Aiken Fairfield Inn Operator Sued by EEOC for Unlawful Retaliation against Employees

AIKEN, S.C. – The company that operates a Fairfield Inn & Suites hotel in Aiken, S.C., violated federal law by firing two employees, one as retaliation for complaining about discrimination and the other because it mistakenly believed she was doing so, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit.

According to the EEOC’s suit, NAS of Aiken, LLC employed Sharon Green as executive director of housekeeping and Connie Hankinson as a housekeeper. In April 2007, Green complained about treatment towards African-American employees that she believed to be discriminatory, and Green was thereafter suspended and then discharged on April 18, 2007.

The EEOC further claims that the company fired Connie Hankinson because it mistakenly believed she was trying to obtain information that would support Green’s retaliation claims against the company; Hankinson was coming to work to deliver a doctor’s note to support her own absence from work, but managers had been falsely informed that she was coming to gather evidence to support Green and management thus discharged her.

The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Aiken Division (EEOC v. NAS of Aiken, LLC d/b/a Fairfield Inn & Suites, Civil Action No. 1:10-cv-01665-MBS -PJG) after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement out of court through its conciliation process.

The lawsuit seeks monetary relief for Green and Hankinson and an injunction enjoining NAS of Aiken from engaging in further retaliation against employees based on their opposition to unlawful employment practices or employment practices which the employee reasonably believes to be unlawful under the federal statutes enforced by the EEOC.