Conectiv, Subcontractors to Pay $1.65 Million for Racial Harassment
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a major settlement of a racial harassment lawsuit for $1,650,000 and significant remedial relief against Conectiv, A.C. Dellovade Inc., Steel Suppliers Erectors Inc., and Matrix Services Industrial Contractors (doing business as Bogan Inc./Hake Group) on behalf of black employees who were subjected to egregious racial harassment at a construction site in Bethlehem, Pa.
Conectiv was the general contractor and property owner on a project to build a new energy power plant on the site of a defunct steel plant. Construction on the project began in January 2002 and the plant was operating by the end of October 2003. EEOC charged in the lawsuit that the defendants, acting as joint employers, subjected a class of African American employees to racial slurs and graffiti as well as threats by hangman's nooses.
EEOC said that harassment included a life size noose made of heavy rope hung from a beam in a class member's work area for at least 10 days before it was removed; the regular use of the "N-word"; racially offensive comments made to black individuals, including "I think everybody should own one"; "Black people are no good and you can't trust them"; and "Black people can't read or write." Additionally, racist graffiti was present written in portable toilets, with terms such as "coon," "If u not white u not right," "White power," "KKK," and "I love the Ku Klux Klan."
"It should be obvious to construction companies that employees in this industry have the same legal protections against discrimination as those who work in an office setting," said EEOC Philadelphia District Director Marie M. Tomasso, who oversaw the agency's administrative investigation which preceded the litigation. "Employers risk intervention by the EEOC when supervisors ignore racially offensive working conditions and fail to take prompt and effective remedial action to stop it."
As part of the settlement by consent decrees, Conectiv will pay $750,000 to the four class members, Matrix Services Industrial Contractors (doing business as Bogan, Inc./Hake Group) will pay $450,000 to two class members, Steel Suppliers Erectors Inc. will pay $250,000 to one class member, and A.C. Dellovade Inc. will pay $200,000 to one class member.
In addition to the monetary relief, the four-year decrees (EEOC v. Conectiv, et al, Civil Action No. 2:05-cv-03389), filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, includes: injunctive relief enjoining each defendant from engaging in racial harassment or retaliation, anti-discrimination training, the posting of a notice about the settlement, and reporting complaints of racial harassment to the EEOC for monitoring. Defendants did not admit liability in the consent decrees, which are pending judicial approval.
"The harassment in this case is shocking and unconscionable," said Jacqueline McNair, EEOC regional attorney. "The display of hangman's nooses, which represent a threat to life and limb, is abhorrent and will not be tolerated by the EEOC. Employers must realize there will be a high price to pay for such egregious and unlawful conduct, regardless of the industry in which it occurs."
Terrence R. Cook, the supervisory trial attorney responsible for handling the litigation, added, "The class members had the courage to come forward and complain, first to supervisors, who did not take action, and then to the EEOC, which did. We are pleased that the companies worked with us to resolve the case and that they are all taking the positive steps needed to ensure future work sites are free from racial harassment."