BALTIMORE (Legal Newsline) – Plastipak Packing Inc., has agreed to a $90,000 settlement in a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) federal retaliatory lawsuit that claimed the company fired a female employee at its Maryland facility because she reported sexual harassment.
The EEOC announced the settlement Jan. 29.
In a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Baltimore Division, the EEOC charged Plastik with violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sexual harassment and retaliation against those who complain about discrimination or harassment.
According to the lawsuit, Plastipak fired a female employee from a temporary agency after she complained that she was sexually harassed by a Plastipak employee. Instead of investigating the claim, the EEOC alleges the company terminated her assignment.
"All employees, including temporary workers, have the right to earn a living without being subjected to sexual advances and to exercise their right to oppose unlawful harassment without being fired," EEOC Philadelphia Director Jamie R. Williamson said in a news release.
The three-year consent decree to resolve the suit also requires Plastik to refrain from any future retaliation at its Havre de Grace, Maryland facility, to implement a detailed policy that prohibits sexual harassment and retaliation and requires the company to train all managers, supervisors and employees on sexual harassment and retaliation prevention. Plastik must also report to the EEOC on its handling of any internal complaints of unlawful sexual harassment or retaliation and to post a notice about the settlement.