FRED MEYER STORES TO PAY $485,000 FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND RETALIATION

EEOC Says Three Women Subjected to Vulgar Sexual Comments, Unwanted Touching, Propositioning

SEATTLE – Fred Meyer Stores, Inc. (Fred Meyer) will  pay $485,000 to three female victims of sexual harassment and retaliation to  settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  (EEOC), the EEOC announced today.

According to the EEOC’s suit (EEOC, et. al. v. Fred Meyer Stores, Inc. No. CV08-0208 HA, United States District Court of Oregon), the company’s practice  of harassing female employees occurred during 2004 through 2005 at the Fred Meyer  Oregon City  store. The EEOC says the sexually  hostile work environment started at the top, with illegal conduct by the store  director and operations manager. The  EEOC further asserted in the litigation that the store director and operations manager repeatedly subjected females to  graphic sexual discussions, unwanted touching, and requests for sexual  favors.

The lawsuit alleged that Fred Meyer condoned  and accepted this sexually harass­ing behavior, and the Commission obtained  testimony from the company’s human resources manager who witnessed the harassing  conduct on several occasions and simply walked away. According to the EEOC, the same human  resources manager failed to take appropriate action against the store director  or operations manager. In addition, the  EEOC charged that the company retaliated against the female employees when they  complained about the sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment and retaliation for  complaining about it violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to  reach a voluntary settlement.

Under a consent decree filed with the federal  court, Fred Meyer agreed to pay $485,000 to the three women who came forward  during the EEOC’s lawsuit. The company  also agreed to provide anti-discrimination training for the owner, managers,  supervisors and employees; establish policies and procedures to address sexual harassment issues; provide information  to the EEOC concerning any future discrimination complaints; and allow EEOC to  monitor the work site for the next two years.

“It is unfortunate that these women had to  endure a workplace permeated with such sexual hostility. We are hopeful that Fred Meyer Stores learns  from this litigation that one of the most important duties it has to its  employees is to keep them safe from workplace discrimination,” said EEOC’s San  Francisco District Office Director Mike Baldonado.

EEOC Regional Attorney William  Tamayo added, “The evidence in this litigation pointed to an alarming lack of  recent workplace, anti-discrimination training for the high level managers  involved in this case. It is unfortunate that a sophisticated employer like  Fred Meyer Stores failed to recognize the importance of such training for its  managers.”

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting  employment discrimination based on race, color, gender, religion, national  origin, age and disability.  The Seattle Field Office’s jurisdiction  includes Alaska, Idaho,  Montana, Oregon,  and Washington. Further information about the EEOC is  available on its web site at http://www.eeoc.gov.