Glunt Industries to Pay $2 Million in EEOC Sex Discrimination Settlement
Glunt Industries, Inc., a Warren, Ohio machining company, has agreed to pay $2 million and implement sweeping reforms to resolve a federal lawsuit alleging systemic sex discrimination, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced.
The EEOC charged that since at least 2018, Glunt denied production jobs to women and failed to provide women’s restrooms on the plant floor at any of its four fabrication facilities. The lawsuit also alleged retaliation against the company’s human resources director, who was separated from her role after hiring two women as project managers. Those women were later fired and replaced with men.
“For more than 60 years, sex discrimination in hiring, job assignments, and other employment decisions has been unlawful,” said EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas. “And the agency has made clear that failing to provide women with restrooms constitutes sex discrimination as well. Employers are legally required to abide by these federal protections, and the EEOC will hold them accountable when they do not. Our work remains essential to protecting the rights of America’s workforce.”
The case, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (EEOC v. Glunt Industries, Inc., Civil Action No. 1:24-cv-01687), alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC pursued litigation after attempts to reach a pre-litigation settlement failed.
Debra Lawrence, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office, emphasized the broader significance of the case: “The EEOC remains firmly committed to eliminating and remedying unlawful hiring practices that deny women employment because of sex, including in the manufacturing industry. With this consent decree, the EEOC obtained substantial monetary and injunctive relief for women who were unjustly discharged from their jobs at Glunt, the class of women denied production positions, and the public.”
Consent Decree Terms
Under the two-year consent decree:
- Glunt will pay $2 million in monetary relief, distributed to the former HR director, the two discharged project managers, and a class of women denied production positions.
- The company must cooperate in providing equal employment opportunities for female applicants previously rejected.
- The decree prohibits future sex-based discrimination and mandates training, record-keeping, monitoring, and reporting to ensure compliance.
Broader Context
The EEOC’s Philadelphia District has jurisdiction over parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, and New Jersey, and also prosecutes discrimination cases in Washington, D.C., and Virginia. As the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate private-sector employment discrimination, the EEOC continues to coordinate the government’s broader antidiscrimination efforts.
Think that was an affront to Glunt?
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