CINCINNATI — An Ohio industrial cleaning company has reached a settlement with a federal agency to resolve a lawsuit alleging that two African-American workers at its Kentucky operation were subjected to racial harassment.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), MPW Industrial Services will pay $170,000 to settle the race discrimination lawsuit. The EEOC's lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Cincinnati Division, alleges the African-American employees faced racial epithets, racist comments and jokes, hangman's nooses and an alleged KKK meeting at the worksite. MPW violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by allowing the alleged racial discrimination, the EEOC said.
"As the statute makes clear, harassment on the basis of race is a violation of federal law," EEOC Indianapolis District Office regional attorney Kenneth Bird said in a statement. "We are committed to pursuing the claims of individuals who are subjected to workplace harassment because of their race."
The settlement includes MPW paying the two former workers the $170,000 in addition to training its supervisors and managers on spotting and preventing racial harassment, according to the EEOC.