GLOBAL DRILLING COMPANY TO PAY $290,000 FOR RACIAL HARASSMENT, INCLUDING NOOSES

EEOC Says Helmerich & Payne Subjected Black Workers to Racist Behavior on Oil Rig

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.  -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced the  settlement of a discrimination lawsuit for $290,000 and significant injunctive  relief against Helmerich  & Payne International Drilling Co. (H & P) on behalf of African American men who were  subjected to a racially hostile work environment on an oil rig. H & P is an energy oriented company  engaged in contract drilling primarily in the United  States, South America, and Africa.

The racial harassment in the case including hangman’s nooses  displayed on Rig 108, derogatory racial language, and race-based name calling,  all of which was directed at black employees.  In addition to the nearly $300,000 in compensatory damages to be  apportioned among the seven class members, the two-year consent decree settling  the case (EEOC v. Helmerich & Payne International Drilling Co. Case No. 3:05-CV-691) contains the  following injunctive relief:

 
• Enjoins H & P from engaging in racial harassment or retaliation;
 
• Requires that H & P conduct      anti-discrimination training and post a notice about the settlement;
 
• Requires that H& P      redistribute to the workforce its policies prohibiting racial harassment;      and
 
• Requires reporting certain      complaints of harassment or retaliation to the EEOC for monitoring.

“We are pleased that H & P has  taken these important steps to improve its work environment,” said C. Emanuel  Smith, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Birmingham District, which includes Alabama, most of Mississippi,  and the Florida Panhandle. “The monetary  relief for the victims in this case should remind employers that there is a  high price to pay for racial harassment.”

Commenting from agency headquarters in Washington, EEOC Chair  Naomi C. Earp said:
“A  noose is a racial icon that constitutes a severe form of harassment under Title  VII of the Civil Rights Act. Nooses are  closely associated with racial intimidation, violence and death, and therefore  have no business in the workplace. It’s  time for corporate America  to be more proactive in preventing and eliminating racist behavior. The EEOC intends to make clear that race and  color discrimination in the workplace, whether verbal or behavioral, is  unacceptable and will not be tolerated.”

The EEOC has observed an increasing trend of racial  harassment cases over the past two decades, some of which involve hangman’s  nooses. Racial harassment charge filings  with EEOC offices nationwide have more than doubled from 3,075 in Fiscal Year  1991 to approximately 7,000 in FY 2007 (based on preliminary year-end data). In addition to investigating and resolving  charge filings brought to the EEOC, the federal agency has sued about three  dozen employers this decade for racial harassment involving nooses.

EEOC Birmingham District Director Delner  Franklin-Thomas, said, “Despite what some may think, overt forms of race and  color discrimination have resurfaced in today’s workplace – in addition to new  and more subtle forms of racism. There has been strong evidence over the past  two decades, as shown in this case, that racist language and nooses are far too  common on the job.”

On February 28, 2007, EEOC Chair Earp launched the federal agency’s  E-RACE Initiative (Eradicating Racism And Colorism from Employment), a national  outreach, education, and enforcement campaign focusing primarily on new and  emerging race and color issues in the 21st century workplace. Further information about the E-RACE  Initiative is available on the EEOC’s web site at http://www.eeoc.gov/initiatives/e-race/index.html.

The EEOC  enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the Commission is  available on the agency’s web site at www.eeoc.gov.