EEOC SETTLES SEX BIAS SUIT AGAINST TYNDALL ENGINEERING AND DESIGN

Company Fired Female Worker Based on Gender, Federal Agency Says

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Garner, N.C.-based engineering and design company will pay $10,250 and furnish other relief to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.  The EEOC had charged that Tyndall Engineering and Design, P.A. disciplined workers in a discriminatory fashion based on gender when it fired a female employee at its Raleigh facility after she returned from a leave of absence, while not firing men in similar situations.

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Tyndall fired Jaime Senter when she did not provide medical documentation for her leave of absence.  However, Tyndall previously allowed a similarly situated male employee to take a leave of absence without providing any medical documentation, and he was not fired.

Sex discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  The EEOC filed suit (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Tyndall Engineering and Design, P.A., Civil Action No. 5:08-cv-492 filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina) after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement.

In addition to the monetary settlement, the company has agreed to post its anti-discrimination policy and provide training about federal anti-discrimination laws to all supervisors and employees.  The company will also make periodic reports to the EEOC.

"Employers cannot discipline employees in a discriminatory fashion," said Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney of the EEOC's Charlotte District Office. "This settlement achieves the EEOC's objectives by providing appropriate relief to the victim while implementing measures to prevent this kind of misconduct in the future."

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