000 in Sexual Harassment Suit

“Sexual harassment is the toxic waste of the workplace."

These words, spoken by EEOC Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill, came on the heels of the EEOC's victory this week in a federal court sexual harassment case against Sunfire Glass, Inc. According to the EEOC:

A federal district court today entered a Federal Court Judgment for over $267,000 and significant injunctive relief in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in a discrimination lawsuit against Sunfire Glass, Inc. The EEOC’s suit charged that the company’s owner subjected a class of female employees to severe physical and
verbal sexual harassment in violation of federal law.

Judge Lawrence O. Anderson found that Sunfire owner Paul
McBride sexually harassed two female glassblowers by touching the women on their breasts and between their legs, hitting the women on the buttocks, making obscene gestures, and verbally harassing the women by talking about their bodies and using vulgar language. At times, the court also found McBride would touch the women while they were working with hot glass and were unable to defend themselves against McBride’s advances. The two women, Tineke Meyer and Karina Mercado, complained repeatedly to management, and no action was
taken. As a result of the abuse, both Meyer and Mercado were forced to resign.

The EEOC’s suit (EEOC v. Sunfire Glass, Inc., Civ. 08-1784 PHX-LOA) was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona in September 2008. Despite receiving notice of the lawsuit, McBride failed to submit an answer to the litigation or otherwise appear in the case, and the court entered a default judgment against the company.

The court, in making very specific findings of fact and conclusions of law, awarded Tineke Meyer the equitable remedy of back pay plus
prejudgment interest through March 12, 2009, in the sum of $60,287; compensatory damages in the sum of $50,000; and punitive damages in the sum of $50,000; totaling $160,287 in damages against Sunfire Glass, Inc. The court also ordered post-judgment interest at the legal rate until paid in full. Additionally, the court awarded Karina Mercado the equitable remedy of back pay plus prejudgment interest through March 20, 2009, in the sum of $6,781; compensatory damages in the sum of $50,000; and punitive damages in the sum of $50,000; totaling $106,781 in damages against Sunfire Glass, Inc.

For more information about this case see the EEOC's press release.

EEOC Subpoenas Colorado Car Dealership for Sexual Harassment Charges

A Colorado auto dealership's failure to respond to a federal agency's sexual harassment investigation has landed it in federal court.

According to court papers, Empire Lakewood Nissan in Aurora did not answer subpoenas from the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigating charges of sexual harassment.

A female dealership employee alleged that Empire Lakewood Nissan terminated her after she made reports of sex discrimination and sexual harassment. She claims male employees called her derogatory names and placed offensive graffiti about her at the dealership. Several male employees undermined her authority by refusing to take work assignments from her, according to the EEOC.

The EEOC claims the dealership failed to take appropriate action against the harassers. When Empire Lakewood Nissan did terminate the primary harasser, the dealership also terminated the female employee, citing a "lay off" of one person. The dealership then hired someone else to fill her position, even though she had volunteered to cut her hours to keep her job, according to court papers.

The EEOC subpoenaed the dealership, seeking documents reflecting complaints of harassment and what action was taken in response to them, but Empire Lakewood Nissan failed to respond.

United States District Judge Christine M. Arguello has ordered Empire Lakewood Nissan to appear in federal court on April 20, 2009, to show cause as to why it should not be compelled to comply with the EEOC's subpoena.

Employers should take a lesson from this case and take EEOC requests for information seriously. In many cases, these matters can be resolved with the EEOC before any lawsuits are filed, but ignoring an EEOC subpoena can land employers in federal court.

Employers can find information on responding to EEOC investigations at http://eeoc.gov/employers/investigations.html.

EEOC Violated Federal Pay Law, Rules Arbitrator

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has willfully violated federal pay laws with its own employees on a nationwide basis, an arbitrator has ruled.


The EEOC is responsible for ensuring that the nation's workers are treated fairly. But its practice of offering compensatory time off to its employees, rather than overtime pay, amounted to "forced volunteering" and was a knowing violation of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, according to the ruling. The EEOC does not enforce the FLSA.

The ruling comes as the EEOC handles an "unprecedented" level of discrimination charges, according to The Washington Post: "In 2008, the EEOC received more than 95,400 charges of job bias in the private sector, up 26 percent from 2006. But over the past eight years the EEOC has lost about 25 percent of its staff, including investigators and lawyers who handle the cases." The EEOC may be required to pay back wages to employees.

The union representing EEOC employees said the decision lends credence to its frequent complaint that the EEOC is understaffed and overworked, according to the Post. For more information see Steve Vogel's article in The Washington Post.