SmartTalent to Pay $875,000 to Settle EEOC Sex Discrimination Lawsuit

SEATTLE — SmartTalent, LLC, a Kirkland, Wash.-based staffing agency that places temporary employees with business clients across various industries, will pay $875,000 and provide other relief to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sex discrimination lawsuit, the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC lawsuit charged that SmartTalent engaged in a pattern of discrimination against women in hiring and job assignments since at least 2015. When the staffing agency received requests for male workers from some clients, the EEOC found that SmartTalent complied with those discriminatory requests instead of rejecting them as unlawful. The company denied female workers job placement opportunities, and dissuaded some of its own recruiters who voiced concerns about such discrimination.

Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964 prohibits an employment agency from fulfilling discriminatory employer preferences or making referrals based on sex. After first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through conciliation, the EEOC filed its lawsuit in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington. (EEOC v. SmartTalent, LLC, Case No. 2:22-cv-01102-RSM).

Under the three-year consent decree settling the suit, SmartTalent will pay $875,000 to eligible claimants and will retain an independent consultant to draft and implement policies and procedures prohibiting discrimination against female workers and investigate all complaints of discrimination. SmartTalent will also retain a third party to train its managers and recruiters on the requirements of Title VII and SmartTalent’s new anti-discrimination policies. Additionally, SmartTalent will be required to hold management and recruiters accountable for compliance with its anti-discrimination policies and procedures through written evaluations and active monitoring.

 “The customer is not always right and, as EEOC’s guidance for employment agencies makes clear, staffing agencies violate the law when they comply with a client’s sex-based preference, or a preference based on any other prohibited characteristic,” said Nancy Sienko, director of the EEOC’s San Francisco District, which includes Washington. “Hiring and referrals should be based on a worker’s merits, not stereotypes.”

Roberta Steele, regional attorney for the San Francisco District, noted that “eliminating barriers in recruitment and hiring is an EEOC Strategic Enforcement Plan priority for 2024-2028.  The EEOC takes seriously, and will seek to remedy, recruitment and hiring practices and policies that discriminate on unlawful bases, including sex.”

Brian Hong, senior trial attorney in the EEOC’s Seattle Field Office, said, “This settlement provides meaningful relief for a large group of applicants and temporary workers who were denied work simply for being female. In addition, SmartTalent’s agreement to properly train and supervise all of its staff will help safeguard equal employment opportunity for their workers regardless of their gender.”

For more information on sex-based discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/sex-based-discrimination.  

The EEOC’s San Francisco District has jurisdiction over Northern Nevada, Northern California, Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.

The EEOC prevents and remedies unlawful employment discrimination and advances equal opportunity for all by enforcing federal laws that prohibit employment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.