NYU Settles EEOC Race and National Origin Harassment and Retaliation Lawsuit

New York University has agreed to pay $210,000 to settle a race and national origin harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the EEOC. The EEOC had alleged that NYU violated federal laws by subjecting an African-born employee to a hostile work environment and by retaliating against the employee after he complained.

According to lawsuit, the supervisor of the mailroom in the university library regularly addressed the employee, a native of Ghana, with slurs such as “monkey” and “gorilla” and insults such as “go back to your cage” and “do you want a banana?” The supervisor also called the employee’s accent “gibberish,” and was hostile toward immigrants, particularly Africans.

The EEOC claimed that NYU took months to investigate the employee’s many complaints and then failed to take appropriate corrective action, even after discovering that the supervisor had retaliated against the employee.

The consent decree provides that, in addition to paying the employee $210,000 in lost wages and compensation for emotional distress, NYU must take several actions to prevent and address discrimination, harassment and retaliation. The university must implement university-wide enhanced policies and complaint procedures; designate an equal employment opportunity (EEO) coordinator to monitor NYU’s compliance with federal anti-discrimination laws; conduct in-person, comprehensive EEO training sessions for employees, supervisors, and HR staff; and maintain records, to be reviewed by the EEOC, of its responses to future employee complaints of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.