Select Staffing to Pay $199,500 to Settle EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit

 Staffing Agency Allowed Sexual Abuse of Several Women Placed in Jobs at Albuquerque Police Unit, Federal Agency Charged

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Real Time Staffing Services, Inc., Employment Solutions Manage­ment, Inc., and Employbridge LLC, all doing business under the brand name "Select Staffing" in Albuquerque, will pay $199,500 and furnish other relief to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today. The EEOC charged that these entities failed to remedy or prevent sexual harassment of female employees who were placed in jobs with the Inspection of Public Records Act Unit of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD-IPR).

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, women employed jointly by APD-IPRA and Select Staffing were forced to endure pervasive and unwelcome conduct based on sex. The EEOC charged that the women were subjected to sexual comments about their bodies and were referred to as "prosti­tutes" and "dumb broads." The EEOC also alleged that some women were subjected to unwelcome touching and that men threw objects at them to demean them. The EEOC also said that the women reported the treat­ment to both the City of Albuquerque and Select Staffing, but that Select Staffing failed to remedy or prevent sexual harassment.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex, including sexual harassment.

Senior Judge James A. Parker of the U.S. District Court for New Mexico entered an Order on February 12, 2020 approving the consent decree settling the suit, styled EEOC v. Real Time Staffing Services, LLC, f/k/a Real Time Staffing Services, Inc., and Employment Solutions Management Inc., and Employbridge, LLC f/k/a New Koosharem Corporation, d/b/a Select Staffing, Civil Action No. 1:18-cv-0541-JAP-JFR, in U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico.

The four original complainants, Roberta Archuleta, Tiffani Dix, Barbara Houston and Christella Sanchez, joined in the EEOC's lawsuit against Select Staffing and also filed their own lawsuit against APD-IPRA and the City of Albuquerque. In May 2019, after investigations by the EEOC and the U.S. Depart­ment of Justice, the City of Albuquerque resolved the claims of sex and race discrimination and retali­ation asserted against it in a $490,000 settlement.

Under the terms of the two and one-half-year decree resolving the EEOC's lawsuit against Select Staffing, Archuleta, Dix, Houston and Sanchez, along with Kristina Chavez, another aggrieved individ­ual identified by the EEOC, will each receive a portion of the $199,500 settlement. In addition to the mone­tary compensation, the decree enjoins Select Staffing in the future from engaging in employment practices that discriminate based on sex or that retaliate against persons because of their opposition to practices made unlawful by Title VII. The decree also requires Select Staffing to review and revise policies prohibiting sex discrimin­ation, sex harassment and retaliation and to provide training to all employees in New Mexico. Select Staffing will also report to the EEOC on any complaints of discrimination and retali­ation received by Select Staffing during the decree's term.

"Both employers are responsible for preventing and remedying sexual harassment of emp­loyees," said Regional Attorney Mary Jo O'Neill of the EEOC's Phoenix District Office, which has jurisdiction over Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah. "When employers fail to protect victims of sexual harassment, employers will be held responsible. We hope that this case acts as a teaching moment for other employers in New Mexico."

EEOC's District Director Elizabeth Cadle added, "We appreciate this employer's effort to work with the EEOC to develop settlement terms that will provide improvements in policies and procedures. The actions of these women who bravely stepped forward to share the abuse they experienced will lead to safer workplaces for others. Preventing systemic workplace harassment remains at the top of our six national priorities identified by the EEOC's Strategic Enforcement Plan."

The EEOC advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employ­ment discrimination. More information is available at www.eeoc.gov. Stay connected with the latest EEOC news by subscribing to our email updates.