EEOC Files Suit Against Glunt Industries And Merit Capital Partners For Sex Discrimination In Hiring

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently announced that it filed a lawsuit against Glunt Industries, Inc. and Merit Capital Partners IV, LLC. According to the EEOC, the companies engaged in class-wide sex discrimination against women by failing to hire them for production jobs. Further, the lawsuit contends that the companies discriminated against their former human resources director and other female employees, according to the EEOC.

According to Glunt’s website, Glunt Industries, Inc. is “the most complete large-scale fabricating and machining operation in the United States with over 225,000 square feet of production space at multiple plants across northeast Ohio.

The EEOC charges that Glunt and Merit Capital Partners, which purchased Glunt in 2012, engaged in longstanding sex discrimination when they failed to hire women for production jobs. The companies also discriminated against their human resources director and retaliated against her for her role in hiring female candidates for these production positions.

The EEOC alleged that during her tenure, some women were hired for production jobs. However, the companies are accused of subjecting these women to discriminatory treatment by firing some of the female production workers. The agency also accused the companies of failing to make and preserve records as required by federal law, including applications and applicant materials.

The EEOC alleges that this conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on sex and retaliation for filing complaints about sex discrimination.

The EEOC will seek monetary relief on behalf of the class of employees impacted by the discriminatory practices. This includes lost wages, compensatory damages, and punitive damages for the HR director and the class of female job seekers and employers who were unjustly fired or denied employment on the basis of their sex.

Understanding the lawsuit 

The EEOC is filing suit on behalf of a class of women who were subjected to discriminatory treatment during their employment, denied employment because of their sex, and on behalf of the HR director who was unjustly fired for attempting to hire women and complain about the discriminatory practices.

Excluding women from employment opportunities is unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The “gender” prohibition on sex discrimination also applies to LGBTQ+ employees, including transgender employees.

The companies are alleged to have stonewalled female applicants from retaining positions for production jobs at their facilities. The EEOC will pore over the company’s records when it comes to hiring and firing employees. They will argue that female employees were denied employment by the company at a statistically higher rate than their male counterparts. The company will likely be required to pay the HR director for retaliating against her along with any female employee who was denied employment due to their sex or fired after being hired by the HR director.

Talk to a Dayton, OH Employment Discrimination Lawyer Today 

Kohl & Cook Law Firm, LLC represents the interests of employers facing discrimination lawsuits and employees seeking to file them. Call our Columbus employment lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin discussing your case right away.

Source:

eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-sues-glunt-industries-and-merit-capital-partners-classwide-sex-discrimination-hiring