PRESS RELEASE
9-8-16


Greenville Ready Mixed Concrete to Pay $42,500 To Settle EEOC Religious Discrimination LawsuitContractor Fired Seventh-day Adventist Because of His Sabbath Request, Federal Agency Charged
WINTERVILLE, N.C. - Greenville Ready Mixed Concrete, Inc., a North Carolina company based in Winterville, will pay $42,500 and furnish other relief to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency announced today. EEOC charged that the contractor violated federal law when it refused to accommodate an employee's religious belief, and then fired him because of his religion, Seventh-day Adventist.
According to EEOC's complaint, since 2007, Michael Cole worked as a truck driver for Greenville Ready Mixed. Cole's Seventh-day Adventist faith requires him to refrain from working for hire on Saturdays in observance of the Sabbath. The company's facilities were usually closed on Saturdays and employees only worked Saturdays on limited occasions. According to EEOC's complaint, the company asked Cole to work on Saturday, March 22, 2014. When Cole said he could not work Saturdays based on his religious beliefs, the company failed to accommodate him and then discharged him for that reason, EEOC said.
Such conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to sincerely held religious beliefs of employees absent undue hardship. EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Eastern Division (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Greenville Ready Mix Concrete, Inc. Civil Action No. 4:16-cv-00094-BO) after first attempting to reach a voluntary settlement with the company through its conciliation process.
In addition to monetary damages, the five-year consent decree settling the suit requires the company to create an anti-discrimination policy and provide annual training on Title VII's protection against religious discrimination. The five-year consent decree also requires the contractor to post a notice to its employees about the lawsuit and to provide periodic reports to EEOC regarding how it responds to requests for religious accommodations during the decree's term.
"We are pleased with this settlement," said Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for EEOC's Charlotte District Office. "EEOC hopes that this case serves as a reminder to employers that unless providing a reasonable accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the company, the accommodation must be provided. No one should ever be forced to choose between his religion and his job."

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sent this bulletin at 08/30/2016 05:58 PM EDT

Today the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued its final Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues, to replace its 1998 Compliance Manual section on retaliation. The guidance also addresses the separate “interference” provision under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits coercion, threats, or other acts that interfere with the exercise of ADA rights. 
The Commission has also issued two short user-friendly resource documents to accompany the new guidance: a question-and-answer publication that summarizes the guidance document, and a short Small Business Fact Sheet that condenses the major points in the guidance in non-legal language. 
"Retaliation is asserted in nearly 45 percent of all charges we receive and is the most frequently alleged basis of discrimination," said EEOC Chair Jenny R. Yang. "The examples and promising practices included in the guidance are aimed at assisting all employers reduce the likelihood of retaliation.  The public input provided during the development of this guidance was valuable to the Commission in producing a document to help employers prevent retaliation and to help employees understand their rights." 
On Jan. 21, 2016, EEOC published a proposed guidance for public input on www.regulations.gov. The final guidance issued today reflects the Commission’s consideration of feedback received on the proposal from approximately 60 organizations and individuals representing a wide range of viewpoints. In preparing the final guidance, the agency also considered the stakeholder views expressed at the June 17, 2015 Commission Meeting held on this topic.   
The guidance addresses retaliation under each of the statutes enforced by EEOC, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Title V of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Equal Pay Act (EPA) and Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA).  Topics explained in the new guidance include: 
·         The scope of employee activity protected by the law.
·         Legal analysis to be used to determine if evidence supports a claim of retaliation.
·         Remedies available for retaliation.
·         Rules against interference with the exercise of rights under the ADA.
·         Detailed examples of employer actions that may constitute retaliation.
Since EEOC’s 1998 Compliance Manual section on retaliation, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued seven decisions addressing retaliation under EEOC-enforced laws, and the filing of EEO claims that include a retali­ation allegation has continued to grow. Charges of retaliation surpassed race discrimination in 2009 as the most frequently alleged basis of discrimination, accounting for 44.5 percent of all charges received by EEOC in FY 2015. In the federal sector, retaliation has been the most frequently alleged basis since 2008, and retaliation findings comprised between 42 percent and 53 percent of all findings of EEO violations from 2009 to 2015. 
EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws against employment discrimination.  Further information about the agency is available at www.eeoc.gov.