Rock Concrete Construction Corp. To Pay $31,000 To Settle EEOC Retaliation Suit

INDIANAPOLIS – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission  (EEOC) today announced that Rock Concrete Construc­tion Corporation will pay  $31,000 and furnish other relief to settle a retaliation lawsuit alleging that  the company stopped providing work to one of its employees who filed a charge  of discrimination with the EEOC.

According  to the EEOC's litigation, Rock Concrete Construction learned of Eric Bufkin's  charge of discrimination against a former employer with whom Rock Concrete's  management had a close relationship. Bufkin  was subsequently asked to drop his charge and advised that failure to do so  would negatively impact him. After Bufkin  refused to drop his charge, he was advised that Rock Concrete no longer had  work for him.

The consent  decree settling the suit, entered by the court this week, requires Rock  Concrete to provide training to all its officers, owners and supervisory  personnel on the company's anti-retaliation policy; distribute and explain the  anti-retaliation policy to its employees; and to submit reports to the EEOC  detailing its compliance with the decree.

"Employers  are simply not entitled to punish employees for complaining about discrim­ination,"  said Laurie A. Young, regional attorney for the EEOC's Indianapolis District  Office. "Taking adverse actions against  an employee who complains of discrimination, files an EEOC charge, or otherwise  exercises his or her rights, violates the retaliation provisions of Title VII  of the Civil Rights Act."

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.