Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—Employers collectively pay $170K to settle race and disability discrimination, retaliation allegations, (May 2, 2025)

By Pamela Wolf, J.D.

“Employers cannot violate multiple anti-discrimination statutes and then retaliate against employees for enforcing their rights under those laws.”

In separate developments, the EEOC announced its recovery of a combined $170,000 in monetary relief for aggrieved workers through its settlements of race, disability, and retaliation discrimination lawsuits filed against employers doing business in Ohio and North and South Dakota.

Race, disability discrimination allegations prompt retaliation. Bennett Enterprises Inc., dba Ralphie’s Sports Eatery Company, agreed to pay $125,000 in back pay and compensatory damages and provide other relief to settle allegations that it violated Title VII and the ADA when it discriminated and retaliated against a biracial woman diagnosed with depression and anxiety. The woman was a server at a Ralphie’s Sports Eatery location in Kenton, Ohio. She was subjected to a hostile work environment because of her race, which included her direct supervisor using racial slurs and other derogatory terms, according to the EEOC. After the restaurant learned of the server’s disability, she was denied a promotion, suspended, and then fired. After she filed an EEOC discrimination charge alleging race and disability discrimination, the restaurant thereafter refused to hire her at a different restaurant location, telling her that it could not offer her the position because she has an active EEOC claim, the federal agency said.

The two-year consent decree settling the lawsuit also requires Bennett Enterprises to provide periodic reporting, monitoring, and live training for management, human resources, and non-supervisory employees to ensure compliance with Title VII and the ADA.

“Employers cannot violate multiple anti-discrimination statutes and then retaliate against employees for enforcing their rights under those laws,” said Philadelphia District Office Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Northern District of Ohio; the case is No. 1:23-cv-01758.

Fired despite performance of essential job functions. Mail Hauler Trucking, LLC., which delivers mail for the U.S. Postal Service in North Dakota and South Dakota, will pay $45,000 and provide other relief to settle a lawsuit alleging that the employer violated the ADA when it fired an employee because of his disability and/or because the company regarded him as disabled. The employee has a physical impairment that causes weakness, muscle spasms, and stiffness in his legs, and he walks on his toes, according to the EEOC. He worked as a driver delivering mail between various post offices on a route between Watertown and Corona in northeastern South Dakota. He was never disciplined for performance, but the company allegedly fired him despite his ability to perform the essential functions of the job.

The three-year consent decree resolving the suit also requires Mail Hauler to implement policies prohibiting disability discrimination and to ensure that employees are not terminated because of their disabilities; train all employees, including managers, supervisors, and human resources personnel at its locations in South Dakota and North Dakota on the ADA; and report complaints of disability-based termination or discrimination to the EEOC.

The EEOC brought its lawsuit in the District of South Dakota; the case is No. 1:24-CV-01020-ECS.

Companies: Bennett Enterprises Inc.; Ralphie’s Sports Eatery Company; Mail Hauler Trucking, LLC

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