MARJAM SUPPLY COMPANY TO PAY $495,000 TO SETTLE EEOC RACE DISCRIMINATION SUIT

Black Employees Targeted With Racial Slurs, Fired for Complaining, EEOC Says

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Marjam Supply Company, Inc., a building materials  supplier, will pay $495,000 to five former employees to settle a race  discrimination lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity  Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.

The EEOC’s  lawsuit (Civil Action No. 03-cv-5413-SCR in the U.S. District Court for the  Southern District of New York, White Plains Division) charged that Marjam  discriminated against African American employees in its Newburgh warehouse  facility on the basis of their race by subjecting them to differential discipline  and termination, creating a hostile work environ­ment, and retaliating against  employees who objected to the discrimination.

The EEOC charged that a Marjam supervisor  and other Marjam employees made unwelcome racial slurs and comments. The  racially hostile workplace included repeatedly calling an employee the N-word,  talking about the Ku Klux Klan and referring to burning crosses in front of  African American employees. An employee  who complained was fired, the EEOC’s lawsuit charged. Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of  the Civil Rights Act.

“Egregious racial harassment still occurs in the 21st  century workplace, even though some people may think such discrimination can  only be found in history books,” said EEOC Acting Chairman Stuart J. Ishimaru. “Hostile work environments are  unacceptable. The EEOC is committed to  vigorous enforcement of the employment anti-discrimination laws to ensure that  every worker has an equal opportunity to reach his or her full potential.”
 
  The  consent decree was sub­mitted to the district court judge for approval after  the parties reached a settlement agreement in mediation. In addition to the  $495,000 in back pay and compensatory damages to be paid to five former  employees, the three-year consent decree includes the following injunctive  relief:

 
• Adopting      non-discrimination and complaint procedures;
 
• Appointing      an Equal Employment Office Coordinator;
 
• Establishing      a toll-free number for reporting discrimination complaints;
 
• Providing      anti-discrimination training;
 
• Issuing      a memorandum to all employees on Marjam’s commitment to abide by all      federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination;
 
• Posting      a notice about the EEOC, the lawsuit, and Marjam’s non-discrimination and      complaint procedures; and
 
• Monitoring      and reporting on carrying out the settlement terms.

“Employers must  recognize that they have a responsibility to prevent racial harassment in their  workplace and to take swift action to correct any discrimination when it occurs,”  said Spencer H. Lewis, director of the EEOC’s New York District Office. “In addition, retaliating against employees  for complaining about discrimination is unlawful and taken very seriously by  the Commission.”

During  Fiscal Year 2008, the EEOC received 33,937 race discrimination charge filings,  up 11% from the prior year. Of the  total, approximately 8,600 race charges alleged racial harassment, up 23  percent from nearly 7,000 such filings in FY 2007.

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