POLYCON INDUSTRIES & CROWN PACKAGING INT’L SUED BY EEOC FOR SEX DISCRIMINATION

PRESS RELEASE
5-13-09

Plastics Product Manufacturer Shunned Class of Women For Promotions, Federal Agency Charges

INDIANAPOLIS – A Northern Indiana plastics product manufacturer unlawfully refused to promote a class of women workers to certain production jobs because of their sex, according to a lawsuit filed on May 13, 2009 by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Polycon Industries, Inc. and its parent company Crown Packaging International, Inc., located in Merrillville, Ind., failed or refused to promote female workers because of their sex to higher-paying jobs, which it reserved for male workers. Female employees were not interviewed for the promotions for which they had applied, the EEOC said, and the company discouraged them from seeking higher-paying jobs.

Discrimination in promotion on the basis of sex violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. The EEOC asserts that the companies' actions were intentional and demonstrated a reckless indifference to the workers' federally protected rights.

The EEOC filed suit (Case No. 2:09-cv-00141-RL-PRC in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division) after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement. The agency is seeking back pay, compensatory and punitive damages against Polycon Industries, Inc. and its parent company, Crown Packaging International, Inc., as well as other relief, including a permanent injunction to prevent the company from engaging in future sex discrimination in promoting its employees and to prevent the company from retaliating against any employee for making a discrimination complaint.

"Here an entire class of women was denied fair opportunities to advance," said Laurie Young, regional attorney for the EEOC's Indianapolis District Office. "Title VII requires that we address this sort of employment practice."

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

This page was last modified on May 13, 2009.

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