OXFORD, Miss. (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced May 22 that Dolgencorp LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dollar General Corporation retail chain, will pay $70,000 after allegations of sexual harassment.
"While the recent #MeToo movement has shone a light on the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace, the EEOC has long remained on the front lines litigating these types of cases on behalf of victims, including vulnerable women in low-wage industries such as the retail, warehousing and food services industries in the South," Regional Attorney Faye Williams, of EEOC's Memphis District Office, said in a statement. "The EEOC will continue to bring these lawsuits. Employers who allow their supervisors or managers to subject their employees to sexually harassing behavior can expect that serious repercussions will follow."
A female sales associate at the defendant’s store in Red Banks, Mississippi was subjected to sexual harassment committed by the store’s manager, according to allegations. EEOC claimed that this manager had a previous history involving female employees complaining about his behavior, but Dollar General continue to employ him.
“As we have said time and time again, having an anti-harassment policy that looks good on paper does not satisfy federal prohibitions against sexual harassment in the workplace,” Markeisha Savage, EEOC trial attorney, said in a statement.