The EEOC Is Dead Serious About Stamping Out Sexual Harassment
Feb 28, 2011
Chicago, IL (Law Firm Newswire) February 28, 2011 – The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is making great inroads in stamping out sexual harassment in workplaces.
“Sexual harassment is never acceptable in any form in the workplace. Anyone that feels they have been the victim of such inappropriate behavior needs to contact a highly trained Chicago employee litigation attorney to get to the bottom of the situation,” said Timothy J. Coffey, a Chicago employment lawyer with, and owner of, The Coffey Law Office, P.C.
While individual cases dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace seem to be more prevalent, they are also the focus of a drive by the EEOC to stamp it out. In fact, one of their latest cases deals with two Florida-based companies who were caught on the wrong side of the laws relating to sexual workplace harassment.
The case is interesting in that it highlights what the EEOC is attempting to achieve for workers across the nation. It is cases like this that are used as examples in court should a lawyer in another jurisdiction have the need to try a similar case. It also demonstrates that legally speaking, sexual workplace harassment is not to be tolerated in any form and there are consequences for crossing over the line.
The case on point here was filed against two Florida companies – Cobra Pavers & Engineering, Inc. and Cobra Construction. Apparently, Cobra managers made it a habit to harass female office workers in such as manner as to create a sexually hostile work environment. They told jokes, made denigrating remarks about women, bandied inappropriate sexual remarks about on a daily basis and took great delight in telling stories about sexual adventures and exploits. The sexual harassment was not just verbal; it included very unwelcome sexual touching.
The EEOC filed a lawsuit and won; a situation that will see Cobra pay $125,000 to settle the lawsuit. In addition, they have also agreed to revise both company’s sexual harassment policies, offer training to workers and management, post a notice about the case and the settlement and report any future discrimination complaints to the EEOC.
“If this can happen in Florida, it can happen in Chicago,” said Coffey, “which is why employment lawyers stay up-to-date on the latest cases in this area. It’s highly sensitive and in many cases, workers in that type of a situation have no place to turn to for help. That is my job, to help people deal with situations like this.”
Timothy Coffey is a Chicago employment lawyer and principal attorney for The Coffey Law Office, P. C., an employment litigation firm dedicated to representing employees in the workplace. To learn more or to contact a Chicago employment attorney, visit Employmentlawcounsel.com.
THE COFFEY LAW OFFICE, P.C.
351 W. Hubbard Street, Suite 602
Chicago, IL 60654
Call: 312.627.9700
