EEOC Recovers $99,000 From United Airlines On Behalf Of Employee Facing Hostile Work Environment

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently sued United Airlines, Inc., a Delaware corporation with a major hub at Denver International Airport. United Airlines will pay $99,000 and provide other relief to settle a federal lawsuit for a hostile work environment based on race and national origin, the agency announced. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, United allowed an Asian American employee of Mongolian ancestry to be called by a racial slur, physically assaulted, have his employment threatened based on his race and national origin, and delayed investigating the employee’s internal complaint even though it included allegations of physical violence.

The lawsuit alleges that these allegations arose at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when Asian Americans and those of Asian descent experienced public hostility and violence because of their race and/or ethnicity based on the misconception that Asians caused the virus or pandemic. Ultimately, public perception of Asians resulted in several individuals of Asian descent being discriminated against in the workplace.

This conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects individuals from workplace discrimination and hostile work environments and prohibits retaliation against those who report such abuses. The EEOC filed suit in the U.S. District Court of Colorado after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its voluntary conciliation process.

In addition to paying $99,000 and giving 75,000 flight miles to the former employee, the three-year consent decree that settled the case requires United Airlines to review its EEO policies, post employee notices, and submit regularly scheduled compliance reports to the EEOC. In addition, United agreed to modify its workplace violence policy to provide that investigations of actual or threatened physical violence are initiated within 72 hours of the notice of complaint.

What should the company have done differently to avoid this outcome? 

Ultimately, the company did not take the employee’s complaints seriously even though he was being referred to by a racial slur and suffered physical attacks in the workplace. The company had an obligation to investigate his allegations but stalled the process and the EEOC took note. The company should have launched an internal investigation into his complaints and punished the employee who physically attacked him in the workplace. The employees who referred to him by racial slurs should have also been disciplined for their conduct.

Ultimately, none of this happened, and the employee’s complaint was ignored by management. This led to the employee filing a complaint with the EEOC and his employer being sued by the EEOC to recover damages on behalf of the employee. This is the sort of outcome you hope to avoid by taking HR complaints seriously.

Talk to a Columbus, OH Employment Discrimination Lawyer Today 

Kohl & Cook Law Firm, LLC represents the interests of employees and employers in employment discrimination lawsuits. If your company is being sued by the EEOC or an employee or you are an employee who has suffered discrimination in the workplace, call our Columbus employment lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin investigating your case right away.

Source:

eeoc.gov/newsroom/united-airlines-pay-99000-eeoc-discrimination-case