EEOC Sues Taprite Fassco for Sex and Disability Discrimination and Retaliation

Quality Control Inspector Punished After Reporting Unequal Wages and Denied an Accommodation for Her Disability, Federal Agency Charged

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -Taprite Fassco Manufacturing, Inc., a San Antonio-based supplier of CO2 regulators in the soda and beer industries, violated several federal anti-discrimination laws in its treatment of one of its quality control inspectors, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it filed today. The EEOC said the company subjected the woman to gender and disability discrimination and unlawfully retaliated against her for complaining.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, after the quality control inspector, a longtime employee, raised questions to management concerning wage disparity between the sexes among workers at Taprite Fassco's San Antonio plant, management disciplined and demoted her into a less favorable and lower paying assembler position. The employee was physically unable to perform the new job because of her diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome.

The EEOC also charged that Taprite Fassco denied requests for accommodations that would have permitted the employee to continue working, thus violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The EEOC said that even after she filed a complaint of discrimination alleging sex discrimination under both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act, Taprite Fassco opted to pay her male replacement (whom she initially trained) substantially more than she was compensated for performing essentially the same work.

The EEOC's San Antonio Field office filed suit (Civil Action No. 5:14-cv-00801) in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division, after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through the agency's administrative conciliation process. The EEOC seeks back pay, compensatory damages and punitive damages for the victim, as well as injunctive relief.

"Enforcing laws that require equal pay for men and women performing the same jobs is a priority for the EEOC," said David Rivela, senior trial attorney in the EEOC's San Antonio Field Office. "Our employment statutes also safeguard workers from reprisal when the employees address managers about potentially unlawful practices. The EEOC will vigorously prosecute employers who retaliate against employees for simply seeking answers about their opportunities and protections."

Enforcement of equal pay laws and targeting compensation systems and practices that discriminate based on gender, as well as eliminating policies and practices that discourage or prohibit individuals from exercising their rights under employment discrimination statutes, or that impede the EEOC's investigative or enforcement efforts, are among the six national priorities identified by the EEOC's Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP).

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