Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—New lawsuits challenge alleged sexual harassment, religious and disability discrimination, (Jun 11, 2025)

By Pamela Wolf, J.D.

A business co-owner allegedly engaged in unwanted sexual comments and forced sexual touching; medically cleared employees taking lawfully prescribed medications for disability treatments were purportedly denied opportunities.

In separate developments, the EEOC filed lawsuits against employers in Mississippi, Florida, and Tennessee for alleged sexual harassment, and religious and disability discrimination, respectively. In one case, an employee was purportedly forced to choose between her job and her religion, even though the EEOC contends she dressed consistent with the employer’s policy against loose-fitting clothing.

Sexual harassment by co-owner. The EEOC filed a lawsuit in a federal district court in Mississippi against Ground Zero Biloxi LLC, alleging that the Biloxi, Mississippi, blues club operator violated Title VII by subjecting an assistant manager to sexual harassment by one of its co-owners and firing the worker for complaining about the harassment. The co-owner allegedly subjected the assistant manager to a campaign of sexual harassment that included repeated unwanted sexual comments and multiple acts of forced sexual touching. The assistant manager repeatedly complained about the harassment to no avail, according to the EEOC. Despite these complaints, the club purportedly failed to take any effective action against the co-owner to stop him from sexually harassing the assistant manager, and instead retaliated against her by firing her shortly after she submitted written complaints to the club’s chief financial officer.

The EEOC seeks monetary damages including back pay, compensatory damages, and punitive damages, as well as injunctive relief designed to prevent such unlawful conduct in the future.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Southern District of Mississippi; the case is No. 1:25-CV-00173-TMB-RPM.

Forced to choose between job and religion. According to an EEOC lawsuit filed in a federal district court in Florida, CEMEX Construction Materials Florida, LLC, violated Title VII when the building construction materials manufacturer and deliverer failed to accommodate an employee’s request to wear a close-fitting skirt over her pants as required by her religion. CEMEX allegedly refused to allow the employee, who is an Apostolic Christian, a religious accommodation permitting her to wear a skirt over her work pants. The company denied the accommodation because of its policy against loose-fitting clothing. The employee only wore close-fitting skirts over her work pants and was in compliance with company policy, according to the EEOC. CEMEX purportedly forced the employee to choose between wearing a skirt or losing her job. The employee chose to continue wearing a skirt, which led to her termination.

“Federal law prohibits discrimination by employers against their employees’ sincerely held religious beliefs,” EEOC Tampa Field Office Director Tamra Schweiberger said. “Employers must not make their employees choose between observing their religion and maintaining their livelihoods where, as here, there is no undue hardship to the company.”

The EEOC brought its lawsuit in the Middle District of Florida; the case No. 8:25-cv-1454.

Discrimination triggered by lawful medication use. According to an EEOC lawsuit filed in a federal district court in Tennessee, The Carlstar Group LLC, a Tennessee-based specialty tires and wheels manufacturer, violated the ADA when it discriminated against employees at its facilities in Clinton and Jackson, Tennessee, and Aiken, South Carolina when they lawfully used certain prescription medications to treat their disabilities. Since at least January 2020, Carlstar allegedly denied opportunities to manufacturing employees when the company learned that those employees were lawfully taking certain prescription medications, including narcotics and opioids, for the treatment of disabilities, even after they were medically cleared to perform their job duties. The company also purportedly failed to consider or provide the workers with reasonable accommodations to the company’s drug testing and substance abuse policy that would enable them to work while lawfully using their prescribed medications.

The federal agency is seeking monetary relief for workers harmed by Carlstar’s alleged unlawful conduct and an order prohibiting future discriminatory conduct against disabled individuals.

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the Middle District of Tennessee; the case is No. 3:25-cv-00575.

“The Americans with Disabilities Act protects workers from discrimination based on disability, including discrimination based on their lawful use of prescription medications to treat their disability,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Andrea G. Baran. “The ADA requires employers to consider each worker as an individual and not use blanket policies to exclude qualified workers who are able to perform their duties safely and effectively.”

Companies: Ground Zero Biloxi LLC; CEMEX Construction Materials Florida, LLC; The Carlstar Group LLC

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