The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is actively pursuing litigation of discrimination and sexual harassment allegations. Two recent actions by the EEOC illustrate what can happen when an employer doesn’t take appropriate action to ensure that its workforce understands the obligation to avoid discrimination and harassment, and that supervisors understand their obligation to act promptly on complaints by employees.

The EEOC filed a class action lawsuit in federal court against Cracker Barrel based on charges of racial and sexual harassment in violation of Title VII asserted by 10 workers in three Cracker Barrel stores. The EEOC says that its investigation revealed that women at Cracker Barrel stores were harassed with obscene jokes, sexual propositions, groping, sexual assaults, and circulation of pornographic photographs and cartoons. The EEOC said that Cracker Barrel managers refused to investigate or act on complaints of harassment, and also became personally involved in the harassment by grabbing female employees, propositioning them, and laughing at their complaints. Calls by female employees to Cracker Barrel’s "hotline" for receiving complaints went unanswered.

The EEOC’s lawsuit against Cracker Barrel also alleges that African American employees were harassed and subjected to different terms and conditions of employment because of their race. The EEOC said its investigation disclosed that African American employees were harassed with obscene racial cartoons and continuous race-based comments, and that Cracker Barrel management assigned a black employee to wait on black customers when white servers objected to waiting on them.

Earlier this summer, the EEOC announced a $1,000,000 settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit it had filed against Airguide Corporation and Pioneer Metals, Inc. The case was based on allegations that female employees were harassed with sexually explicit slurs and comments by a supervisor, which persisted despite repeated complaints to management. The EEOC also alleged that after employees participated in the EEOC’s investigation or filed charges with the agency, they were reprimanded, suspended, harassed or terminated in retaliation. Airguide and Pioneer Metals agreed to a three-year Consent Decree which requires the companies to pay $1,000,000 to a group of seven former employees, to conduct training at all of its facilities in Florida, and to undergo monitoring by the EEOC.

Both the Cracker Barrel and Airguide Corporation cases illustrate the importance of having complete and adequate policies against sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, including proper complaint procedures. Employers should make sure their policies impose a duty on supervisors to report harassment, and are clear and specific about the company’s stance against harassment in the workplace. Because no policy is effective if employees and supervisors are not well acquainted with it, employers should implement training on their anti-discrimination and harassment policies. Requiring supervisors to be familiar with and to enforce such policies will help to avoid the types of claims described above.