Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, EEOC NEWS—New lawsuits challenge unlawful exclusions: Men from employer-sponsored event and black employees from breakroom, (Feb 20, 2026)

By Pamela Wolf, J.D.

“Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has long made the exclusion of one protected class of employees from an employer-sponsored event a violation of the law.”

In separate lawsuits, the EEOC accused a Colca-Cola distributor of discriminating against men when it invited only women to an employer-sponsored event, and charged a cemetery and funeral management company with discriminating against black employees by excluding them from a breakroom that white employees could use. A supervisor was purportedly fired for failing to restrain an employee who had threatened to contact the EEOC.

Excluded men from employer-sponsored event. The EEOC’s lawsuit alleged that Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, Inc., a producer, seller and distributor of Coca-Cola brand products throughout the Northeast United States, violated Title VII when it excluded male employees from an employer-sponsored event. The Bedford, New Hampshire-headquartered company held a two-day employer-sponsored trip and networking event at the Mohegan Sun Casino and Resort in Connecticut. Purportedly, the company privately invited female employees and excused those who attended the event from their normal work duties and paid them their normal salary or wages without requiring them to use vacation or other paid time off. Coca-Cola Northeast did not invite any male employees to the event, the EEOC said.

“Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has long made the exclusion of one protected class of employees from an employer-sponsored event a violation of the law,” said Acting EEOC General Counsel Catherine L. Eschbach. “Excluding men from an employer-sponsored event is a Title VII violation that the EEOC will act to remedy through litigation when necessary.”

The EEOC filed its lawsuit in the District of New Hampshire; the case is No. 1:26-cv-00115.

Black employees excluded from breakroom white employees used. StoneMor, Inc., violated Title VII when it discriminated against black employees, and retaliated against a supervisor after failing to stop complaints about racial discrimination, according to the EEOC’s lawsuit. Managers at the cemetery and funeral management company’s Memphis location purportedly restricted all black employees from a breakroom while allowing access to white employees. The company also allegedly fired a burial supervisor after a crew member complained about similar racial discrimination to corporate headquarters and threatened to complain to the EEOC. StoneMor managers initially directed the supervisor to restrain his staffer from filing those complaints, threatening him with discharge if he failed, according to the EEOC.

“Segregating employees by race and pressuring supervisors to silence discrimination complaints strike at the core of federal civil rights law,” noted Acting EEOC General Counsel Catherine L. Eschbach.

The EEOC brought its lawsuit in the Western District of Tennessee; the case is No. 2:26-cv-02122.

Companies: Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, Inc.; StoneMor, Inc.

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