GE Oil & Gas to Pay EEOC $5,300 for Contempt in EEOC Subpoena Enforcement Action

Company Failed to Comply With Court Order in Race and Age Bias Case

HOUSTON - A federal judge has ordered GE Oil & Gas, Inc., a subsidiary of General Electric Corporation, to pay $5,300 as a sanction for contempt of court in an age and race discrimination case brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

The sanction includes $5,000 in attorney fees and $300 in costs being imposed on GE Oil & Gas for its failure to comply with administrative subpoenas and its subsequent failure to follow a court order mandating compliance with the subpoenas.

The EEOC's suit (4:14-mc-01698) asserted that GE Oil & Gas failed to comply with subpoenas that were issued in May 2014. In September 2014, U.S. District Judge Vanessa D. Gilmore signed an order requiring that GE Oil & Gas comply with the subpoenas, which sought documents related to alleged age and race discrimination being investigated by the EEOC. Although the company was required by the order to produce the required documents within 10 days, GE Oil & Gas failed to comply. In November 2014, EEOC then moved for the imposition of sanctions for the non-compliance. After briefs filed by the EEOC and GE Oil & Gas, the court granted the motion and issued an order for contempt and for sanctions.

"The EEOC remains committed to prompt investigations of discrimination charges filed by workers and applicants," said Rose Adewale-Mendes, supervisory trial attorney of the agency's Houston District Office. "If an employer fails to cooperate voluntarily with the EEOC's investigations, and fails to respond to subpoenas stemming from the employer's non-cooperation, the EEOC will exercise its right to seek assistance from the courts so that investigations can be informed by relevant documentary evidence, and completed without unnecessary delay."

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Anyone who believes he or she has been subjected to a discriminatory employment practice is encouraged to contact the EEOC's Houston District Office, which is located in downtown Houston on the sixth floor of the Total Plaza at 1201 Louisiana Street. Additional information about the EEOC is available on the agency's web site at www.eeoc.gov.