The EEOC’s suit — EEOC v. 99 Cents Supermarkets, Inc., U.S. District Court Case CV-08-0019; and Yun’s Corporation and Townhouse Inc., U.S. District Court Case No. Cv-07-0031 —charged that female cashiers were sexually harassed by a supervisor in the form of unwelcome touching including slapping and spanking, the touching of private parts, lifting of female employees’ skirts and repeated lewd demands.
Despite several complaints, the employer’s management failed to take prompt corrective action.
In addition, the employment contracts of two of the female cashiers were not renewed because of their pregnancy.
The consent decree settling the suit provides $80,000 in damages to six women who were subjected to a sexually hostile work environment at the supermarket chain on Saipan.
The decree also requires the company to take steps to insure that harassment does not continue at the supermarket and the revision of its personnel policies and practices, training of personnel, the hiring of an equal employment opportunity consultant, and the posting of the terms of the decree at all of the defendant’s facilities.
“Employers need to know there is no exception under federal employment law because of the individual’s immigration status or not being U.S. citizens, as was the case here,” said EEOC regional attorney Anna Park.
“Employers need to be proactive in dealing with discrimination complaints made by their employees before the commission is forced to intervene as we had to do in this case.”
Timothy Riera, the EEOC Honolulu local director, whose office oversees the CNMI, said: “Unfortunately, sexual harassment continues to be a problem in the Marianas. The EEOC will continue to make a major effort, through aggressive litigation and extensive education and outreach for employers and workers, to address this issue and ensure that this trend changes.”
Other recent EEOC settlements involving Title VII violations in the CNMI include the following:
A $205,000 settlement against Rome Research Corp. resolved EEOC’s lawsuit, which alleged that a female employee at a government facility operated by that company on Tinian was subjected to a sexually hostile work environment.
The EEOC also alleged that the employee was retaliated against when she attempted to oppose the harassment.
A $120,000 settlement with Rifu Apparel required the company to pay seven female garment workers for refusing to renew their employment contracts because of their pregnancy.
Besides the monetary relief, the four-year decrees required policy revisions, training of supervisors, and monitoring by the EEOC.
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.
Further information about the EEOC is available on the agency’s Web site at www.eeoc.gov.
