EEOC Obtains $98,900 From GES Global Energy Services For Race Discrimination, Retaliation

Employees Fired for Complaints About Harassment, Federal Agency Charged

HOUSTON  – A Houston  energy company will pay $98,900 and provide additional remedial relief to resolve  a discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity  Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. The EEOC had charged GES Global Energy  Services, Inc., (GES) formerly known as IDM Equipment, Inc., and Global Energy  Services Operating, LLC, formerly known as IDM Equipment, LLC (Global Energy  Services) with race discrimination and retaliation against a group of  African-Americans who worked in its "rig-up yard" in Houston.

The EEOC's lawsuit (Civil Action  No. 4:10cv4977 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas,  Houston Division) asserted that Jesse Cormier, Daniel Booth, Kelvin Turner and  other African-Americans working at the defendants' Galayda Street plant in  Houston were subjected to a racially hostile work environment and that Cormier,  Booth and Turner were discharged after they complained.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment  discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including sexual harassment  and pregnancy) or national origin, and prohibits employers from retaliating  against those who complain about such misconduct. The EEOC filed the lawsuit after first  attempting to reach a voluntary settlement.

Under the terms of the two-year consent  decree settling the suit, signed Sept. 21 by U.S. District Judge Gray H. Miller,  the defendants will pay $98,900 in relief to compensate Cormier, Booth and  Turner. Also, the decree requires significant  non-monetary relief, including that the defendants' employees at the Galayda Street  facility receive periodic training on laws prohibiting employment  discrimination and that a non-discrimination notice will be posted in an  agreed-upon location there.

EEOC Houston Regional Attorney Jim  Sacher said, "Enforcement of anti-discrimination laws depends upon employees  who are willing to oppose and report conduct that might violate them. This settlement achieves the  EEOC'sobjectives by providing relief to Messrs. Cormier, Booth and Turner  while implementing measures to prevent future Title VII violations. We are pleased that this company worked with  the EEOC to negotiate a fair resolution to this matter."

According to the website www.glb-energy.com,  Houston-based GES has three facilities, two in Houston  and one in Rosenberg, Texas.  The website describes GES as "a market leader in the design and  manufacture of highly mobile land drilling rigs, premium mud pump components  and expendables and fully integrated AC and DC power systems."

The EEOC enforces the federal laws  prohibiting employment discrimination.  Additional information about the EEOC is available on the agency's  website at www.eeoc.gov.