Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—Agency secures $850K from employers across three discrimination lawsuits, (Mar 25, 2025)

By Steven Melendez

The agency saw a $300,000 jury verdict against an airline for sexual harassment upheld and settled two other disputes.

The EEOC settled a disability discrimination case against a construction supply company and a sexual harassment case against a janitorial provider and saw a jury verdict upheld in an additional case involving an airline.

Sexual harassment settlement. In one case, HHS Environmental, LLC, which provides janitorial services to hospitals, agreed to pay $400,000 to resolve a sexual harassment case brought by the EEOC. The agency had claimed that female housekeeping staff were subject to repeated sexual harassment by a male employee, who made inappropriate comments and even tried to touch, grab, and kiss the workers.

When the workers complained, according to the EEOC, the company did nothing to stop the harassment for more than a year, then retaliated by firing two of the victimized workers. The company allegedly retaliated against a third worker by doubling her workload to an unmanageable level until she ultimately resigned.

“Sexual harassment remains a prevalent problem in today’s workplace, especially for workers like housekeepers, who may work in isolated environments," said the EEOC’s Phoenix District Director Melinda Caraballo in a statement. "Employers commit a second violation of Title VII when they retaliate against employees who complain about the sexual harassment. Unfortunately, over 50% of the charges the EEOC receives allege a retaliation complaint.”

In addition to the monetary payment, HHS Environmental agreed to review its harassment policies, provide training to employees, offer to reinstate certain former employees, issue letters of apology to affected workers, and report on its progress to the EEOC, according to the agency.

Jury verdict upheld. A federal judge denied a request by SkyWest Airlines, Inc., for a new trial and upheld an order that the airline pay a former parts clerk $300,000 in damages in a lawsuit brought by the EEOC over subjecting the woman to an allegedly sexually hostile work environment.

The jury had initially awarded $2.17 million, including $170,000 for past and future compensatory damages and $2 million in punitive damages, and the judge had reduced the award to $300,000, in line with statutory caps in Title VII. The EEOC alleges the woman was subject to "constant offensive and humiliating sexual comments," including requests for sex acts and comments about rape and rape victims. The woman reported the harassment on multiple occasions, but the airline failed to take action.

The court also issued a three-year injunction barring SkyWest from subjecting any parts or maintenance employees at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) to a hostile work environment based on sex, offer annual training to its employees at the airport, create a protocol for investigating future complaints, post a notice to employees about relevant worker protections, and report any future complaints to the EEOC.

“The robust injunctive relief gained through this EEOC suit protects current and future employees from experiencing the hostile work environment Ms. Budd endured,” said Alexa Lang, a trial attorney in the EEOC’s Dallas District Office. “The EEOC will continue its fight for sexual harassment victims.”

Additionally, the court awarded $24,607 in costs to the EEOC.

Disability case settled. The EEOC also settled a disability discrimination suit against Black Diamond Blade Company, doing business as Cutting Edge Supply, a California-based construction supply company that operates in Arizona.

The agency said the company failed to properly accommodate a welder with diabetes who asked to take snack breaks throughout the day, retaliated against him when he complained, and ultimately fired him. Those alleged actions violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), according to the agency.

The company agreed to pay $150,000 to the worker, revise its ADA policies, train employees and managers about disability discrimination, promptly investigate any future complaints, and provide reports to the EEOC.

“Employers must provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities unless it would cause the employer an undue hardship," said Caraballo. "Employers must also protect employees from retaliation when they complain about what they believe is discrimination.”

Companies: Black Diamond Blade Company; Cutting Edge Supply; HHS Environmental, LLC; SkyWest Airlines, Inc.

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