Rita Kittle

Meeting of March 12, 2014 - Social Media in the Workplace: Examining Implications for Equal Employment Opportunity Law

Rita Byrnes Kittle is the Supervisory Trial Attorney for the Denver Field and Albuquerque Area Offices of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Ms. Kittle has focused primarily on cases involving systemic discrimination and disability discrimination. Her successes at the EEOC include the following: EEOC v. Outback Steakhouse, alleging failure to promote women nationwide, settled $19 million; EEOC v. Albertson's, alleging racially hostile work environment for a class of 168, settled $8.9 million; EEOC v. Echostar Communications, alleging discriminatory failure to hire, failure to accommodate, and unlawful testing procedures for a blind applicant, jury verdict for $8 million in punitive damages; EEOC v. Home Depot, alleging hostile work environment and retaliation for a class of approximately 600 employees, settled for $5.5 million; and EEOC v. Milgard Windows, alleging racially discriminatory hiring practices for a class of 160 black applicants, settled $3.75 million. Before joining the EEOC in 1999, Ms. Kittle was in private practice in the Denver area for 11 years, specializing in employment and labor law. Ms. Kittle received her Bachelor of Arts in Labor Studies from Antioch University in 1983 and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver College of Law in 1988.