Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—Employers paid $215K to resolve pay and religious discrimination, retaliation allegations, (Apr 7, 2025)

By Pamela Wolf

In one case, a supervisor reportedly asked a teenager to remove her hijab to expose her hair and when she refused, pulled it partway off himself.

In a pair of unrelated developments, the EEOC obtained $215,000 in monetary relief to resolve a pay discrimination charge against a non-profit medical center in California, and a religious harassment, retaliation, and constructive discharge lawsuit against a fast-food restaurant in Kansas. Other relief included policy changes, training, a pay equity study, and reporting to the EEOC.

Female PA paid less than male NP. Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center agreed to provide $195,000 to three female employees and other injunctive relief to resolve a Title VII/Equal Pay Act complaint against the non-profit medical center with 15 health centers and clinics through southern Alameda County, California. In July 2023, a female physician assistant (PA) filed an EEOC discrimination charge alleging that she was consistently paid at a lower rate of pay than a male nurse practitioner (NP), despite the fact that he had no prior experience as a nurse practitioner. The EEOC’s investigation found reasonable cause to establish that from about April 2022 through August 2023, she and two other women were paid less than the male employee for performing substantially equal job duties.

Following the EEOC’s investigation, the parties reached a two-year agreement during pre-litigation conciliation requiring the health center to provide compensatory damages, revise its non-discrimination policies and procedures, conduct a pay equity study and set objective factors for compensation, conduct training to all staff, and post a notice concerning EEO rights.

Use objective criteria. “We commend Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center for their commitment to ensuring compliance with the federal laws against sex-based wage discrimination,” said Margaret Ly, director of the EEOC’s San Jose Local Office. “This is a good reminder for all employers to set objective criteria when making compensation decisions and to apply those criteria consistently. Instead of basing pay on factors such as prior salary that may be discriminatory, employers should independently evaluate an individual's job-related qualifications.”

The EEOC provides additional information on its Pay Tips website for small businesses.

Supervisor forcibly removed part of hijab. To resolve an EEOC religious harassment, retaliation, and constructive discharge lawsuit, restaurant chain Chipotle Services, Inc. agreed to pay $20,000 and provide other relief. In July 2021, at a Lenexa, Kansas, Chipotle restaurant, a supervisor began harassing one of his employees because of her religion, according to the agency’s Title VII lawsuit. The employee, a teenager at the time, is a devout Muslim and wears a hijab head covering in observance of her faith. Her supervisor repeatedly asked her to remove her hijab and expose her hair. She rebuffed the requests and explained the religious significance of the hijab. But in August, after again pressuring her to take off her hijab, the supervisor grabbed her head scarf and partially removed it himself.

The employee immediately reported the incident, and tendered her two weeks’ notice the next day, the EEOC said. Chipotle allegedly refused to schedule the teen for the duration of her notice period in retaliation for her complaint.

The three-year decree settling the lawsuit also requires Chipotle to provide training to line employees in the Lenexa, Kansas, area three times a year on harassment and religious discrimination, regularly train supervisory personnel on Title VII and religious discrimination, and report to the EEOC any complaints of religious harassment that occur during the pendency of the decree.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the District of Kansas; the case is No. 2:23-cv-02439.

Companies: Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center; Chipotle Services, Inc.

News: AgencyNews Discharge Discrimination PayDiscrimination Retaliation ReligiousDiscrimination SexDiscrimination RemediesDamages