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ROANOKE, Va. -  The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a $1 million settlement of a class action race and gender discrimination lawsuit against Optical Cable Corporation, a high-tech employer and publicly held company that manufactures fiber-optic cables.  EEOC's suit alleged that Optical Cable violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by

WASHINGTON - By a 6-3 vote, the United States Supreme Court today ruled in EEOC v. Waffle House, Inc. (No. 99-1823) that a private arbitration agreement between an individual and that individual's employer does not prevent the EEOC from filing a court action in its own name and recovering monetary damages for the individual.  The Supreme Court reversed

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that a $6.8 million consent decree with retail giant Wal-Mart Stores was signed today by Federal District Court Judge Garland Burrell in Sacramento, Calif. The decree resolves the EEOC's lawsuit, Case No. S-99-0414-GEB DAD, which alleged that Wal-Mart's pre-employment questionnaire, "Matrix of Essential Job Functions," violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Parties to the decree also have agreed to settle 12 other ADA lawsuits

ST. LOUIS - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8^th Circuit opposing a tentative settlement for $12.2 million in a sex discrimination case against Rent-A-Center, Inc. in a suit pending in Kansas City, Missouri. The EEOC says the tentative settlement has obvious and significant deficiencies, and there are serious unresolved questions about whether the women who settled the case can fairly

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) yesterday heard testimony and recommendations from a variety of Arab, Muslim, Sikh, Middle Eastern, and South Asian groups on combating backlash discrimination against members of those communities in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The EEOC chose this growing issue as the topic of the Commission's first meeting of the Bush administration and the first meeting presided over by new Chair Cari M. Dominguez

WASHINGTON - The next meeting of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will be Tuesday, December 11, at 1:30 p.m. in the Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Conference Room (9^th Floor), 1801 L Street, N.W. The public meeting, the first held under the leadership of EEOC Chair Cari M. Dominguez, will focus on employment discrimination in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

"This meeting will serve the public interest by engaging the

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Departments of Justice and Labor today issued a joint statement reaffirming the federal government's commitment to upholding the federal anti-discrimination laws in the aftermath of the events of September 11.  The statement, posted on the Commission's Web site (www.eeoc.gov), focuses on preventing and redressing

WASHINGTON - Cari M. Dominguez, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), has announced the appointment of Ann Colgrove as Director of the Office of Communications and Legislative Affairs (OCLA) at agency headquarters.

As OCLA Director, Ms. Colgrove advises the Chair and represents the Commission to members of the U.S. Congress

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today posted on its web site questions and answers to assist employers who are developing or re- evaluating emergency evacuation procedures. The full text of the document is available at www.eeoc.gov.

"In light of recent events, many employers are particularly concerned about being able to evacuate individuals who might require assistance because of a medical condition or disability," said EEOC Chair Cari

TUCSON and PHOENIX - Beginning this week, and for the next two weeks, ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates in Arizona will air a 60-second commercial in Phoenix and Tucson featuring two young men who are deaf telling about their experience filing a lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and later working for Wal-Mart.  Jeremy Fass and William Darnell will talk about their experience using American

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today re-opened for business at a temporary Manhattan location, restoring essential agency services to residents of the New York area. New contact information is available to the public.

The EEOC's New York District Office had been located on the 18th floor of Building 7 of the World Trade Center and was destroyed, along with case files and other materials stored there, during the terrorist attacks that

Voluntary Agreement Resolves Allegations of Discrimination

HOUSTON  -- The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Eagle Global Logistics f/k/a Eagle U.S.A. Airfreight, Inc., announced today that they have reached a $9,000,000 voluntary settlement which has been submitted for approval by U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Hughes in Houston, Texas.  The settlement through a Consent Decree avoids protracted litigation by the EEOC on behalf of a class of  African-Americans, Hispanics, and female employees and applicants

WASHINGTON - Chair Cari M. Dominguez announced today that the New York District Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will resume limited operations next Wednesday, October 3, from temporary office space at the agency's Newark Area Office.  EEOC's New York office, which had been located on the 18th floor in Building 7 of the World Trade Center, was destroyed during the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11.  All

