COMPANIES AGREE TO PAY $60K TO SETTLE FEDERAL HARASSMENT AND DISABILITY CLAIMS
Community Loans of America, Inc., and its related company, Carolina Title Loans, Inc., have agreed to pay $60k to resolve a racial harassment and disability discrimation lawsuit that had been filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
From about a month in 2019, a branch manager at one of their locations used racial slurs and made derogatory comments about Blacks, and is said to have used the “n-word,” in the presence of an African American employee.
While complaints were raised about the hostile workplace environment, the companies purportedly failed to take appropriate responsive action. Additionally, not only was the employee denied the ability to return to work after a disability-related surgery, but she was placed on unpaid leave, and eventually terminated.
Believing that such conducted violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Community Loans of America and Carolina Title Loans, Inc, Civil Action No.: 6:22-cv-1000-DCC-JDA) seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.
In addition to the cash payment, the companies have agreed to modify their employment related polices and practices, and will provide appropriate training on the requirements of federal law.
In a written statement, Melinda C. Dugas, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Charlotte District, noted that “The EEOC appreciates that it was able to work with this employer to achieve a just resolution for the aggrieved employee and to secure broad relief for the employer’s South Carolina workforce through training and oversight …. Employers can avoid situations like this by taking effective action to eliminate racially hostile conduct in the workplace when they become aware of it and by providing reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities when they are able to do so without undue hardship.”
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