HOW UNWISE WAS THIS POLICY?
After a woman complained of sexual harassment in the workplace, Weis Markets – a grocery chain based out of Sunbury, Pennsylvania -- directed that she participate in an “employee assistance program,” which required her to undergo a medical examination. When she refused to comply, she was suspended without pay, and later fired.
Apparently, a store manager at one of the company's locations subjected the worker to “unwelcome and offensive sexual harassment.” Among other things, the manager is said to have made “frequent sexual comments,” “winked at the employee,” and “kissed her face without consent.”
Believing that such conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (U.S. EEOC v. Weis Markets, Inc., Case No. 1:23-cv-01767-YK), seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.
In a written statement, Philadelphia District Office Regional Attorney Debra Lawrence noted that, “Title VII requires employers to make diligent efforts to prevent and correct workplace sexual harassment …. The EEOC will continue to hold employers accountable for their failure to protect workers from such abuses.”
They’d be Weis to settle this case ….