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Press Release 12-21-2009

RMG Communications / Bloom Marketing Group To Pay $60,000 To Settle EEOC Disability And Race Bias Suit

Bloomington Company Fired Woman Because of Disability and Race, Federal Agency Charged

INDIANAPOLIS – RMG  Communications, LLC, doing business as Bloom Marketing Group, a Bloomington, Ind.,  telemarketing firm, will pay $60,000 and furnish other relief to settle a disability  and race discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity  Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today.

According  to the EEOC's lawsuit, Bloom discriminated against a black employee when it  sent her for a drug screen when she experienced symptoms of diabetes at  work. Although the employee successfully  passed the drug screen, Bloom fired her afterward. The EEOC charged that Bloom's decision to  send the employee for a drug screen was based on the fact she is African  American, and that Bloom fired her because of her disability, insulin-dependent  diabetes, and her race.

Race  discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Disability discrimination violates the  Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). The  EEOC filed suit (Civil Action No.1:08-cv-0947-WTL-TAB) after first attempting  to reach a pre-litigation settlement.

The settlement  by consent decree, dated December 16, 2009, provides that the employee will be  paid $10,000 in back pay and $50,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. The decree also requires Bloom to provide  training to its managers, supervisors, and human resources personnel on the  topics of race and disability discrimin­ation, post a notice of  non-discrimination at its worksite and submit reports to the EEOC detailing its  compli­ance with the decree.

"Discrimination,  in any form, should not be tolerated in today's workplace, said Laurie A.  Young, regional attorney of the EEOC's Indianapolis District Office. "There is no excuse, in this day and age, for  an employer to make a decision to send an employee for a drug screen based on her  race. In this case, the employee success­fully  passed the drug test, but was terminated nonetheless. This type of reckless employer conduct should  not be tolerated. The EEOC will  vigorously prosecute employers who engage in this type of conduct."

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