Eureka Stone Quarry to Pay $58,000 to Settle EEOC Racial Harassment Suit

PHILADELPHIA – Eureka Stone Quarry, Inc., a company engaged in mining and sales of sand, stone and other materials in eastern Pennsylvania, will pay $58,000 and furnish significant injunctive relief to settle a race and retaliatory harassment lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commis­sion (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, an African American heavy equipment operator at Eureka Stone’s Pocono Quarry in eastern Pennsylvania was subjected to egregious racial harassment by coworkers for several years. These included the commonplace use of racial epithets such as “n****r,” threats of violence directed at the Black Lives Matter movement, and other offensive statements that reflected racial bias and stereotypes.

 The harassment became increasingly severe over time and eventually culminated in the Black worker being threatened with firearms, including an incident in which one of the harassers fired multiple shots from a rifle on company property while the African American worker was nearby and not long after he had driven past the harasser, the EEOC charged.

Eureka Stone was aware of the racial harassment but failed to take action to stop it from occurring, thereby forcing the African American worker to resign his employment, according to the lawsuit.  

Racial harassment and other race discrimination in employment, as well as retaliation for opposing such practices, violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit under Title VII in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (U.S. EEOC v. Eureka Stone Quarry, Inc. & James D. Morrissey Inc., Civil Action No. 2:21-cv-04060-PD), after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The EEOC and Eureka Stone subsequently agreed to early settlement of the lawsuit by consent decree without any federal court adjudication of liability issues in the case, and EEOC opted to dismiss its claims against a second defendant, James D. Morrissey, Inc.

In addition to paying the $58,000 in monetary relief to the African American former employee, the consent decree settling the suit, now approved by the federal court, enjoins future violations of Title VII, including any future racial harassment or retaliation.

The decree also requires that Eureka Stone implement measures designed to prevent workplace harassment, including revised anti-harassment policies and complaint procedures, anti-harassment and investigations training, and the appointment of a company equal employment opportunity officer responsible for investigating and remedying potential harassment and possessing full authority to carry out those responsibilities. The decree also provides for related reporting to EEOC of all future complaints of racial harassment, investigations of those com­plaints, and remedial actions taken.

“We are very pleased that Eureka Stone worked collaboratively with EEOC to craft a compre­hensive settlement that will greatly benefit the company’s employees,” said EEOC Philadelphia Regional Attorney Debra M. Lawrence. “In addition to providing monetary compensation to the aggrieved worker, the extensive policies, procedures and training that Eureka Stone agreed to implement are designed to promote a fair and inclusive workplace free from racist harassment and retaliatory conduct. Imple­menting such measures is a smart business decision that benefits both workers and the company.”

EEOC Philadelphia District Director Jamie Williamson added, “Despite the progress that our nation has made to fulfill the promise of equality embodied in the Reconstruction Amendments and subsequent legislation, including Title VII, the evil of racial harassment and other forms of race discrim­ination persists in the American workplace. The EEOC is committed to ensuring that all workers enjoy fair and inclusive workplaces that respect their basic human dignity and that employers comply with their duty to protect their employees from workplace racism.”

The lawsuit was commenced by the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office. The Philadelphia District Office has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and parts of New Jersey and Ohio. Attorneys in the Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.

For more information on race harassment, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/racecolor-discrimination.

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.