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Faces of EEOC: Coletta Robertson

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"I came forward because my employer went through a series of people who were not fitting the company's image, and everyone who the company was letting go seemed to be over 40. I saw the pattern. You need to speak up and come forward, if you're being mistreated."

Coletta Robertson,
EEOC v. DSW Inc.

 

Coletta Robertson was just one DSW management employee fired during a reduction in force. However, she noticed a pattern. The fired employees were over 40 years old. She knew this was wrong and filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). EEOC investigated and, after failing to reach a voluntary resolution with the employer, filed a lawsuit against DSW under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, alleging that DSW terminated employees because of their age and retaliated against employees who opposed orders to fire older workers.

Less than a week after EEOC filed the case, DSW settled. DSW agreed to pay $900,000 in monetary relief for the victims, train its employees on preventing discrimination, and strengthen its company policy against discrimination.