Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—$542K recovered for alleged age, religious discrimination, retaliation; new suit claims racial harassment, (Dec 17, 2025)

By Pamela Wolf, J.D

“Over the past year, under the Trump Administration and my leadership, the agency has renewed its commitment to enforcing the law as written — so that no American is forced to choose between their faith and their livelihood.”

The EEOC separately announced its recovery of $542,758 in damages for affected workers to resolve allegations of age and religious discrimination and retaliation by employers in Florida and New York. The federal anti-discrimination agency also filed a new lawsuit against an employer in Washington state raising racial harassment and retaliation claims on behalf of African-American employees.

Terminated due to age. Independent Medical Group, LLC has agreed to pay $64,000 and provide other relief to conciliate allegations that it violated the ADEA when the health care provider with several clinics across Florida terminated an employee based on his age. As part of the resolution, the employer agreed to pay the employee his full back pay and liquidated damages. Independent Medical will also implement annual training on age discrimination for employees, HR, and management staff; revise its employment policies to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on age and list examples of age discrimination; and report on any future complaints of age discrimination for a period of five years.

“Age discrimination continues to be a persistent problem in the workplace,” said EEOC District Director Evangeline Hawthorne. “Employees aged 40 and older come with significant expertise and are an essential part of the workforce.”

Religious accommodation withdrawn. Pursuant to a three-year consent decree, Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation and Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc., will pay $175,000 and provide significant non-monetary relief to resolve an EEOC lawsuit alleging the sellers of timeshare programs for hotels and vacation clubs violated Title VII when it initially provided a religious accommodation for a Seventh-Day Adventist employee and then withdrew it. The accommodation allowed the employee to avoid Saturday shifts so she would not have to work on her religion’s Sabbath. But after a change in management, the companies revoked her religious accommodation and began scheduling her to work on Saturdays. Although she made repeated complaints about losing her religious accommodation, the employer continued to schedule her for Saturdays, negatively impacting her sales and commissions, and forcing her to choose between her work and her faith, leading to her to resign, according to the suit.

The companies also must update certain religious accommodation policies at their Sheraton Vacation Club properties in Florida; provide specialized training to managers, supervisors, and HR personnel who manage and advise sales executives at their Sheraton Vacation Club properties in Florida; post a notice in the workplace informing employees of the settlement and of their right to be free from workplace discrimination; and provide the EEOC with periodic reports on requests for religious accommodations at their Sheraton Vacation Club properties in Florida.

“Federal law prohibits employers from refusing to accommodate a religious practice absent undue hardship, which certainly would not have been a factor in this case,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Kristen M. Foslid.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Middle District of Florida; the case is No. 6:25-cv-00790-PGB-DCI.

Applicant rejected over religious accommodation request. White Plains, New York-based Mavis Tire Supply LLC, will pay $303,758 to conciliate allegations that the nationwide tire dealer and automotive service provider violated Title VII when it failed to hire an applicant for a managerial position in the Central New York region because during his interview, he requested Friday evenings and Saturdays off to observe the Sabbath. The EEOC’s investigation also found that the company then offered him a job as a tire technician, a lower position with a more flexible schedule, but retracted it after the applicant reiterated his request for a religious accommodation.

In addition to the back pay, front pay, and compensatory damages for the applicant, Mavis Tire agreed to revise its written policies about religious accommodation; provide training for its managerial retail employees in the Central New York area and for certain HR employees involved in the hiring and/or religious accommodation request process nationally; post a notice highlighting the resolution of this matter and the laws enforced by the EEOC; and report on any internal complaints of religious discrimination or retaliation to the EEOC.

“For more than sixty years, the Commission has enforced Title VII, including its core promise to defend religious liberty in the workplace,” said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. “Over the past year, under the Trump Administration and my leadership, the agency has renewed its commitment to enforcing the law as written — so that no American is forced to choose between their faith and their livelihood.”

African-American employees racially harassed. According to a new EEOC lawsuit, Target Market Enterprises, Inc., violated Title VII when the franchise owner of Little Caesars restaurants in Western Washington allowed employees to use derogatory terms targeting African-American employees at its Mount Vernon, Washington, location. The company purportedly was aware of, but failed to stop employees from using racial slurs targeting African Americans, and promoted two harassers to shift lead positions. The new shift leads then regularly referred to African-American employees using racial terms such as the N-word and “slave,” and one of the shift leads assigned the most menial tasks to two African-American employees, the EEOC said. After one harasser was fired, the other continued to use racially derogatory terms. The employer allegedly fired one of the African-American employees because he complained about the harassment.

The EEOC brought its lawsuit in the Western District of Washington; the case is No. 2:25-cv-1890.

Companies: Independent Medical Group, LLC; Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corporation; Marriott Ownership Resorts, Inc.; Mavis Tire Supply LLC; Target Market Enterprises, Inc.; Little Caesars

News: AgencyNews Discharge Discrimination AgeDiscrimination RaceDiscrimination ReligiousDiscrimination Retaliation RemediesDamages