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

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.