CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Legal Newsline) — Executive Management Services Inc. (EMS), a commercial cleaning and facility management services company headquartered in Indiana, will pay $12,500 to settle allegations of sex discrimination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said.
EEOC had claimed that a male employee of janitorial services company Skyline Services, William Kehoe, worked as a janitor at an EMS-managed facility in Charlotte. Kehoe had duties that included cleaning both male and female restrooms. According to allegations, Kehoe would occasionally step out of the room while women were using the restroom and continue his work after they left.
EMS allegedly did not like the interruptions and asked Skyline Services to replace Kehoe with a female janitor. After Skyline Services refused, EMS allegedly terminated the company’s contract. The EEOC charges that EMS then hired back most of the employees who had worked at the facility via Skyline Services but failed to consider Kehoe because of his sex.
Alleged conduct of this nature violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to the EEOC. EMS will be required to provide monetary relief to Kehoe and injunctive relief to prevent future discrimination.
"Employers must ensure that both men and women have equal access to jobs," said Lynette Barnes, the regional attorney in the EEOC's Charlotte District Office in a March 15 statement. "The law requires it."