    NEWARK, N.J. -  The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today resolved its consolidated lawsuits against General Motors Corporation (GM) alleging violations of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act at the company's Linden, N.J., facility.  The suits, filed in September 2000, alleged that GM had failed to provide Mary Scott a work environment free from sexual harassment and similarly failed to address incidents of racial harassment affecting her and

PHOENIX - A federal court in Tucson held Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in contempt and imposed sanctions on the company on June 13, 2001, for failure to comply with a court order resolving claims that Wal-Mart refused to hire Jeremy Fass and William Darnell because they are deaf, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Today, the court approved an amended consent decree resolving the contempt action negotiated with the U.S. Employment

TAMPA, Fla. - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida awarded $2.2 million to Dena Zechella, a former employee of Outback Steakhouse.  The jury found that Outback paid Zechella - a female - considerably less than a similarly situated male employee who performed the same job duties.  The jury also found that Outback had subjected Zechella to

WASHINGTON - In the wake of this week's tragic events, Cari M. Dominguez, Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), called on all employers and employees across the country to promote tolerance and guard against unlawful workplace discrimination based on national origin or religion.

"We should not allow our anger at the terrorists responsible for this week's heinous attacks to be misdirected against innocent individuals because of their religion

WASHINGTON - Among the tragic events of yesterday was the destruction of the New York District Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), located on the 18th floor of the World Trade Center, Building 7. Gratefully, all district office personnel, along with other residents of the building, were safely evacuated before the structure collapsed late yesterday afternoon.

EEOC Chair Cari M. Dominguez and agency Commissioners and officials have been in frequent contact with

Lawsuit Charges Brokerage House with Widespread Discrimination against Women

NEW YORK - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit today against Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. and Morgan Stanley & Co., Inc. alleging that the Wall Street brokerage firm discriminated against Allison Schieffelin, a former convertible bond sales representative, and as many as 100 other women in the company's Institutional Equity Division on the basis of their sex.  The suit also alleges

Federal Agency Says Employer's Leave Policies Ran Afoul of Disabilities Act

CHICAGO - Federal District Judge John W. Darrah entered a $650,000 Consent Decree here today ending a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) disability discrimination lawsuit against Blood Systems, Inc. and its subsidiary United Blood Services (together United Blood), national firms in the business of collecting blood from donors and providing it to hospitals.  EEOC's suit, filed under Title I of the

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that it has begun a review of its policy concerning the application of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) to employer-sponsored retiree health benefit plans, such as those offering extended health care coverage in the form of a Medicare bridge (coverage until Medicare eligibility at age 65). That policy had provided that retiree health plans that are reduced or eliminated on the basis

Major Victory for Commission in Biggest Sexual Harassment Suit Since Mitsubishi

CHICAGO - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released the decision of the federal court here holding that the agency's major class sexual harassment lawsuit against the maker of Dial soap will go ahead toward trial.  In a 46-page written decision dated August 9, 2001, District Judge Warren K. Urbom denied virtually every argument advanced by The Dial Corporation in support of

First Latina Chairwoman Reformed and Revitalized EEOC on Several Key Fronts

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today that Ida L. Castro, the agency's first Latina Chairwoman, has resigned as a member of the Commission.  During her tenure as EEOC Chairwoman, from October 1998 through early August 2001, Ms. Castro implemented wide-ranging reforms throughout the agency which significantly improved its overall efficiency and effectiveness.

"The American people

Employees Subjected to Rampant Sexual Harassment, National Origin Bias and Retaliation

PHOENIX - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced a $3.5 million settlement of an employment discrimination lawsuit against Quality Art LLC, a defunct picture frame manufacturer based in Gilbert, Ariz.  The suit alleged that 35 female and Hispanic low-wage workers, mostly Mexican and Guatemalan, were subjected to widespread sexual harassment, national origin discrimination, and retaliation - including firing and