PITTSBURGH - Adecco USA, a Global Fortune 500 staffing company, will pay $12,000 and provide equitable relief to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). In addition to this settlement, the EEOC also won $79,500 from the plastics company in another lawsuit where the discrimination victims were sent by Adecco to work, for a total of $91,500 in damages for the victims in this case.
According to the EEOC’s suit, Adecco USA assigned Veronica Jalpa, Tonya Claypool, and other female employees to work at Pittsburgh Plastics Manufacturing, Inc.’s facility in Butler, Pa. The EEOC alleged that on several occasions a Pittsburgh Plastics male supervisor engaged in unwelcome physical touching of Jalpa, Claypool, and other women, including intentionally rubbing against them, hugging them, and slapping them on the buttocks. He also allegedly made frequent lewd and offensive sexual comments to them.
The EEOC charged that even though Jalpa and Claypool complained to Adecco officials about the sexual harassment, the temporary agency not only failed to protect its employees from sexual harassment at the Pittsburgh Plastic site, but it continued to assign female employees to work under the alleged harasser’s supervision. The EEOC further charged that Adecco retaliated against Jalpa by firing her. Claypool was forced to quit due to the ongoing and intolerable harassment, according to the EEOC’s lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Civil Action No. 09-1246.
In addition to the monetary relief for Jalpa and Claypool, the two-year consent decree settling the lawsuit contains significant remedial measures, including enjoining the company from creating or tolerating a sexually hostile work environment for temporary employees at the place of business of any client serviced by Adecco’s Butler facility and prohibiting any unlawful retaliation in violation of Title VII. Adecco will also provide anti-harassment training to managers, supervisors, employees, and temporary employees as well as reports to the EEOC, and will post notices on this suit.
On March 11, 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Reynolds Hay approved a consent decree resolving the EEOC’s previous sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit against Pittsburgh Plastics Manufacturing, Inc., Civil Action No. 09-1148. The settlement with Pittsburgh Plastics provided a total of $79,500 in monetary relief to Jalpa, Claypool, and two other women who were sexually harassed.
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