CONECTIV AND SUBCONTRACTORS TO PAY $1.65 MILLION TO BLACK WORKERS WHO WERE RACIALLY HARASSED

EEOC Settles Suit Involving Hangman's Nooses, KKK Graffiti and Slurs at Construction Site

PHILADELPHIA  — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a  major settlement of a racial harassment lawsuit for $1,650,000 and significant  remedial relief against Conectiv, A.C. Dellovade, Inc., Steel Suppliers  Erectors, Inc. and Matrix Services Industrial Contractors (doing business as  Bogan, Inc. /Hake Group) on behalf of African American employees who were  subjected to egregious racial harassment at a construction site in Bethlehem,  Pa.

Conectiv was the general contractor and property owner on  a project to build a new energy power plant on the site of a defunct steel  plant. Construction on the project began  in January 2002 and the plant was operating by the end of October 2003. The EEOC charged in the lawsuit that the  defendants, acting as joint employers, subjected a class of African American  employees to racial slurs and graffiti as well as threats by hangman’s  nooses.

The  EEOC said that harassment included a life size noose made of heavy rope hung  from a beam in a class member’s work area for at least 10 days before it was  removed; the regular use of the “N-word”; racially offensive comments made to  black individuals, including “I think everybody should own one”; “Black people  are no good and you can’t trust them”; and “Black people can’t read or write.”  Additionally, racist graffiti was present written in portable toilets, with  terms such as “coon”; “If u not white u not right”; “White power”; “KKK”; and  “I love the Ku Klux Klan.”

“It  should be obvious to construction companies that employees in this industry  have the same legal protections against discrimination as those who work in an  office setting,” said EEOC Philadelphia District Director Marie M. Tomasso, who  oversaw the agency’s administrative investigation which preceded the litigation. “Employers risk intervention by the EEOC when  supervisors ignore racially offensive working conditions and fail to take  prompt and effective remedial action to stop it.”

As  part of the settlement by consent decrees, Conectiv will pay $750,000 to the  four class members, Matrix Services Industrial Contractors (doing business as  Bogan, Inc./Hake Group) will pay $450,000 to two class members, Steel Suppliers  Erectors, Inc. will pay $250,000 to one class member, and A.C. Dellovade, Inc.  will pay $200,000 to one class member.  In addition to the monetary relief, the four-year decrees (EEOC v. Conectiv, et al, Civil Action  No. 2:05-cv-03389), filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of  Pennsylvania, includes: injunctive relief enjoining each defendant from  engaging in racial harassment or retaliation; anti-discrimination training; the  posting of a notice about the settlement; and reporting complaints of racial  harassment to the EEOC for monitoring.  Defendants did not admit liability in the consent decrees, which are  pending judicial approval.

EEOC Regional Attorney Jacqueline McNair said, “The  harassment in this case is shocking and unconscionable. The display of hangman’s nooses, which  represent a threat to life and limb, is abhorrent and will not be tolerated by  the EEOC. Employers must realize there  will be a high price to pay for such egregious and unlawful conduct, regardless  of the industry in which it occurs.”

Terrence  R. Cook, the supervisory trial attorney responsible for handling the  litigation, added, “The class members had the courage to come forward and  complain, first to supervisors, who did not take action, and then to the EEOC,  which did. We are pleased that the  companies worked with us to resolve the case and that they are all taking the  positive steps needed to ensure future work sites are free from racial  harassment.”

Karen  McDonough investigated the charges of discrimination filed with the agency.

Racial  harassment cases at the EEOC have surged since the early 1990s from 3,075 in  Fiscal Year 1991 to nearly 7,000 in FY 2007.  In  addition to investigating and voluntarily resolving tens of thousands of race  discrimination cases out of court, the EEOC has sued more than three dozen  employers this decade in racial harassment cases involving nooses.

On  Feb. 28, 2007, EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp launched the Commission’s E-RACE  Initiative (Eradicating Racism And Colorism from Employment), a national  outreach, education, and enforce­ment campaign focusing 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 EEOC is  available at its website at www.eeoc.gov.